Gin and Teutonic

Berlin's best bars

Its troubled history has only served to make Berlin even more exciting, argues Mixology magazine’s editor Helmut Adam, as he takes Imbibe on a trawl of some of the city’s best bars

Berlin is still licking its wounds from the past and filling the gaps that bombs and grenades have left in its streets. It is the ‘eternally unfinished’ city – something that has helped shape it into the most laid-back, liberal place in Germany. This is a city that knows no curfew. Here you can go out and party every day, every night, around the clock.
In Berlin there is no single dominant rhythm and no pressure to live according to a certain norm, and that’s why thousands of artists and creative people have been moving here for years.

However an unemployment rate of around 20% means you won’t find the bourgeois chic of Hamburg or Munich here. Berlin’s style is not about ostentatious wealth, it’s all about authenticity.

‘My opinion of the bars of Berlin, and the German cocktail scene in general, is that it has all the enthusiasm of London, New York and Melbourne, but with just a little bit more natural style,’ says Matthew Bax, owner of award-winning Australian bar Der Raum. ‘As a customer you know you are in an important place and the staff take their profession seriously, but without the unattractive ego that you can find in London and New York’s best bars.’

It’s an opinion that’s shared by bar-globetrotter Philip Duff, who recently opened speakeasy bar Door 74 in Amsterdam, and has been a regular guest at Berlin’s bar counters over the last few years. ‘I firmly believe that Germany does classic bar service of this kind better than anywhere else in the world,’ he says.

It is mainly a generation of younger bartenders that has been central to this development by building a strong community and exchanging ideas. They have developed a drive that is now also felt abroad. One of the first UK imports was Gabe Toldi, who left Brighton’s Browns Bar to move to Berlin.

‘Here in the right bars you have this certain feeling, an atmosphere that you could never really experience in England,’ he says. ‘There’s something very reassuring about the bartenders here. In fact, I’m going to be bold and say that in the not-too-distant future, Berlin could be the new cocktail capital of Europe.’

RUM TRADER

Fasanenstrasse 40, 10719 Berlin; +49 (0) 30 8811428; no website

Trained classical composer Gregor Scholl runs this infamous bar pretty much as a one man show. The style of this tiny location, founded in 1976, could be described as ‘Tiki-meets-English-gentleman’s-club’. Scholl is a big fan of the British Royal Family and so the bar serves the late Queen Mum’s favourite gin brand Booth’s (a fact Scholl established through official correspondence with the Royal Court).

Popular drinks in Rum Trader are Rum Sours with Indian Old Monk rum (€9) and Prince of Wales champagne cocktails, which are stylishly served in chilled silver cups (€13).

Rum Trader is the meeting point for west Berliners. Experienced drinkers fill this tiny bar until early in the morning, among them artists, businessmen, media types and lobbyists of political Berlin. A reservation is highly recommended to be able to sip one of Scholl’s incredibly strong concoctions and listen to one of his comedic sermons.

On one of my first visits I was greeted by the sight of a highly ‘spirited’ man rolling over the threshold, laughing his head off and finally coming to a stop at my feet. It turned out to be a German three Michelin-starred chef. Rum Trader is a truly unique experience.

‘Rum Trader is the Institute for Advanced Drinking’ – Gregor Scholl, owner, Rum Trader

VICTORIA BAR

Potsdamer Strasse 102, 10785 Berlin; +49 (0) 30 25759977; www.victoriabar.de

Open since 2001, Victoria Bar is still one of Berlin‘s flagship bars, attracting an arty crowd in their thirties in search of good ‘liquid conversation’. This spot is led by long-serving Berlin bartender Stefan Weber and known for its classic approach and cocktail list. The team has been working together for several years and has developed a strong following, as well as alumni including Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro, one of Germany’s best bartenders.

I’d recommend the Hildegard Knef Gedächtnis Gedeck (in English: Hildegard Knef Memory Cover), named after Hildegard Knef, a German actress famous in the 1950s. It’s usually served by the great hostess Beate Hindermann (who is also a living encyclopaedia of Berlin’s liquid hospitality scene and offers guided tours) and consists of an ice cold shot of vodka, consumed with a sip of chilled champagne. Other popular drinks are the German Punch, similar to a Mai Tai but with the German spirit Korn as a base ingredient, and the Green Victoria.

‘Victoria Bar is a place to meet up, a place for communication and – last but not least – for intoxication’ – Beate Hindermann, hostess, Victoria Bar

BECKETTS KOPF

Pappelallee 64, 10437 Berlin; +49 (0) 16 22379418; www.becketts-kopf.de

Becketts Kopf (Beckett’s Head) is a real Kiez bar. ‘Kiez’ is a word used for Berlin districts that work like small cities within the city. This bar is located in the former East Berlin district Prenzlauer Berg which, before the Berlin Wall came down, was considered the most liberal area of the German Socialist Republic. It quickly became a hip spot after reunification, with students and creative types moving in in large numbers.

Becketts Kopf is a sophisticated place, attracting a crowd that enjoys the classic short drinks served by owners Oliver and Cristina Ebert. Named in honour of writer Samuel Beckett, the bar has a literary theme even in the menus, which are Beckett scripts with menu pages integrated into them. Bestsellers include an adapted versions of the Martinez (Korenwijn, Carpano Antica Formula, maraschino and Regan’s Orange Bitters) and the Pegu Club Cocktail (Plymouth gin, Boudier Orange Curacao, fresh lime juice, Fee Orange Bitters and Angostura) at €8.50 each.

‘Your senses, seduced by charming fluids, are as delicate as butterfly wings. Where they start flying, there is Becketts Kopf’ – Oliver Ebert, owner, Becketts Kopf

SHOCHU BAR

Behrenstrasse 72, 10117 Berlin; +49 (0) 30 30111733; www.ma-restaurants.de

On the back of the famous Adlon Hotel (remember Michael Jackson’s window stunt?) lies one of Berlin’s newest watering holes, attached to an Asian-themed restaurant, Ma, opened by Michelin-starred chef Tim Raue in 2008.

The perfectly crafted shochu and saké cocktails are made under the guidance of Frankfurt-born Arnd Henning Heissen, who also runs a cocktail blog called Bartender’s Lab. The Shochu crew were trained by Barworkz Berlin and Japanese bartending impresario Stanislav Vadrna from Bratislava.

The interior of Shochu Bar was designed by Anne Maria Jagdfeld with expensive and unique pieces flown in from all over Asia. The clientele is, as you’d expect in the Adlon complex, very affluent and sophisticated. The bestselling cocktails in this glamorous bar are Tenjin (€12), a drink made of rose petal shochu, lemon juice, sugar and topped with grapefruit foam, and the Mojito Japonese (€12) made with shochu, fresh mint and exotic Calpis soda.

‘Our focus is on light and delicate aromas. We try to free drinks from heavy masking flavours, to generate a unique taste sensation’ – Arnd Henning Heissen, bar chef, Shochu Bar

LEBENSSTERN

Kurfuerstenstrasse 58, 10785 Berlin; +49 (0) 30 26391922; www.lebens-stern.de

Situated in the Schöneberg district, Lebensstern (Star of Life) has embraced the concept of the bar as a public living space. The upper floor of the Wilhelminian-style villa used to be home to Henny Porten, one of the first grand German film stars. Her former living, dining and dressing rooms have been transformed into themed bar rooms, featuring original closets and matching antique furniture.

The bar is home to a very large collection of spirits: in addition to a huge number of gins, owner Philipp Hasse-Pratje recently bought in over 500 rums. There are also balconies planted with 18 types of mint and 14 types of basil for use in cocktails, and a terrace that’s popular in the summer.

This place is also a good spot to combine a good drink with a decent dinner. The first floor of the building is home to the long-established Viennese café Einstein, serving Austrian specialties like Tafelspitz or Kaiserschmarrn. Quentin Tarantino recently used the setting of this bar for his new Nazi movie Inglorious Basterds – this immediately led to the creation of the drink Inglorious Basterd (€9), a mix of gin, brandy, fresh lime juice and ginger beer. 

‘We’re a classic bar with a strong focus on drinks and service. It’s as simple as that’ – Peter Kowalczyk, manager, Lebensstern

Editorial feature from Imbibe Magazine - July / August 2009

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