No website, no signage, no intentions of being known – that’s how Ranstead Room operates. The speakeasy-themed bar just has nothing but a simplistic RR logo on its back-alley entrance door. Across the threshold, talented, shirt-and-tie bedecked bartenders perfect their ageless craft in one of Philly’s best cocktail bars.

When it launched in 2010, this back room to Stephen Starr’s Rittenhouse Mexican El Rey opened nightly at 7 PM, but this week marks the start of something new: happy hour! From Wednesday–Friday, the drinkery now opens at 5 PM with a special $8 “twilight hour” cocktail of the week.

Inside, the ambiance is a cross between Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men (without the gratuitous chain-smoking). Dim lighting illuminates red leather booths and walls adorned with classical paintings of nude women. My date and I sat at the bar, which was lined with fresh fruits that the bartenders would pluck, slice, and muddle to create our drinks.

Craft cocktails are a strange species – so strange that the regular $12 price per seems almost reasonable. Behind the bar, every top-shelf spirit fights for wiggle room. Gin, bourbon, vodka, rum, tequila, and more are featured on the menu. If you’re feeling adventurous, the bartenders work with your tastes and preferences to build a custom quaff just for you. If you prefer to stay in a traditional vein, a martini or old fashioned is a perfectly acceptable drink order.

The results are nothing short of mesmerizing (though the alcohol content may have something to do with it). Whether the cocktail comes in a coupe, highball or a Collins glass with a brick of ice, it’s a sipper.

During our grotto sojourn we ordered four, and the Ranstead Sling (gin, Bénédictine, pineapple juice, lemon) reigned supreme. It was the perfect summer cocktail, enjoyable on the beach or in a dark, air conditioned bar. Others weren’t far behind. The Sunflower (gin, elderflower, combier, absinthe) and the Champ (bourbon, applejack, mint, lemon) had distinguishable qualities. All of the creations exemplified the ideals of a bar so adept at recreating the product and attitude of a long-ago time period that it’s worth the history lesson just to go.

But I can’t tell you how to find it, that’s part of the fun.

[Tip: Check out our Ranstead Room bar profile and you might be able to make your way there. – Ed.]

Photos courtesy of the restaurant