A tailor by day, a bar by night: The hidden world of Delhi’s Speakeasy scene

The elevator doors open onto a dimly lit bar. For another one, doing the rounds on Instagram, you need to call ahead and make a reservation, then you head to the address sent to you. You meet a man sitting at a little table with a sewing machine under a tree, with a sign marked as Jagdish Tailor. Once he sees the slip, he unlocks the door to what appears to be a cupboard. But much like the doorway to Narnia, you enter the cupboard to be greeted by Delhi’s newest speakeasy. The most interesting part – Jagdish Tailor is actually a tailor by day.

In Delhi’s GK II M-block market, behind a vinyl-and-cigar store on the third floor of a building, is a Japanese-inspired, cocktail-forward bar.

Speakeasies are the new It place to be. Not that most know why these speakeasies came about. From 1920 to 1933, the United States implemented a complete ban on the sale and import of alcohol for “moral” reasons, much like in Bihar and Gujarat. Many domestic issues, such as domestic violence and children being abandoned, were attributed – correctly, I am sure – to alcohol.

As a result, many secret bars popped up in places one would not suspect of having a bar – from tailor shops to grocery stores and bookshops. Interestingly, many of these secret bars were run by women since no one would suspect them of running illegal bars. The entries to these bars were not obvious; they were usually hidden, and the bars themselves were either at the back of buildings or in basements, with no windows.

The term speakeasy is in reference to “speak-softly shops”, which were illegal drinking establishments in England and Ireland in the 19th century. At the turn of the century, they started popping up in the US when the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution outlawed alcohol. As the demand for alcohol continued, speakeasies began to proliferate. They were called speakeasies because you had to speak softly to avoid making a racket and attracting the police’s attention.

I remember visiting the Chicago Athletic Association, which has since been converted into a swanky hotel but still maintains the speakeasy room that was highly popular during Prohibition. Speakeasy-style bars in India and elsewhere usually have a strong cocktail programme, because very often the alcohol at the original speakeasies was a bit suspect and not of the finest quality, and moonshine was often drunk there.

The cocktails were meant to disguise the flavour of the alcohol. This is also where some of my favourite cocktails were created. Classic cocktails like the Bee’s Knees, French 75, Sidecar and Southside were born during the Prohibition.

The Speakeasies in India are fun, and some of the cocktail menus are very interesting. Food is not really a focal point, so you will usually find a limited bar menu. Is it worth going to a speakeasy in India? Maybe once for the experience. But the last one I went to was essentially a big safe with a safe door, like what you see in the movie Ocean’s Twelve, which you entered by entering a PIN code on the safe keypad.

And the only thought going through my head was that if there was an electricity breakdown, we would be locked inside, albeit with some very tasty cocktails.

Next week, I’ll be skipping the column to do some deep research into the best things to eat in Japan. Someone has to do the hard work.