America's Original Speakeasies (PHOTOS)

As the contemporary speakeasy trend rages on, it seems apt to also celebrate the many American bars operating today that werespeakeasies. San Francisco's popular Bourbon & Branch, for example, was the location of JJ Russell Cigar Shop, which was a front for a speakeasy for 10 years.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

The thirst for neo-speakeasies--that is, vintage bars with atmospheres and cocktail menus to reflect the clandestine 1920s glamour of the Prohibition Era--has not abated in the years since the first, Milk & Honey, opened on Manhattan's Lower East Side. As the contemporary speakeasy trend rages on, it seems apt to also celebrate the many American bars operating today that were actual speakeasies. San Francisco's popular Bourbon & Branch, for example, was the location of JJ Russell Cigar Shop, which was a front for a speakeasy for 10 years. Impressively, it wasn't raided once.

--By Spencer Spellman

Mint Bar in Sheridan, Wyoming

America's Original Speakeasies

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE