L oung music fills your ears, bartenders fiddle around behind the bar with amber-colored and colorful liquids while guests make themselves comfortable in the comfortable club chairs. So at first glance, the Fragrances Bar at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin appears like any other place where cocktails and long drinks are served. But at the latest when a stylishly levitated waiter comes to the table, it becomes clear that this evening has much more in store than run-of-the-mill drinks.
It is not the cocktail menu that is handed out, but a tray on which a few perfume bottles are lined up. That is exactly the highlight of the fragrances: before the bartender reaches for his professional tools and umpteen ingredients, the guest can sniff out which drink perfectly suits his or her sensory preferences.
As the first bar ever, eau de perfumes and eau de toilettes provide the inspiration for the "sp(i)ritual" offer. You can choose between exquisite classics and newcomers from well-known houses such as Guerlain, Bulgari, Frédéric Malle or Annik Goutal. Once you have found your favorite scent, its aroma and esprit are mixed behind the bar counter as faithfully as possible to the original. Not only does it sound like magic, the result tastes like it too.
Tip: If you want to delve even deeper into the matter, you should definitely take part in the "Luxury Perfume Weekend", which was developed in cooperation with the Berlin manufacturer "Frau Tonis Parfum". The extraordinary workshop begins in a perfumery, where the participants create their own personal perfume together with an expert. And in the evening, bar manager Arnd Heissen serves each guest an individual cocktail based on their self-composed fragrance.
Info: Fragrances
Photos: The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin / Natalia Kepesz
