The Bottled Bar – Communal Cocktailing
Home boozing is becoming more and more our new way of enjoying cocktails. But honestly, mixing drinks requires a certain amount of equipment, a considerable selection of different spirits and some practice. The Bottled Bar offers cocktails ready to serve. Recipes that have been developed by excellent bartenders using high-quality spirits.
I can tell you in advance, I was enthusiastic, my fellow drinkers were enthusiastic, but now – from the beginning. The brain behind the concept is Arthur Wiebe with whom I have already spent a nice bar-hopping evening in Berlin. He founded Barthur Barcatering GmbH in 2018 with the aim of serving cocktails at events the way they are known from the best bars in town.
Inspired by the long history of punches and by Oliver Ebert, renowned owner of Prenzlauer Berg mainstay Becketts Kopf, Arthur Wiebe has developed five high-quality punches.
Punch is widely considered to be the earliest cocktail and a lovely concoction of spirit, sourness, sweetness, spice and water. Punches have been rising in popularity since the release of David Wondrich’s book “Punch – The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl” in 2010 (warmly recommended for your thirst for knowledge). Furthermore, punches are meant to be shared and represent socialising, community and fun. Punches have done their part in making big-batch cocktails trend. So how should you enjoy your cocktail?
Sip and Chill: Pour into a glass with ice cubes and enjoy.
Pour and Play: Pour into a punch bowl with an ice block or XXL ice cubes and enjoy. Up to you!
My Care Package
Arthur thought of me and sent me a care package from Berlin to my new home in the southwest. The doorbell rang on a sunny day and the postman handed me a package. Curious, I opened it and found a nice covering letter, two bottles of punch beautifully wrapped and the matching garnish packs. The labels are attractively and lovingly designed and the contents are clearly and transparently explained. The garnish pack clearly identifies which drink each garnish belongs to. The bottled cocktails are 100% handmade in Berlin, from the packaging to the design and of course the content. A food laboratory tests the products thoroughly and issues a certificate of conformity. When stored in a cool and dark place, bottled cocktails can be kept for at least six months. After opening, they should be kept refrigerated and drunk within two weeks. The alcohol content varies between 10-15% depending on the drink, so you end up with something that’s about the strength of wine. Good reason to drink more!
Important for discerning drinkers. High-quality packaging meets high-quality ingredients.
The drinks are made with premium alcohol like the Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, Prinz Alte Marille and Plantation Dark Rum that form the spiritual base of probably the most famous punch in human history. The Philadephia Fish House Punch is believed to date back to 1794 and originated at the Philadelphia fishing and social club called the State in Schuylkill Fishing Corporation. Others say that the punch was made in 1848 by Shippen Willing of Philadelphia to celebrate women being allowed in the Fish House for the first time for a Christmas party. Anyway, this variation of the Philadelphia Fish House Punch was created by Oliver Ebert. Perfectly balanced with a nice fruitiness of the apricot and the subtle oils of the lemon – extremely delicious, simple like that.
A homemade Oleo Saccharum, the most important part of making punch, in which untreated Majorcan lemon peel is vacuumed with sugar to extract the essential oils from the peel, is the unifying ingredient in all recipes.
The second bottle Arthur packed for me was the Mezcal Punch. Seems he remembered my love for agave distillates. By mixing Mezcal Encantado by Los Danzantes, grilled pineapple, Oolong Oriental Beauty Tea, Oleo Saccharum and, for the acidity, lemon juice, they have created an elegant smoky concoction. My family said that this punch is a perfect match for a barbeque.
What remains to be said? Thumbs up. I was amazed how incredibly delicious the punches were. It was a great experience from unpacking, marveling at the labels, the process of serving and the enjoyment. I hardly missed the bar around it. Try it from www.bottledbar.de
