Furtivo Speakeasy, a bar on Loíza Street in San Juan, Puerto Rico, won first place in the Best Speakeasy category of the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards 2026, the establishment announced Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Furtivo was first selected among 20 competing bars by a jury of experts, not by its own application, and the public then voted in an open ballot to determine the 10 best speakeasies in the country, with Furtivo taking the top spot.
Owner Wilfredo Torres said the first place carries special meaning for Puerto Ricans, noting the island has its own prohibition history that deserves to be told in its own voice, and that the recognition comes with the responsibility of representing the island well. The bar’s concept draws on the island’s little-known prohibition period: alcohol restrictions in Puerto Rico began in 1918, two years before the US national prohibition took effect, driven by the Jones Act of 1917, which banned the manufacture, importation, and sale of alcoholic beverages on the island and transformed its rum industry.
The USA TODAY honor adds to a previous 1 Pin distinction from The Pinnacle Guide, which, according to the bar, makes Furtivo the only bar in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean with that rating.