the Seattle Times takes a look at Speakeasy-inspired hideaways

Today Tan Vinh gives lovers of classic cocktails a glimpse into the backrooms and upstairs of a few of our area's Prohibition-era-inspired spots. He was kind enough to include Tavern Law writing,"In Seattle, where some folks seem to embrace all things classic cocktail, now comes the hideaway bars that replicate the hush-hush aura of the Prohibition-era speak-easies... The hotly anticipated Tavern Law — mentioned in The New York Times and on cocktail-geek blogs — debuted in late August on Capitol Hill, opened by the owners of the nationally acclaimed Spur Gastropub in Belltown. At Tavern Law, a vault door leads to a den adorned with Prohibition-era motifs: a flask believed to be owned by Houdini, vintage glassware and custom furniture recalling designs from the 1930s. Above, antique chandeliers. Below, a floor constructed from reclaimed barn wood in Montana. "We wanted to celebrate the classic cocktail and the art of bartending," said Brian McCracken, who co-owns Tavern Law with chef Dana Tough. Instead of a cocktail menu, the speak-easy bartenders craft drinks based on the customers' flavor profiles (a cocktail with smokey notes, for instance).

...Customers also like to dress the part. Dec. 5 is considered Seattle's biggest cocktail party, when cocktail geeks every year don Bonnie and Clyde get-ups to celebrate the end of Prohibition in 1933... Those costume parties are more frequent with the faux speak-easies. Recently, Tavern Law was rented out for a private party at which folks dressed in gangster suits and flapper dresses arrived in a stretched Rolls-Royce."

To read the entire article and more about Maxwell's, Bathtub Gin & Co., and Knee High Stocking Co., click on blog title above. Thanks Tan!