- Athens
Roots Herb Spirit is a herbal liqueur based on Origanum dictamnus, more commonly known as dittany of Crete, a cousin of oregano. Natural extracts of the plants are blended with vanilla pods, licorice root and extracts of nutmeg nuts to produce this richly flavoured liqueur. All extracts are 100% natural. No flavour essences or artificial flavourings are used. Type: Liqueur Distillery: Finest Roots Spirits Origin: Greece ABV: 30% Nose: Roots Herbs Spirit is warm to the nose and smells of liquorice, vanilla, nutmeg, dried fruits prune and molasses. It also has an herbal scent, that of dittany. Mouth: In terms of
Opened in May 2016, Odori Vermuteria di Atene is Athens’ first bar specialized in vermouth. It is in perfect sync with the current trend for low ABV drinks and the resurgence of the aperitif culture. I visited it twice with my sister last weekend. When we reached Odori’s location on Friday night we were greeted by music, very loud music, so loud that we could barely hear each other talk even though we were sitting on the terrace (so imagine inside!) We returned the next day though which meant it wasn’t too bad! Actually, the music was pretty good and the
Opened on New Year’s eve 2015, The Trap is one of the latest additions to Athens’ cocktail scene. A trap ? Not at all, as quoted on the bar’s menu (an excerpt from the novel King Rat by China Miéville), a “trap is only a trap if you don’t know about it. If you know about it, it’s a challenge.” As there are no signage indicating the bar’s presence in a gallery off Syntagma square, stumbling upon it by accident is a bit difficult but, if you know where to go, it’ll be easy to find it. Once you step into
The second stop of my second night out in Athens a few weeks ago was the famous Baba au rum! I really wanted to visit that bar 1) because it has a great reputation, 2) because I’m a rum girl, 3) because, after enjoying the rum menu at Little Barrel in Geneva, I was curious to see what another rum bar could put on its menu. I was not disappointed! In fact I enjoyed my first visit so much that I made a point of returning on my last night in Athens and ended visiting Baba au Rum twice, on
If you want to look for barware in Athens, head to barequip.gr, which is both the name of the boutique and the address of its online shop. A nice selection of barware The shop is small but well equipped. You’ll find a decent selection of shakers, bar spoons, mixing glasses, drinking glasses and jiggers. They also have bartending bags, including the one I bought online from Mavenhal! There are also a few books in English and in Greek of course. Bitters, syrups and shrubs The most interesting part of the shop is the ingredients section: the (nearly) complete range of bitters by
A little over a year after opening, The Clumsies bar, in Athens, is making headlines all over the bartending world. Most recently it entered the World’s 50 Best Bars ranking at the 22nd position. Quite an achievement for a brand new bar but maybe not so surprising! There is serious level behind The Clumsies’s stations after all. Its two founders, Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis, were both Diageo World Class Greece winners; Nikos in 2012, Vasilis in 2013. They both regularly travel all around the world for talks and guest bartending shifts, sometimes taking some of their bartenders with them. With
On my second night in Athens, after dinner near Syntagma Square, I decided to explore some of the bars nearby. Many of Athens cocktail bars are located close by in the streets surrounding Kolokotroni Street. On my way to those I had searched before my trip I found several more. One of them became my first stop of the night: Bartesera. If I wasn’t walking the leisurely stroll of the tourist and if it wasn’t for the music coming out of the bar I would have easily missed it. Bartesera is located in a gallery coming out on Kolokotroni Street.
First evening in Athens first cocktail bar! I joined my sister and her boyfriend yesterday in Athens for a few days of holidays. After a nice Greek coffee down the street in the late afternoon it was nearly time to go for dinner. As none of us felt like doing late we decided on enjoying a pre-dinner drink before going to the restaurant. I came prepared with a list of cocktail bars I had researched beforehand. As I’m the only cocktail aficionado I got to choose which bar to try. After having endured Geneva’s hot and cold weather for the