Shanghai Mermaid

The date: Monday, December 4^th, 1933. It’s significance? It’s the last night of prohibition in the United States, which began in 1920. That’s a pretty long dry spell, unless you were friends with Al Capone or any of his bootlegging friends. Ah, what a welcome Tuesday morning must have been, with the repeal of prohibition passed by the Twenty-​first Amendment to the United States Constitution!
In celebration of the 82^nd anniversary of the repeal of prohibition Shanghai Mermaid and Manhattan Moonshine hosted «Let’s Misbehave!», a prohibition repeal day party. Under a black awning and through an unmarked door, guests were transported back to the American Prohibition era for a night of cool live jazz and smokin’ hot burlesque! My girlfriend and I dressed up 30’s style, she in a sexy white flapper and I in my double breasted gangster suit, which wouldn’t be complete without my fedora, which I got from my late grandfather who was a gangster in his own time.
The celebration was held in the back room of the historic Fillmore in Chelsea. The roaring fireplace, dark wood, brick columns, and low ceilings hung with golden Chinese lanterns truly added to the 30’s feel, as did the outstanding performers for the evening. Throughout the evening Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess were playing hot jazz. A six piece band headed by lead vocalist Jessy Carolina who also plays washboard and percussion, they really got your feet moving. And move our feet we did! Nearly everyone was dressed to the nines in sexy 1930’s garb and the dance floor was definitely alive.
In between sets we had performances by two ultra-​sexy burlesque stars. Up first was Pandora with her fan dance, which was simply delicious. Later in the evening was Medianoche, my girlfriend’s favorite burlesque performer. Too hot for words, if you haven’t seen her perform you need to. We can’t forget the great Ragtime Piano Player Dalton Ridenhour either as he tickled the keys beautifully throughout the night, along with some spectacular dancing from Amanda Mottur.
The cocktails created by Manhattan Moonshine, in particular the Brown Derby, helped to loosen up even the stiffest squares. The world’s first luxury un-​aged Whiskey, Manhattan Moonshine was founded in 2013 by William Kehler, a New York City native and whiskey enthusiast fascinated by the Prohibition era, Art Deco design and the Jazz age.
The whole evening was simply dazzling. By the time we left at after 3:00am I forgot I wasn’t 20 years old anymore, and literally fell like a sack of potatoes into the back of our UBER. Thankfully my girlfriend has more energy than I and got us home safe n’sound. I’d do it all over in a heartbeat!
Shanghai Mermaid:
Shanghai Mermaid is an underground speakeasy cabaret started in 2007 in a basement in Dumbo by Juliette Campbell. In 2010 she moved it to an old warehouse in Crown Heights and created «the Red Lotus Room», an underground performance venue where she hosted Shanghai Mermaid, as well as other avant garde performance soirees, until the building was sold in 2013. Since then, she’s been hosting roving parties — in old mansions, private clubs, and even sailboats! Her Chinese New Year party, «the Dragon Ball», will be in a former dim sum palace below the Manhattan bridge. A new Red Lotus room is in the works, and will be back in Brooklyn in 2017.
Manhattan Moonshine:
Manhattan Moonshine is the world’s first luxury Un-​Aged Whiskey and has been designed to be the perfect Whiskey for cocktails. The Manhattan Moonshine Company, LLC was founded in 2013 by William Kehler to establish Un-​Aged Whiskey as a legitimate expression of Whiskey that is competitive with Aged-​Whiskey in flavor, quality and class. Using a unique grain bill featuring a combination of Oats, Rye, Spelt (an ancestral form of wheat) and Malted Barley with its unique production process, a collaboration between Kehler and whiskey expert Ian Smiley to create the formulation. Manhattan Moonshine delivers a smooth, grain-​forward, Whiskey flavor that no other Un-​Aged Whiskey is able to create. A New York City native, Kehler is a New York City native and Whiskey enthusiast who is fascinated by the Prohibition era, Art Deco design and the Jazz age.
Manhattan Moonshine
Shanghai Mermaid

Shanghai Mermaid throws parties that are a blast from the past! I went to a «Casino Night in Paris» theme-​party at Downtown Association and it was amazing! They have a rule that you need to dress up for this party or else you will be turned away at the door even if you paid a ticket. I know it sounds strict but I think it is necessary since I am making an effort to dress accordingly so that way everyone at the party can look like they’ve gone back in time to the 1920s. That was the theme of the party after all. It was such an interactive and creative event as you get the chance to see people use their imagination to bring their inner-​flapper and dapper selves to life.
There is so much to do at this mansion, such as get your drink on at the bar with an Old Fashioned or dance to a French band. They had several performances but my favorite were the Can-​Can dancers. They were so exquisitely naughty ;).
The only thing that they have to eat at this event is Chinese noodles, which I enjoyed eating at the library along with my drink. But if you have a big appetite, then you should eat beforehand. The parties here are more suitable to socialize than to wine and dine. There were even men and women sitting at the ladies restroom (looked more like a lounge) having a nice conversation.
The presenter and founder of the show is such a lovely person to meet. I had volunteered to help out with setting up the event earlier that day so I had the pleasure of meeting her. She is such an amazing woman for finding the time and energy to create such wonderful nights where people can pretend to take a time machine and have a good time in an era where our problems and worries are non-​existent.
I am definitely looking forward to Shanghai Mermaid’s next event, which is the Halloween Party. I am already planning my costume for that night :).

Make sure you read between the lines when choosing your outfit. You will get rudely turned away from the door WITHOUT A REFUND. There goes my $ 74 (two tickets).

The perfect representation of post-​Bloomberg New York. It looks like a cool rave, but dickish security are stomping around making sure no one has any actual fun, like reclining on the couches. NOT ALLOWED!

Good music, crappy food. Poor planning. 120 degrees with zero fans or ventilation. Staff want to charge you $ 4 for a what with you bottle of campaign on top of the ticket price and table cost. Not cool. I have been to 5 shanghai mermaids this year but after my last experience I will not be returning. Also, who sets up a bonfire when it is in the 90’s? Seriously.

The Shanghai Mermaid is essentially an experience that was created by one woman back in 2008 in DUMBO who wanted to bring to life a true underground speakeasy from another time. In 2008, she didn’t have the funds for a true location so these underground parties were sparked by word-​of-​mouth and happened in locations ranging from under-​renovation stripclubs to bathhouses. In 2009, she found an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn and a permanent location, the Red Lotus Room, was created. Now every month or so they throw themed parties from past eras where you can’t get in unless you are decked out in period costume or fancy dress.
We attended the April event. The theme was 1920s Paris. It was a night of hookah, Chinese noodles, and 20s cocktail indulgence. The stage was alive with burlesque and jazz. The lighting was red and low. I truly felt transported to another age dressed in a sequined dress with feather headdress, black tights and thick fur vest. Due to the elegance of this particular theme the party didn’t get out of hand but we did spend some time with a Shanghai Mermaid veteran who told us that some of these parties get quite out of control (in a good way). I will definitely be back and highly recommend it to those artistic people who don’t mind extending themselves out of their 2014 NYC above-​ground lifestyle.