When the Victoria Bar opened on Potsdamer Strasse in 2001, it added a note of sophistication to the otherwise grotty west Berlin street at a time when you could (quite likely) count the number of serious cocktail bars in the city on one hand. Since then the cocktail scene in Berlin has taken off, caught up in the growing desire for craft drinks, slow food and an obsession with provenance.
In that sense, the founders of the Victoria Bar – Stefan Weber, Kerstin Ehmer and Beate Hindermann – were ahead of their time. The classic bar, stylishly fitted with wood-panelled walls covered in framed prints and contemporary art, quickly made a name for itself when it established the School of Sophisticated Drinking in 2003. The now-legendary Sunday afternoon lecture series is the place where the team educate pupils on the social, cultural and political history of drinks, while mixing impeccable cocktails to illustrate their stories.
The School of Sophisticated Drinking may be in German (though non-speakers are still welcome to come and enjoy the set menu of drinks), but the bar has just published an English-language edition of its book, by the same name. It’s a history of spirits and cocktails laced with social context and curious anecdotes based on the original lectures – so you can educate yourself while sampling the comprehensive list of drinks to sample.
“We wanted to introduce people to the old, forgotten classics,” Stefan tells me as I work my way through the drinks list used for the school’s lecture on whiskey. I start with a Rattlesnake – the original whiskey sour, with a delicate foam top that dissipates in your mouth as soon as you sip – before moving onto a Brooklyn, which mixes Rye whiskey with orange bitters and Maraschino cherry liqueur.
Two drinks in and I’m already feeling the effects. Those who complete a class at the school, however, will need to hammer home five or six to complete the lesson. Stefan assures me that although not everyone finishes all their drinks, everyone leaves standing. I toast that with a Bizzy Izzy Hiball (don’t ask me what’s in it) and decide to call it a night.
“Normally people who have something in their brain, who like to think … they drink,” Kerstin says when I ask about the historical association with heavy drinking and intellectualism. If anywhere stands as proof that a hangover is a consequence of thinking too much, then it’s the Victoria Bar.
- The School of Sophisticated Drinking by Kerstin Ehmer and Beate Hinderman (Greystone Books, £12.99) is out now. Victoria Bar, Potsdamer Strasse 102, Berlin, 10785, +49. 30.2575 9977, victoriabar.de
