Speakeasy: Secret Bars Around the World

Italian journalist Maestrelli offers a wonderful chronicle of the revival of speakeasy-style bars in this gorgeously illustrated guide. Maestrelli takes readers on a visual tour of secret bars around the world in a book that’s just as intoxicating as drinks at each of the 44 featured establishments—from the stately splendor of New York’s Raines Law Room and Dear Irving to the glossy golden skulls adorning San Diego’s Noble Experiment and jaw-dropping artistry of Hong Kong’s Foxglove, which manages to combine the elegance of a 1950s dining car with a mid-20th-century space age theme. Perhaps most surprising is that, with the major exception of New York City’s Back Room (an actual speakeasy in the 1920s), most of the bars covered have existed for only a decade or less. Along the way, Maestrelli highlights the cocktails each bar is known for, such as Lighthouse of Scotland (single malt scotch with bitters, sea water, and a dash of milk) in a Milan bar called 1930, and Rain Drop, made with bay-leaf infused gin, lime juice, and cucumber cubes, from Bar Nayuta in Osaka, Japan. This is a delightful snapshot of the cocktail zeitgeist. (Nov.)