Skip to content
Why do some bars feel more thrilling than others? It’s not the cocktails, it’s the psychology of secrecy.
Walking through an ice cream shop, pushing open an unmarked door, and finding yourself in a dimly lit world of handcrafted cocktails feels like cracking a secret code. But why do we love speakeasy bars when regular bars are more accessible and convenient?
The answer lies in psychology, specifically, decision-making biases that shape how we perceive value, effort, and experience.
Nostalgia and Storytelling: The Emotional Hook
Speakeasies also tap into another powerful psychological force: nostalgia bias.
They transport us to a romanticised version of the Prohibition era – a time of rebellion, secrecy, and indulgence. Even if we never lived through it, the allure of hidden bars, bootleggers, and covert gatherings feels compelling.
I have written a deep dive into the rich history of speakeasies and how they emerged during Prohibition.
Daniel Kahneman, in Thinking, Fast and Slow, explains that we don’t remember experiences based on what actually happened, we remember the story we tell ourselves. This is known as the Narrative Bias, where our brains shape fragmented experiences into coherent stories, often enhancing emotional resonance.
From the secret entrance to the Prohibition-era decor, each detail reinforces the narrative, making the experience feel richer and more memorable.
Similarly, the Peak-End Rule suggests that we judge experiences based on their most intense moments and how they end. In a speakeasy, the thrill of discovery and the final sip of a well-crafted cocktail leave lasting impressions.
A speakeasy isn’t just a bar; it’s an immersive narrative wrapped in history and exclusivity.
That’s why the drink tastes better. You’re not just sipping a cocktail, you’re sipping a story!
The Scarcity Bias: When Less Access Means More Desire
One of the strongest psychological forces at play is the Scarcity Principle, coined by psychologist Robert Cialdini in Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. The less accessible something is, the more desirable it becomes.
Speakeasy bars thrive on scarcity bias:
- Their entrances are hidden behind unmarked doors or disguised as everyday shops.
- They often require secret passwords or reservations.
- They aren’t advertised in plain sight.
The photo here is from UES in the Upper East Side, where an entrance to a simple ice cream shop conceals one of the neighbourhood’s most intriguing speakeasy bars. To enter, you need to say the password: “I would like to visit the storage room.” You can find more details in my guide to speakeasy bars in the Upper East Side.
This exclusivity creates an illusion of heightened value, even if the drinks are no different from a regular bar. It’s the same force behind FOMO, limited-edition products, and VIP memberships.
When something feels rare, our brains assume it must be worth having.
Effort Justification: Why We Love What We Work For
Have you ever spent hours trying to secure a reservation at an exclusive bar, only to convince yourself it was absolutely worth it? That’s effort justification at work, a cognitive bias where we rationalise that anything requiring effort must be valuable.
This ties into cognitive dissonance reduction: when we invest time or energy into something, we subconsciously inflate its worth to align with our efforts.
A famous study by Aronson and Mills (1959)1I read about this in the article, Animals Prefer Reinforcement that Follows Greater Effort: Justification of Effort or Within-Trial Contrast? on effort justification found that people who underwent a difficult initiation process valued their group membership more than those with an easy entry.
Speakeasy bars work the same way – the hunt for the entrance, the waitlist, the whispered password – all make the final experience feel more rewarding.
Conclusion: Why Speakeasies Make Us Feel Something Special
Hidden bars aren’t just cool because they serve great cocktails. They are cool because they exploit human psychology in the best way possible.
So next time you step into a speakeasy bar, whether it’s UES, Attaboy, or Sugar East, remember: you’re not just drinking a cocktail. You’re experiencing a masterclass in decision-making biases and behavioural psychology, one sip at a time.
Psttttt… my favourite New York City speakeasy bars are listed here.
Footnotes:
- 1I read about this in the article, Animals Prefer Reinforcement that Follows Greater Effort: Justification of Effort or Within-Trial Contrast?
