My husband wanted to attend a tech conference in Montreal this week, and I decided to travel with him. There’s a lot of wonderful things about Montreal, but I’m going to concentrate today on the speakeasies. I’m not talking about a trendy cocktail bar with a jazz theme. What I’m talking about is when you’ve been given specific directions and you still have trouble finding the joint because it’s a black door set into a black wall with a black doorbell. No signage, just the promise that if you find the door and ring the bell someone will come and let you in. THAT’S a speakeasy.

Montreal has a few of them but we only managed to visit two while we were in town. One was called The Cold Room, and the other Clandestino. Both were underground and under-lit. We needed guides to help us get downstairs safely.

I had a drink called “Rice to Meet You” at The Cold Room that included tamarind and toasted rice syrup. It was very unique, and I liked it. I had a drink at Clandestino that was tequila-based and included St. Germain, pea flower syrup, lavender, and I think some lemon. That drink came with the lavender stalks that were sticking out of the drink ON FIRE. I’d happily drink that one every night if I could.

I would have visited more except I came down with a cold. Important to note: Don’t get a sore throat in Montreal. For some reason they don’t drink honey in their tea, so you can’t get any when you drag yourself out to a tea shop looking for relief. It makes me want to open a shop there that sells not just teas but multiple types of honey too. Show them what they’re missing out on!