Sometimes you just get lucky and stumble upon an experience that completely blows you away. My…read morehusband had read about this speakeasy in Rome and wanted to go. You have to make a reservation, as this is a private club. How intriguing! The club opens at 9:00 PM and closes at 4:00 AM. So, we made a reservation for a Sunday evening. It is located down a dimly lit street off the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II - adding more to the intrigue. There is really no signage except on the door there is a brass plaque that says "Prof. Jerry Thomas." You ring the bell, the door is answered, you give your name and the password (Yes, there is a password to get in), and you are admitted to the club. There is a €5 per person annual membership fee.
We were warmly greeted by Roberto and seated at a comfortable table. This speakeasy held about 25 people, with two bartenders mixing drinks. Euro and Roberto saw to our every need and were excellent! When my husband asked if they had rye whisky on the bar, Roberto suggested he go to the bar and look. They had probably 14 different bottles of rye, but none from Maryland. When he asked for a rye Manhattan, Roberto brought over a bottle of their "house" rye, which was made especially for them. After he mentioned that if his Manhattan was made using their house rye, the cost would be €40. My husband quickly declined and opted for a regular rye Manhattan for €15! I am not much of drinker, so they made me an Amaretto. Both were served on the rocks, except this time, each had one huge ice cube - we had never seen such large cubes before.
We both thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Speakeasy and told Roberto we would be back again. It was such an interesting, fun and enjoyable concept.