The Underground Speakeasy and Distillery

Useful Information

Location:	300 Stewart Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101. (36.1728200, -115.1411628)
Open:	The Underground Speakeasy and Distillery: All year Mon-Wed 11-22, Thu-Fri 11-24, Sat-Sun 12-24. The Mob Museum: All year daily 9-21. Online reservations are strongly encouraged. [2024]
Fee:	Adults USD 34.95, Nevada Resident USD 19.95, Children (11-17) 19.95, Children (0-10) free, Law Enforcement USD 32.95, Military USD 32.95. Deluxe Pass: Adults USD 49.95, Nevada Resident USD 32.95, Children (11-17) 32.95, Children (0-10) free, Law Enforcement USD 57.95, Military USD 47.95. Premier Pass; Adults USD 54.95, Nevada Resident USD 38.95, Children (11-17) 38.95, Children (0-10) free, Law Enforcement USD 52.95, Military USD 52.95. Audiotour USD 5. [2024]
Classification:	Cellar Restaurant
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, audioguide
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	The Underground Speakeasy and Distillery, 300 Stewart Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101, Tel: +1-702-229-2734. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2018	speakeasy opened to the public.

Description

The Underground Speakeasy and Distillery is a part of the famous Mob Museum, a museum about the Mafia which actually developed Las Vegas to its current fame in the 1970s and 1980s. The mob had a lot of illegal money and was looking for a way to invest, Las Vegas has special laws, gambling is allowed in this state, and the desert was undeveloped, land was cheap. So they started to build casinos and make their money legal. The Mob Museum explains organized crime's history in detail. And an important aspect of the Mafia is the way they became rich and important: by smuggling alcohol during the prohibition years. So it's logical to make a subterranean speakeasy, a secret bar which sold alcohol illegally during the prohibition, with an illegal distillery, as official part of the museum.

The bar is in the same building as the museum, but "hidden" in the underground. It is not part of the museum, it's a normal bar, but it nevertheless is a museum with numerous items from 1920s speakeasies on the walls, and historic photographs. In this time, tens of thousands of speakeasies operated in hard-to-find places all over the U.S.A. Probably the twenties were the Roaring Twenties because of the prohibition, the effect of prohibition was not a reduction of alcohol consumption, in contrary the alcohol became more interesting by the illegality. The rise of the flapper dresses, jazz, blues and other music took place in the speakeasies, so even if you weren't an alcoholic, you had to visit the speakeasies if you were interested in music or dancing. The bar is well-stocked with a hand-crafted cocktail menu and offers weekly live music. And there's a thing with speakeasies, they are secret, hidden, and the bouncer at the door wants to hear the secret password. The password changes weekly, and you have to know people who know people... Oy you may check the website or the instagram account. And then you have to find the hidden side entrance. Ah, and you have to be 21 to enter, just a friendly reminder for foreign tourists who aren't used to this American peculiarity.

The distillery is an illegal still which was used for producing moonshine. The stills were not at the speakeasies, they were hidden in remote places, they produced a characteristic smell, so it was not possible to place them in populated areas. It is a story of bootleggers, rumrunners and the government agents who tried to take them down. The still which is on display is working, the product is sold at the bar. The Distillery Tour and Tasting takes 25 minutes and includes sampling a variety of house-made distilled spirits. This is one of the so-called interactive experiences, the museum also offers the Crime Lab and the Firearm Training Simulator.

Beneath the official part of the secret speakeasy, there is an even more Secret VIP Room. At the other end of the bar is a large painting of a woman in the style of the 1920s. The painting disguises the secret door that leads to a private VIP room. Mafia bosses used to hold their meetings in rooms like this. Knowledge of these rooms was on a need-to-know basis.

The Mob Museum also has a long name, which is National Museum of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement, which actually gives a much better impression on what to expect. It is managed by a non-profit association, with the goal to advance the public understanding of organized crime's history and its impact on American society. While the museum itself has an entrance fee, the bar is obviously free, except for the drinks, and the guided visits to the distillery of course. For museum visits online reservations are strongly encouraged, though not mandatory. Some reductions are available only online. Visits early in the morning and late in the evening have a USD 10 discount.