The Endless Appeal of the Speakeasy
What an interesting world it was just 100 years ago. Instead of our era that brought us what has so far been the boring ‘20s (thanks to the pandemic and drastically reduced social contact and events), people lived in the roaring ‘20s. Life was wrought with social changes, economic changes, and societal changes. Without going too much into history, let’s just say it was a very electric time that many (especially Americans) look back on fondly. The speakeasy was one such relic of that era everyone loves to recreate and celebrate today. Though the national prohibition ended over 90 years ago, there is still something so giddy and alluring about secret alcohol stints. That’s why a speakeasy party is one of the most popular themes you’ll find and a great way to bring friends together who enjoy the liberty of good libations!
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How to Throw a Speakeasy Party
1. Turn Your Home Into a Speakeasy Space
The easiest way to decorate for a speakeasy party is to drink a whole bunch of liquor, save every bottle, and display them all over your home – atop tables, shelves, the mantel. But the healthiest way to decorate for a speakeasy party is to visit any bar once they open and ask them to give you every bottle that’s emptied throughout the night. Or, better yet, make friends with a bartender who can easily set them aside for you – whether over the course of a night or a week (that way you don’t have to linger at a bar collecting bottles before the bartender throws them away, like a crazy person).
Any prohibition signage or liquor-themed decorations are good decoration staples. A vintage-style ‘Entrance to Speakeasy’ sign, a ‘Come On In! Everyone Speakeasy’ sign, or an aluminum ‘Prohibition Ends Here’ speakeasy sign are all perfect additions.
Antique-style furniture – especially anything made out of wood – is a fitting look for recreating a speakeasy bar. Maybe your own furniture more closely resembles a futuristic IKEA style – and that’s okay, but if you do own dark-coloured wood pieces reminiscent of the prohibition era, they will especially complement the speakeasy look. Another option is to salvage any old wooden boards that are in decent enough shape to lay flat over a tabletop (with an old blanket in between to protect your table’s surface) and use as a surface on which to display and serve liquor bottles and such.
Keep the lighting low. Don’t turn on fluorescent overhead lights or bright pendant lights, but use softer lamps that cast a warm glow. And as with the furniture, if you own any antique lamps, a speakeasy party is their time to shine!
2. Prepare Speakeasy-Related Food and Beverages
The drink menu’s pretty easy. Just serve up any (or every) alcoholic beverage! If you know a guy, make that moonshine. Other fitting and delicious classics include gin, whiskey, and beer. And to keep everyone’s palate’s pleased, have plenty of juices, seltzer waters, and other such mixers on hand for those who don’t prefer their liquor straight up.
Stocking a party with lots of alcohol is inexpensive – said no host ever – so unless you are completely comfortable with providing all alcohol, you can absolutely make it a BYOB speakeasy. Or, maybe you plan to provide plenty of cheap beer (hey, it’s alcohol, right?) and invite guests to optionally BYOB as well for a happy medium.
Speakeasies weren’t known for serving up big meals so this isn’t a party where you’d provide dinner. Instead, offer plenty of tapas-style small plates. However, even though it isn’t a meal per se, you should have plenty of filling foods – especially carbs and starches – that will keep bellies full and less likely to ache from too much booze. Drinking on an empty (or underfed) stomach is a recipe for disaster. So throw in plenty of bread-based appetizers such as a big bowl of cheesy dip or guacamole and plenty of chips or sliced baguettes for dipping.
If you want to keep food expenses low, prepare your own dishes rather than buy pre-made party platters. This means you need to plan your menu and set aside time to cook/prepare food in advance (included in your time block to-do list below). While that takes more effort, it also gives you more freedom over ingredients (important for gluten-free or vegan guests). Of course, you can also budget by asking guests to bring snacks to share (see 6. Guest Participation).
Snacks and Illicit Cocktails
- Cheese plate with grape tapenade
- Blackberry goat cheese crostini
- Any other cheese plate (include sliced dried figs, baguette slices, etc.)
- Finger foods (olives, nuts, deviled eggs)
- Any other appetizers (cheese dip and bread, etc.)
- Speakeasy sparkler
- Prohibition sweet tea
- Prohibition Punch
3. Set the Ambience with Plenty of Jazz
The prohibition era was the golden age of jazz. Invite your guests to your speakeasy party with jazzy period tunes such as jazz that first entered Berlin after the Great War and the playlist of 1920s-based Phryne Fisher murder mystery series. Or play a soundscape/ambiance video like a 1929 Chicago speakeasy soundscape with background jazz or a similar 1920s speakeasy bar soundscape with background jazz and period images. Whichever flavor you favor, as soon as you turn on that jazz, the party begins!
4. Add Alluring Aromas
Unless you just brewed your own batch of beer or other libation, you won’t be luring your guests to your party by their nose. But even if you cannot literally smell the liquor (which isn’t always a great smell anyway depending on its context), you can still delight everyone’s sense of smell by burning any of these handsome speakeasy-themed scented candles:
- Speakeasy candle scented with whiskey, oak, ginger, jasmine and lavender
- Speakeasy candle scented with bourbon, vanilla, leather, sandalwood, tobacco and patchouli
- Speakeasy candle scented with black currants, blackberries, basil, saffron, anise, fennel, etc.
5. Plan Speakeasy Party Games
Speakeasy murder mysteries are really popular, so you have a lot of choices if you want to structure your party that way! With titles like The Speakeasy Slayer and Death by Bathtub Gin, there are no shortage of digital speakeasy murder mystery downloads you can print and play away. Or order a tangible version like Murder at the Speakeasy game. I was invited to a speakeasy murder mystery party many years ago and we had a great time, from dressing up to speaking in character to enjoying delicious cocktails. Murder mystery games involve plenty of pre-preparation not only on your part but for your guests (see 6. Guest Participation) so make sure they are aware of this when they are initially invited, before they agree to attend. It only works when enough guests are on board!
For a more casual and less committed activity, download a printable trivia sheet for guests to play such as a 1920s trivia game or a match-the-1920s-slang game. Sure, they might seem easy, but if you wait until everyone’s had a couple drinks it may provide a challenge!
If you or another guest has a skill to share that is especially fitting for a speakeasy party (i.e. bartender, jazz musician, bathtub gin alchemist, etc.), take this opportunity to invite them to (moon)shine! A speakeasy is all about drinking, but no speakeasy party would be complete without jazz. And no jazz is better than live jazz.
6. Establish Guest Participation
Guest participation is optional and depends on what kind of event you’re having and what sorts of things you’ll do. A costume party requires a costume. A potluck requires that guests share a dish. Remember that as the host of a potluck-style party, you’ll need to provide at least one large dish that is both tasty and filling (just in case others end up bringing things that are less tasty or less filling).
A speakeasy party is a perfect opportunity to dress in the beloved dapper and flapper style that graced culture a century ago. There are many speakeasy-themed clothing options – whether you want to wear a clever prohibition-themed T-shirt, a pin-striped suit and bowler hat or a fringed flapper dress. Just remember, whether you invite guests to dress-up, bring a dish to share, or BYOB, notify them on the invite.
By nature, a speakeasy party is all about alcohol (and the thrill of serving and enjoying it ‘underground’ during prohibition). While we wish everyone was smart enough to know their drinking limit, there are many people who ruin an otherwise good party by drinking to the point of being irritating at best or dangerous at worst. Use discernment and don’t invite people who can’t handle alcohol. It goes without saying, but choose guests wisely and only include those who can drink responsibly enough to maintain decency!
Of course, prioritize friends who would most enjoy a speakeasy party. You should certainly refrain from inviting friends who are in AA or who abstain for religious reasons or other personal convictions. Some people choose not to drink but don’t mind being at a party where others do – that’s an exception, of course. But you know your friends. Keep their best interest in mind!
Checklist of Items You Need
These are the things you need for a speakeasy party:
- Empty liquor bottles and speakeasy-inspired décor
- Plenty of booze and small plates
- Hot jazz
- Deliciously-scented candles
- Games (optional)
- Speakeasy attire/costume (recommended)
Preparation Checklist for Your Speakeasy Party
1. First, confirm that people can come on any chosen date:
- Choose party date/time, and preferably alternative date(s) as well
- Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort)
- Six weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability on chosen party date(s)
- If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest/availability, have them secure calendar date for your swank speakeasy party!
2. Then, proceed with the fun planning:
- Schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep (securing and/or making food/drinks, etc.)
- Create invitations with all the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party
- Order any party supplies and decorations 3 weeks out (so they arrive in time to prepare and set up)
- Shop for any party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
- In your planned time slots, acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
- In your planned time slots, decorate for the party
- In your planned time slots, prepare food (depending on how long things keep)
3. Day of Party (in your amply planned time slot):
- Prepare any foods/drinks that are too fresh to do any earlier
- Set up any quick/easy last-minute decorations you didn’t want up before (such as liquor bottles – in case your great uncle visited the night before and you don’t want him to mistake you for a raving alcoholic)
- Prepare ambience (jazz, lighting, scented candles)
- Get dressed in your jazziest 20s-era attire/costume
- Once everything’s ready, take some time for your preferred self-care to get in a good head space. You want to be relaxed, energized, and excited! And on that note, while you should definitely take caution to watch how much you drink during your party (a big universal rule for hosting any event), that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy an appropriate amount within your own limit. It’s important to have fun at your own party; just make sure you are smart and pay attention to your own consumption (and don’t forget to eat!).
You are now all set to host an awesome speakeasy party! When you follow best party practices and put heart and smart effort into your party prep, you’ll have a fun and memorable event. Details are flexible and can be customized to your own speakeasy party flavour, but with a few staples – good booze, good jazz, and good friends – you can’t go wrong!
