By Keenan Steiner
The beauty of a speakeasy is you don’t know what you’re walking into. And it’s true of Pour, located in an unsuspecting late-1800s Victorian home in downtown Mt. Kisco.
Speakeasies became broadly known in the U.S. during the Prohibition era when alcohol was made illegal but consumption continued behind a trap door, base
ment, or an unexpected saloon. Speakeasies are popular again today — Pour is one of a handful that have popped up in Westchester — but this time because it’s likely there will be a dedication to great cocktails.
Although there’s a small sign on Main Street, the house that Pour occupies would not seem at all like a bar. People still peek in gingerly wondering what they’re walking in to.
“It still blows my mind how many people have no clue,” the owner Anthony Colasacco said.
A low key date spot, clientele gravitate towards the “red room” in the back, with red banquettes and red Edison bulbs. The point of the bar overall, Colasacco says, is that you can actually connect with the person you’re with.
Colasacco is a drinks aficionado, period. He says for a while he became known as the Westchester guy with the broadest selection of rare whiskies. While Pour started as a wine bar, once the pandemic hit and the world went bananas for cocktails, he shifted in a more focused cocktail direction.
He shut down and redid the interior of the bar to go full-on speakeasy, framing vintage sheet music on the walls, applying Venetian plaster and adding Art Deco lamps. He went antiquing for coupes and vintage glassware. Tables are candle-lit.
Cocktail-wise, Pour focuses on making great classics – think of an Old Fashioned, Bee’s Knees, or Sazerac. There are also various twists on the Moscow Mules made with different spirits. Another standout is the “CBD Knees”, a creative twist on the classic Bee’s Knees made with Askur Gun, fresh lemon juice, CBD honey syrup and garnished with a CBD gummy for a playful touch.
There are lots of mellow alcohol-free options. One is the “Mellow Mule”, a refreshing mix of ginger beer, lime juice and CBD honey syrup crafted locally. Another is the herbaceous “Pathfinder Spritz,” made of hemp root spirit (wormwood, ginger, sage, juniper, saffron, other herbs), lemon juice and tonic.
If you’re wondering more about the CBD products, the honey syrup and gummies hail from Hive & Hemp, the brainchild of Colasacco. For those looking for something a bit stronger, his THC gummy brand, Hive & High, is set to debut this year.
Overall, Colasacco’s Pour is meant as a date spot in Mt. Kisco, a place to enjoy a classic cocktail in a vintage setting, or to kick back and mellow out with a non-alcoholic option.
Pour is located at 241 E Main Street in Mt. Kisco. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 5:30 to midnight (though they don’t have a hard close).