KC's not-so-secret speakeasy: Inside Swordfish Tom's

In a city that celebrates its cocktails loud and proud, a bar tucked away in an alley doesn't chase its patrons. It just waits.

The big picture: Jill Cockson opened Swordfish Tom's in 2017 with one guiding instinct: Make it feel like a story you could walk into.

• She named it after Tom Waits' album "Swordfishtrombones."
• "That album always felt like I jumped into a different world," she tells Axios. "I wanted the bar to do that, to pull people into something quieter and more human."

How it works: You can't see it from the street; you just have to know it's there.

• Pull open the metal door in the alleyway and step into a stairwell wrapped in a painting of an octopus. At the bottom, there's a light by the door. When it glows green, knock.

• Inside, two bartenders work at a time, creating cocktails from a menu that blends house staples with seasonal rotations.

The intrigue: It feels like stepping into a room that remembers you — dim corners, soft chairs, the hush of strangers becoming less strange.

• The hallway is lined with vintage family photos and the light fixtures that were built by Cockson's fiancé. Every detail is deliberate.
• Behind the bar, you'll spot leather-bound notebooks etched with names, part of the Little Black Book Club. Patrons can join for a one-time fee of $100 for individuals or $150 for couples. Members use them to record tasting notes and access a special off-menu spirits list.

Flashback: Long before it became a speakeasy, the building housed a pie factory. A fire in 1940 gutted much of it, leaving behind charred beams and crumbling walls.

• When Cockson took over the space, she raised the floor by 3 feet, stripped out the asbestos, and built something from the ruins.

If you go: It's open Tuesday through Saturday starting at 4pm. No reservations. Once the 30 seats fill up, the light stays red until someone leaves.

Cocktails-to-go: Swordfish Tom's standouts

🧪 My Fiona

Matcha green, minty and cucumber-clean, this seasonal summer cocktail is light and refreshing with a whiskey backbone.

• It's made with Toki, a Japanese whisky, a mint-matcha syrup and lemon, plus a hit of Boomsma Cloosterbitter, an herbaceous spirit akin to Green Chartreuse.

🔥 The Mangolorian

This silky, mango rice milk cocktail has heat, nostalgia and punch. It blends genever, rice milk and citric acid with drops of chili oil that float on top.

• Bartender Tim Whipple says it's his favorite drink he's ever made. The inspiration came from a grocery store epiphany: "I saw rice milk and was like, aha!"

🌺 Exorcism

This vivid magenta gin cocktail lands tart and floral, with a slow-building spice from housemade hibiscus-cubeb pepper syrup.

• It's finished with a candied hibiscus flower you're meant to eat — part garnish, part reward. The drink features Bombay Sapphire East, Green Chartreuse, violet liqueur and lemon.