The best spots in Barcelona for just one drink
By Ricard Martín
La psicología del barman: esa extraña cualidad, rayana en el superpoder o la telepatía, mediante la cual el barman dispara dos preguntas sobre las preferencias (¿dulce? ¿amargo? ¿cargado?) del cliente. Quien, acodado en el diván de la barra, recibe su retrato-robot en forma de trago alcohólico, hecho con un cariño de amigo y precisión quirúrgica. “Esto son memeces”, me explica un joven y exitoso propietario de coctelerías (un tipo que ama los bares y piensa y sueña en barra, taburetes y copas). “Los bartenders de toda la vida han envejecido y la juventud no está para historias. Quizás hay dos sitios en Barcelona en los que eso funciona, pero es triste decir que la proximidad en la barra del bar se está perdiendo. Lo de la pregunta te funcionará con Ángel, de la coctelería L’Ascensor y algún veterano del Dry Martini. Pero para de comptar”, me suelta, nihilista. Tras este trago de realidad, pienso que lo mejor será hacer el camino inverso: presentarme en las mejores barras de Barcelona y preguntarle: sólo me tomaré una copa. ¿Cuál tiene que ser?
I start with the Caribbean Club, located in Sitges. A small and exquisite bar owned by Juanjo González, a young man who connects with the tradition of the local tavern keeper (the term he prefers). “The charm of a cocktail bar with short distances like mine is the offer of proximity, personalized”, explains the extremely affable mixologist. Just one drink, Juanjo. His answer is straightforward and simple: “Well, a daiquiri. It's hard to please everyone, but a daiquiri adapts to all tastes, and it also has a lot of history”. The recipe couldn't be simpler: white rum, syrup, and lime. “But sometimes the simplest things are the most complicated”, he considers. The daiquiri at the Caribbean has a flawless balance between the citrus, the sugar, and the Caribbean kick.
And since we are at the corner of Tallers, a small step to the side and one forward and we enter Boadas, a temple of drink where González practiced. Just a year shy of its eightieth anniversary - and with all its magnetism and charisma still intact, leaning on this bar means entering a delightful timeless wormhole - I put myself in their hands. And they treat me with the house drink: the Boadas cocktail, a Martini-style glass brimming with a third of white rum, a third of curaçao, and another of Dubonnet vermouth. Miquel Boadas, a Cuban son of Catalans who brought modern mixology to Spain just before the civil war, decided this was the house cocktail. Excellent.
I feel like visiting a contemporary classic. And without a doubt, that's the Negroni, the pioneer of the cocktail revival in Barcelona. This cozy and minimalist space -a pure and hard bar with a private room in the basement- continues to be a favorite among Barcelona's cool musicians.
Negroni opened in 2004 and has maintained its character as a cocktail bar against all odds: “We have withstood the craze of gin and tonics and mojitos, and 90% of what we serve are cocktails”, proudly explains the co-owner and bartender, Daniel Gómez. Who, by the way, after having tried everything, delivers his best shot with a silver bullet: the dry martini, the quintessential drink. “In my life, I've gone from very refreshing and fruity drinks to dry alcohol”. To take the boss's drink at Negroni is to experience the purest meaning of the mix: “prepared in a mixing glass with ice, cold gin from the freezer, and a dash of white dry vermouth, garnished with an olive”. A robust drink, alcoholic and primal, suitable only for seasoned drinkers or the very reckless, those who down two in one go.
Donde tampoco se andan con chiquitas es en el piso de arriba del bar restaurante Muy Buenas. La primorosa restauración de esta joya modernista -a finales del s. XIX una tienda de pesca salada, reconvertido en bar en 1923- llevó a la propiedad a instalar una coctelería en el piso superior con una apuesta radical: solo coctelería de primera línea, preparada con licores catalanes de alta gama, una dignificación de destilados populares como la ratafía o el licor de arroz del Delta (excelente, un trago dulce y sedoso que hay que probar, la versión amable del sake). Y digo que no están para monsergas porque el trago recomendado por la casa es un pelotazo de muy padre y señor mío: el Josep Pla es la reversión de un negroni a base de ginebra, vermut de Montserrat y el papel del Campari lo juega un licor de alcachofa que evoca el Cynar, icono pop de nuestra infancia. “Pla era un hombre que bebía mucho, un tipo que comía con whisky a palo seco. Y queríamos un trago con esta dureza y que tuviera un cierto aire misantrópico”, me explica uno de los propietarios, Enric Rebordosa. Misantropía con matices: este excelente trago evoca mar montaña y madera, y le pega un requiebro al paladar que ni la cintura de Lola Flores.
And speaking of bars with pedigree and substance, Ideal Cocktail Bar is a must-visit. José María Gotarda is the third generation in charge of a business opened in 1931 that seems like it was opened just yesterday: the red velvet armchairs, the noble wood coffered ceiling, and the deer antlers command respect, but as soon as one leans on its bar, the tongue loosens. Especially thanks to Gotarda's cocktail artistry, who doesn't choose just one drink but three, one for each moment of the day. “At noon I'll prepare you a negroni sbagliato, which instead of gin has cava, a short drink, ideal for the aperitif”. Indeed, we are in Barcelona's whisky cathedral; in the afternoon, he recommends a whisky sour, a Bourbon and lemon drink with a dash of pure Malt whisky, “to flavor and strengthen the drink”. And at night he recommends the Moscow Mule, “a classic, very refreshing and pleasant drink that is experiencing a second youth”: there is life beyond the degraded mojito, and it is embodied by this refreshing cocktail of ginger beer, lime juice, and vodka. They've been preparing it for decades, and their special touch is to add a ginger juice to enhance the potency of the ginger beer.
Perhaps you are tired of so much classicism and want to discover some of the drinks for which Barcelona is being recognized as the epicenter of avant-garde cocktail making in Spain. In that case, on the parallel street, Artte awaits us, a gastronomic and musical multi-space that has added to its offer one of the best and most unusual bars in Barcelona. You will find classic and non-alcoholic cocktails, but above all a repertoire of their own creation that will drop jaws. Davide, the bartender, places in front of me a Chamánico: a long drink inspired by the ayahuasca ritual and served in a coconut fiber bowl, made with spiced rum, guarana liqueur, mango, pumpkin, chocolate liqueur, turmeric. Unlike Castaneda's journeys, this shamanic drink doesn't turn you upside down but fills your palate with sweetness without being cloying, with wise counterpoints of black pepper and turmeric. Prodigious.
La ruta de los tragos de autor pasa forzosamente por Paradiso, una coctelería creativa extraordinaria escondida tras el no menos sobresaliente bar de bocadillos y ahumados de Rooftop Smokehouse. El bartender Giacomo Gianotti ganó la prestigiosa World Class Competion de 2014 y es de la opinión que “hay tragos que si tienen éxito no deben salir de la carta. Lo tenemos claro: el cóctel de la casa es el cóctel estrella”. El Mediterranean Treasure le valió el triunfo en las susodichas Olimpiadas de la mixología. Y es de órdago: el intento captar las esencias del Mediterráneo se plasma en un cóctel con ginebra y fino servido en una concha marina dentro de un cofre que al abrirse libera humo de romero y tomillo.
Indeed, not all young bartenders are inclined towards molecular mixology and abundance. Just a few steps from Paradiso, a group of youngsters has taken over the legendary bar that was Gimlet de Rec and transformed it into Marlowe Bar, with a soberly elegant minimalist redecoration. Pere Falces, one of the partners, recommends the sol y sombra, a drink with basil, bergamot, pisco, and the citrus aperitif Italicus, which is a delicate example of saying new things with the words of all time. And perhaps because they are young and romantic, they maintain the enthusiasm to interpret the customer. But taking it to the limit. “Just ask for the Marlowe look. Tell us about yourself and we will serve you a cocktail that suits your personality”. A drink only suitable for people satisfied with their lives. Or for very tough guys.
Ricard Martín is a journalist specializing in gastronomic and nightlife information for over 10 years and collaborates with various media, including Time Out, Tapas, and Rockdelux magazines, and the broadcasters Catalunya Ràdio and Cadena SER Catalunya.
