Offsuit Boston Gives Us A Lesson On Style

Offsuit is Boston’s hottest new restaurant: a speakeasy-style cocktail bar that boasts stiff drinks, delectable tapas, and an unmatched ambiance. People line the entire length of a dingy Leather District alleyway for their turn at an experience delightful enough to forget 2020 for a couple of hours. But beyond just an evening of enchantment, Offsuit offers a lesson on branding and personal style!

“A brand is a result — it’s a persons gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It’s in their heads and in their hearts.” — Marty Neumeier.

And while branding transcends the act of “telling a good story,” one can’t deny its impact.

Perhaps that’s why I’m so drawn to Offsuit Boston — their storytelling, branding, and vibe is so magnetic. Just as importantly, the experience they provide lives up to their hype. That dynamic embodies good style!

Well-executed style should communicate a taste of your aura, persona, and values to cultivate intrigue that you will ultimately deliver upon. That can be a tall order — a cocktail of self-reflection, social awareness, and style fluency. But poured to perfection, man does it hit just right.

People should see you and sense that you’re a man worth entrusting time and opportunity to, and their trust should be rewarded by the actual merit informing your presentation. Together, that is what forms the brand — the logo, the product, and the reputation they garner.

My experience with Offsuit exemplifies this perfectly: Matt Marini told me “speakeasy-style cocktail bar,” and I was intrigued…

I walked through their unmarked back-alley door on opening night…

And upon crossing that threshold, I was blown away by the sheer ambiance and splendor!

I felt like I was part of something — a secret club of bon vivants free from the 2020 doldrums for just this night!

And then I had that first sip of mezcal, agave, and angostura; a delectable bite of crispy pig ears; and finally they presented the check in a tin cigarette case with two bubblegum cigs… The experience embodied Offsuit’s story and made me a part of it.|

That’s what good style should do.