Jakes Speakeasy Jazz Lounge

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OPEN NOW - Open 24 Hours

Jakes Lounge in Hallandale, FL is Miami's first and only true speakeasy bar.  Remember, don't ever judge a book by its cover!  The facade gives the place a boarded-up, abandoned look.  But don't be scared!  When you open the secret door of Jakes Speakeasy Lounge you will be surprised to see a world of elegance and sophistication that customers refer to as the allure, almost like an opium den.  Once inside the bar customers are expected to abide by house rules.  "Speak easy" is one of them, enforced by the staff when necessary.  There are not a lot of bars like this in United States in now days but those that exist can be found only skulking in the shadows.  Obtrusively secretive, Speakeasy Bars represent one of the strangest exercises in nostalgia ever to grip the public, an infatuation with the good old days of Prohibition where fancy cocktails are being shaken in murky surroundings. 

Prohibition, which took effect in January 1920 and finally ended in December 1933, was the worst cocktail era in the history of US, for obvious reasons.  Half the liquor was homemade or adulterated, forcing the great classic drinks of the early 20th century to exit the stage.  In their places appeared cocktails designed to mask poor ingredients, like "Jake", extract of Jamaica ginger, a patent medicine with a high alcohol content.  "Jake" contained a neurotoxin that caused its devotees to loose the use of their hands and feet.  All things considered, it required a certain amount of nerve to lift a glass to the lips in the otherwise fabulous Jazz Age.

So where would you buy liquor during Prohibition?

According to an 1889 newspaper, Unlicensed saloons in Pennsylvania are known as speak-easies.  They were so called because of the practice of speaking quietly about such place in public, or when inside, so as not to alert the police or neighbors because they illegally sold alcoholic beverages. They were operated by people who were part of organized crime (most likely it is true for the current Speakeasy Bars).  Even though police and agents of the Bureau of Prohibition would often raid Speakeasy and arrest their owners and patrons, they were so profitable that they continued to flourish.  The poor quality bootleg liquor sold in Speakeasies was responsible for a shift away from 19th century classic cocktails, that celebrated the raw taste of the liquor to new cocktails aimed at masking the taste of rough moonshine.

The name speakeasy was revived in the late 2000s in the United States, to refer to a legal, prohibition-themed cocktail bar, generally serving classic cocktails.

Now that you know the history of Prohibition and Speakeasy, come to Jakes Speakeasy Lounge and experience it first hand.  Listen to live Jazz every Thursday or live Rock N Roll on Fridays.  Or you can even sing and be a star on our own Speakeasy stage on Wednesdays, when we do Karaoke.  Come on Saturdays and dance with our DJ.