Whether in Basel, Lucerne, Zurich or other major Swiss cities, night owls usually only have to turn the corner to satisfy their craving for excellent drinks in a unique ambience. In urban areas, there is bound to be one or two upscale drinking establishments within reach. Be it an independently run bar with a special drinking concept or even a classic hotel bar.
The latter are increasingly perfecting their orientation towards the generally growing interest in bar culture. In addition to classic cocktails, which have long since ceased to dominate the bar menu of a particular establishment, signature drinks, daily specials, low ABV and non-alcoholic drink genres are now crossing the bar. In rural or alpine nightlife, the clocks tick differently, but in some places just as loudly.
Five-star bar culture at the foot of the Oberalp Pass
It is unmistakably ticking loudly in Andermatt right now. The municipality is only a small town with just under 1 500 inhabitants in the canton of Uri. For ambitious cyclists, the Furka Pass leading there is a dream declared a sporting destination. For Bond veterans, it is a reminder of Jean Connery, alias James Bond in "Goldfinger", hurtling over the Alpine road.
Perhaps its route would have changed if The Chedi Andermatt had already been there in 1964. The well-known five-star hotel is currently home to the best hotel bar in Switzerland. The luxury hotel and its bar have been the talk of the town for quite some time. The list of awards and commendable appointments goes back almost as far as 2013, the year the hotel was founded.
In September, The Bar & Lobby at The Chedi was named Best Hotel Bar at the SWISS BAR AWARDS 2021. "Finally!", Bar Manager Marie Gerber and her entire team are delighted. "We were so hoping to get the award. It means an incredible amount to us and to me and shows that we are on the right path, which was not easy and took longer," Marie Gerber reports about a journey that involved a lot of initiative, sweat and tears.
After professional experiences such as in the Austrian five-star hotel industry, Marie Gerber arrives five years ago in the Bar & Lobby of the luxury hotel located in the mountain world. Two years later, after initial hesitation in the position of interim supervisor, the trained restaurant specialist takes on the role of bar manager.
"Cool! Because it's noticed that something is happening up here with us, and it's not all cows and fat bells."
Marie Gerber, Bar Manager The Chedi, Andermatt
With only half the number of bar staff compared to the current formation", she recalls, "intensive working days and nights with too few staff. In the years that followed, she achieved her goal of constantly increasing the team in order to ensure that the year-round operation, such as the winter rush, conferences or company trips, was professional, light and in line with the requirements of an extensive bar area.
Team Penguins between cows and fat bells
Today, a total of 16 Barkeeper and service staff from eleven nations pull together to create the bar menu with special themes twice a year. "We are a young team that has grown together into a family.
We have also managed to avoid staff turnover or constant changes," says assistant manager Elmir Medunjanin, describing the family cohesion. "We rock the bar together. We live it every day," the bar manager proudly affirms.
Knowing that it is sometimes not as easy as in a city to keep people in the middle of the mountains. Also in view of this, he says the award is simple: "Cool! Because people notice that something is happening up here with us, and there are not only cows and fat bells. We may look like penguins," says Gerber, but without the much-mentioned "stick in the ..."
All for one, all for all
In order to be balanced and happy as a team and to maintain the same quality in drink creation, service and advice, it is important that each individual acts as an "all-rounder". A rotation in the different areas is therefore essential in order to understand the interrelationships and processes - from the mise en place behind the bar to the pairing of cigar and spirit.
"There is not a single drink that doesn't happen in the bar," Marie Gerber explains. Regardless of where it is ultimately served. The Chedi Bar areas extend from the bar to the terrace, the Wine and Cigar Library and the spacious lobby.
"Thanks to Marie, the lobby has even become our centrepiece," Elmir Medunjanin describes. In the beginning, the lobby of this hotel was simply meant to be used as such. However, the central meeting place with two large fireplaces, luxuriously cosy furnishings and piano music quickly developed into a popular place to stay for the diverse guests.
Thanks to Marie Gerber's professional foresight, the initial side table as a work aid for the bar team has now given way to an excellent coffee station. Not only house guests or resident owners of penthouses, chalets or suites join us for afternoon tea with homemade specialities or coffee and cake. Many locals, visitors living in Andermatt, also like to pay the lobby a visit.
"When I started, it wasn't like that. Many guests from out of town didn't know if they could come in. That has changed. Our atmosphere also transfers to the guest," Gerber is pleased about the diverse guests who simply also treat themselves to hot chocolate, ginger tea or cake in the "excellent" bar. Or a drink from the currently divine bar menu.
When the gods are in charge
With around 500 different spirit items, the variety in The Bar & Lobby is broad. Among them, rarities, limited liquid editions, regional gins or fruit brandies from renowned Swiss distilleries make their presence felt.
"Guests should also experience what they don't know yet," says the bar manager. If, on the other hand, a guest prefers a simple spritz drink, that is not denied to the guest, because: "We want every guest to be 150 per cent happy".
Gerber also emphasises the pleasure of his own handwriting on a menu he has created himself: "You can find a Negroni or Dry Martini anywhere, and if there's an Old Fashioned on the menu, guests will always want to drink it that way. Personalising drinks according to guests' wishes would be closest to Gerber's and Medunjanin's ideas.
"We may look like penguins, but without the much-mentioned "stick in the ...."
Marie Gerber, Bar Manager The Chedi, Andermatt
They also want to "offer pleasurable experiences and think out of the box" in the current bar menu "Mythology-Mixology" and thus show "that we are no ordinary hotel bar". Familiar names from school days like Ares, Hestia or Heracles appear in it. Based on Greek mythology, the signature drinks are named after gods of Olympus or the underworld.
A menu focused on enjoyment with a message that focuses on sustainability, a conscious use of ingredients or regional products, wants to make people think. "Dionysus" - the god of wine in Greek mythology - for example, marks a non-alcoholic drink.
For the "Poseidon", god of the seas, gin, yuzu sake, tonic, black tea and soy sauce merge to allude to the oil industry and pollution of the seas, served in a plastic bag.
The father of the gods "Zeus" is presented as a Moscow Mule with vodka, homemade sour mix, passion fruit syrup, oat milk, Ginger Beer and lemon juice. The sky-blue candyfloss is a nod to climate change.
At The Bar & Lobby, even the four-legged ones can feel divine. There is even a special Pets menu for them. However, this menu was not created by the bar team.
The Cigar Library holds the world's largest variety of cigars in the hotel industry
Marie Gerber and her equally trained team also host The Cigar Library with cosy seating for sixteen people. Their walk-in humidor offers a view of The Courtyard, which in winter becomes The Ice-Rink with skating and curling.
With more than 800 different types of cigars from sixteen countries, The Chedi Andermatt offers the largest selection of cigars in the world in its cigar room. The cigar universe from Cuba, Colombia, Panama and Germany is arranged alphabetically and includes rarities, special editions and even cigars infused with spirits.
Best Hotel Bar has come to stay
In the race for the title "Best Hotel Bar" of the SWISS BAR AWARDS 2021, The Bar & Lobby of The Chedi in Andermatt has prevailed against other greats of hotel bar culture: the Lakeview Bar & Cigar Lounge in the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbürgen and the Widder Bar in Zurich's Widder Hotel.
The latter is last year's winner of the category, which has been announced for the second time this year and will henceforth retain a permanent place in the trophy ranks. The challenges of a hotel bar are naturally different from those of owner-managed bars.
Therefore, also to be subjected to a special appreciation. Hotel bars are aimed at international guests as well as locals or those who want to become locals. In two years, it will be the tenth anniversary of The Bar & Lobby The Chedi in Andermatt.
Then it would already be in the SWISS BAR AWARDS category Best Longseller Bar. Maybe James Bond will have heard about it by then. A Martini Divinus could certainly be made.
Best Hotel Bar 2021
The Bar & Lobby
The Chedi Andermatt
Gotthardstrasse 4, 6490 Andermatt
thechediandermatt.com
Opening hours
MO-SO 12.00-24.00 hrs
This article appeared in
Issue 5-2021
BAR NEWS magazine as single issue
