Where the Past Pours into the Present: Kansas’ Modern-Day Speakeasies
When alcohol was banned during national Prohibition (1920 to 1933), some businesses sold illegal beverages after hours in a back room and sometimes with hidden entrances. Kansas, which had state prohibition until 1948, had a longer experience with speakeasies. Perhaps that is why today’s speakeasies are legal businesses that replicate aspects and some of the nostalgia of the earlier bars, their out-of-the-way entrances and their hand-crafted drinks.
BIG BOOTY TRUDY’S SPEAKEASY AND CIGAR BAR
Salina
Damask wallpaper, dark maroon paint, beautiful woodwork and elegant lighting set a vintage atmosphere at Salina’s Big Booty Trudy’s Speakeasy and Cigar Bar, where patrons enter at the back of the building. Although classics such as bee’s knees, martinis, manhattans and cosmopolitans are served, the most popular drinks are the old-fashioned and the house cocktails created using syrups made in house, citrus, and bitters. “The reason cocktails became so popular during the Prohibition era was due to the fact that the booze that was readily available was basically awful, so they started using citruses and sugars to help mask the flavors,” says Matt Stewart, owner. “I think nowadays we’ve seen a resurgence in the cocktail world because people simply love expanding their horizons. You can go anywhere and get a beer or a rum and coke; finding a solid, well-balanced cocktail is an entirely different story.” In addition to providing live music every weekend, the bar hosts a Prohibition Party on the first Saturday of December at which people may dress in 1920s- and 1930s-era clothing to drink specialty cocktails.
THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE
Topeka
After entering The Principal’s Office in Topeka through the secret back door marked with a paddle, patrons must inform the server they are there to serve their detention and may be questioned about their naughty deed. Located under the Salut Wine and Cocktail Lounge in the historic Westboro Mart, the dimly lit basement speakeasy features vintage lounge seating for intimate conversations in sophisticated surroundings. Classic cocktails have school-themed names such as Hot for Teacher, Crossing Guard, and Smokin’ in the Boys Room.
salutwinetopeka.com/the-principals-office
AUNTIE MAE’S PARLOR
Manhattan
There might not be any evidence to support it, but it’s a well-known legend nonetheless that a widowed Dora “Auntie” Mae Walters endured the Great Depression and Prohibition by providing liquor in the basement of her deceased husband’s plumbing business. In her honor, Auntie Mae’s Parlor has been offering craft cocktails, beer and entertainment for nearly 50 years in Manhattan’s Aggieville district. Live music, trivia nights, and movie showings occur in the small basement bar with a speakeasy vibe; customers also are served on the main level where there’s a pool table. Old-fashioneds and manhattans are favored.
JOHN BROWN’S UNDERGROUND
Lawrence
Bearing the name of the famous abolitionist, John Brown’s Underground pairs an intimate atmosphere with sophisticated drinks. A hipster John Brown is portrayed on a mural in the style of John Steuart Curry’s painting A Tragic Prelude, and the hideaway vibe is reinforced by the easily overlooked basement entrance just off the town’s main entertainment street. The menu features inventive seasonal drinks with equally inventive names, such as the house staple Let Me Be Clear.
HISTORIC WOLF HOTEL’S UNDERGROUND SALOON
Ellinwood
The Roaring Twenties return to the Underground Saloon 7–10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in the historic Wolf Hotel in Ellinwood. Patrons enter through a hidden door in the back of the hotel and travel through an underground tunnel to get to the saloon. The cocktail menu is based on six Prohibition-era drinks called “giggle water,” 1920s slang for alcoholic beverages. Shots are referred to as “coffee” and served in espresso cups instead of shot glasses.
