Rasputin, a secret cocktail bar in Florence

Rasputin, a secret cocktail bar in Florence

PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

There is no doubt that prohibition awakens desire. Rasputin stands as a speakeasy: an exclusive bar behind closed doors, to which only a few are granted access. Indeed, all cities in the world have their secret bar. The speakeasy concept emerged in the first decades of the twentieth century in New York, in full swing of Prohibition. I’m not very fond of cocktails, as seeing a beautiful glass with just capacity for a cappuccino, priced 10 or 15 euros, from which one could only drink a sip almost as fast as a shot, makes me feel terribly upset. I prefer a jar of beer or a generous glass of wine, which despite the anxiety for drinking guarantees a prolonged delight.

Notwithstanding all this, I like how in Rasputin cocktails rise in the twilight and are enlivened by good jazz. Furthermore, the staff is so exquisite and attentive, and the place so splendid, that one even forgets how it smells damp (this feature also amounts for its irresistible appeal). The entry is also rare, as there is nothing outside indicating that it is a bar. Instead, it looks like a hermitage with plenty of saints and candles. Their self-invented cocktails cost between 12-15 euros. Naturally, Rasputin is not suitable to low cost guests.
Rasputin is somewhere in Oltrarno, near Santo Spirito


Rasputin, un bar de cócteles secreto en Florencia

No cabe duda de que la prohibición despierta el deseo. Rasputin es un speakeasy o lo que es lo mismo: un bar a puerta cerrada, exclusivo, al que solo unos pocos tienen acceso. Todas las ciudades del mundo tienen su bar secreto. El concepto speakeasy surgió en las primeras décadas del siglo XX en Nueva York, en pleno apogeo de la Ley Seca. No soy muy amante de los cócteles. Me deprime ver aparecer una copa preciosa aunque con la capacidad de una tacita de capuccino por la que voy a tener que pagar 10 o 15 euros y que me beberé prácticamente de un sorbo, casi tan rápido como un chupito. Yo soy más de jarras de cerveza, de copas de vino generosas, de bebidas pausadas pero —como buen ansioso— prolongadas.

Sin embargo, me gusta Rasputin, donde sirven cócteles en penumbra amenizados por buen jazz. El personal es tan exquisito y atento, el local es tan espléndido, que se le perdona que huela un poco a humedad, aunque admitámoslo: este factor también forma parte de su irresistible atractivo. La entrada despista; no hay nada en el exterior que indique que aquello sea un bar: parece una ermita en la que no faltan santos y velas. Cócteles entre 12-15 euros; carta propia. No apto para bolsillos low cost.
Rasputin – en algún lugar de Oltrarno cercano a Santo Spirito

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Paco Neumann

Paco Neumann is a journalist, photographer, proofreader, flâneur and perpetual amateur currently living in between Florence, Berlin, Paris and Tenerife. He´s been a regular contributor to fashion, art, trend and lifestyle magazines and worked for news, advertising and communication agencies

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