Binghamton’s New Speakeasy is Perfect to the Tiniest Detail

OK, so I am completely obsessed with Binghamton’s new speakeasy.

What is a speakeasy, you ask? Ah, yes: For the uninitiated, speakeasies stem from the 20s and early 30s, when the 18th Amendment began Prohibition and booze was banned! Sad, sad thought for many of you. (It didn’t last very long.)

Anyway, booze went underground, and the illegal bars that served it were called speakeasies, because, according to Wikipedia, which is always right (except when it isn’t) you had to speak quietly so as to not to alert the coppers outside.

It’s become trendy over the last decade or so for speakeasy styled pubs to crop up in major cities. They promote on the DL, preferring to be ‘found out’ rather than featured in a big splashy nightlife magazine story.

Lucky for you, I’m giving one up.

205 Dry opened about a month ago at 205 State Street. The styling inside is stunning, as owner Alise Willerton is perhaps one of the best designers in town--definitely when it comes to restaurants or bars.

They’ve got food, which I haven’t tried. I *am* a huge fan of the cocktails, including those served incognito in a precious little tea cup.

205 Dry is not the only speakeasy legacy you’ll find in town. Blind Tiger (as in the pub) was a name once used for speakeasies--and the Cyber Cafe was itself a prohibition era gin joint.

So if you want to check ‘Dry’ out, here’s the deal: head to 205 State Street; the door is on the right side. Enter the tiny little library and scour the bookshelf for door knob. Then let yourself in. I’m not sure if there’s a password, as you’ll generally find me barreling past the doorman and straight toward the bar.