Bottoms up: Step back in time at Delaney’s Speakeasy

Delaney’s Speakeasy bar and lounge may have opened in 2002, but when you step inside you feel like you’ve been transported out of Five Points and into a 1920s juke joint. It’s the ideal setting for a Tommy-gun toting gangster or just your local jazz aficionado looking for a watering hole.

And that’s the vibe the people who run Speakeasy were after – a great aesthetic with room enough to enjoy a live jazz band comfortably while sipping a cocktail or beer.

“We’ve had a huge, steady, regular patronage over the years, including myself,” mused bar manager Charlie Martin. “We get everyone in here, from 28 to 88. Our core customers are folks who are looking to relax, listen to jazz and have a great cocktail or beer.”

And there’s plenty to choose from. The bar carries close to 200 liquors and 170 beers, 10 of which are on tap. The bar recently started to carry locally crafted beers from River Rat and Copper Horse distillery.

“I support as much local as possible because people are looking for it,” said Martin.

Other libations that have gained popularity here, Maratin said, are the Old Fashioned – “We like to call it the Southern Old Fashioned, because instead of an orange we use a lemon” – and Speakeasy’s own “Mason Dixon.” The custom drink is a blend of house-made simple syrup, a dash of angostura bitters, peach schnapps, rye whiskey and half a juiced lemon, served with fresh cucumber slices and a sprig of mint in – of course – a Mason jar.

“It’s simple but tasty, really popular and it’s unique to us,” said Martin.

Another drink that Martin said his customers enjoy is the French 75, with gin, champagne, lemon juice and syrup.

“It’s a cool recipe, it looks cool in a cool glass and there’s gin in it. Need I say more?” joked Martin.

So whether you’ve never been or it’s been a while, come “step into Speakeasy” and be prepared to be taken back to a time when music was live, bartenders wore suits, and drinks were like the bar itself: classic.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 8:01 PM with the headline "Bottoms up: Step back in time at Delaney’s Speakeasy."