BARTENDER … Historic Interpreter/Historic Bartender Randy Rohrs pours drinks in anticipation for the next round of guests at the Broken Barrel Speakeasy.
(PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
PASSWORD … Patrons enter the speakeasy through a hidden door. A special knock is made, and a password is stated before the door opens and all is revealed. The entrance on the opposite side is hidden and not easily seen.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
The alley is narrow, and the night feels heavy with silence. A red bulb flickers above a plain wooden door. You glance behind you, then knock three times.
A wooden slit opens. A voice demands the password. You mutter the phrase you were told to remember. The door creaks, and suddenly you are inside.
Warm light glows low. Jazz music trickles from a phonograph. The scent of tobacco lingers in the air. Laughter rolls across a crowd dressed in flapper gowns and tilted fedoras.
There is tension and excitement, as if every second might bring the law crashing through the door. This is the world of the 1920s speakeasy, hidden, thrilling, and alive.
While the smoke and chaos are gone, the intrigue remains. Sauder Village captures the essence of that era through its immersive Prohibition Experience, held on select Saturdays inside the Broken Barrel Speakeasy.
There, a historic interpreter and bartender, setting, storytelling, and attention to detail bring the past to life in vivid form.
The experience is designed to reflect what stepping into a speakeasy might have felt like, while delivering it in a format that’s educational, welcoming, and made for guests of the modern era.
Groups, usually up to twelve in number, begin their visit at the village candy shop, where they are greeted and introduced to the history of Prohibition.
One guest is chosen to give the secret knock and password before the group is quietly led through a hidden entrance into the speakeasy. There, they meet Randy Rohrs, one of the interpreters behind the bar.
With humor and period slang, Rohrs sets the stage for what is to come. He lays down the house rules, playfully warning guests to leave their gats, rods, and other period items at the door and to keep their charm in check.
The experience blends a guided bourbon tasting with a deep dive into the complexities of Prohibition. Rohrs presents four bourbons from the same distiller, encouraging guests to note the aroma, color, and flavor of each.
As they sip, he shares stories about the 1920s, how gangsters and bootleggers operated, how the suffrage movement intersected with temperance, and how innovations of the time shaped American society.
Guests learn what defines bourbon versus whiskey and why the spirit is so closely associated with Kentucky.
Sheri Friesner, Director of Historic Operations at Sauder Village, explained that each interpreter receives a detailed packet of information but brings their own passion and voice to the table.
Regardless of the focus, each session ends with a classic cocktail, most often an old fashioned, served with flair and historical context.
As the tasting wraps up, a red light flashes simulating the arrival of police. This marks the time when guests are sent out the back way in a playful nod to the real dangers of drinking during Prohibition.
For those who take part, the Broken Barrel Speakeasy is more than a lesson in legislation or a sampling of spirits. It is a step back into a time when everyday people had to make choices, quiet defiance, secret gatherings, whispered codes, all just to share a drink. The experience captures that spirit with warmth, humor, and authenticity.
Guests leave not only with a better understanding of the Prohibition era but also with a real appreciation for the way history can come alive when it is shared in the right setting, by the right storyteller, over the rim of a glass.