SWEDEN

CONTINENTAL DRIFTER
Chillin’ at the world’s “coolest” bar?
by Elliott Hester

Stockholm, Sweden — Wearing a shiny silver poncho and black ski gloves, courtesy of the drinking establishment, I ordered a cocktail from the bartender. She poured a vodka and fruit juice concoction into a glass and offered a frigid smile.

Holding the glass clumsily between gloved hands, I turned, leaned against the bar and felt chills run up my spine. After all, the bar had been carved from a gigantic block of ice. In fact, my glass was made of ice. The wrap-around sofa, twin cocktail tables, walls—every feature of the lounge (except the floor and ceiling) had been built entirely from clear Swedish ice.

Coldly conceived and aptly named, Icebar might be the coolest bar on Earth.

Located just off the lobby of the Nordic Sea Hotel, Icebar welcomes more than 100,000 visitors each year. The $22 entry fee includes cold weather clothing and one Absolut vodka cocktail. Guests are limited to 45-minute shifts. Wearing identical ponchos and gloves, they enter through an airlock that prevents the 23-degree air from escaping.

My shift at Icebar was indeed a chilling experience. When I stepped inside on an unseasonably warm day in April, the sudden drop in temperature was like a cold slap in the face. Approximately 15 guests were already mingling. Some sat on the ice sofa, which was covered with reindeer pelts. Others stood at the ice bar, sipping vodka drinks served “in the rocks” (in ice glasses) rather than “on the rocks.”

I walked around the igloo-like room, touching the ice walls with my bare hand and staring through the crystal clear ice furniture. At one point, the voice of cornball rapper Vanilla Ice popped into my head. Lyrics from his 1990’s hit “Ice Ice Baby”, made me clench my teeth and shiver.

Icebar’s entire interior comes from the Torne River, 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland. The water is so pure that when it freezes the ice is completely transparent. The clear ice is harvested from the river, sculpted on site and shipped to Stockholm in refrigerated containers.

The world’s first Icebar was constructed in 1994 at the Ice Hotel. Located in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, on the banks of the Torne, the hotel, like the bar, is made entirely of river ice. The property is built each winter. Every spring, the hotel melts.

Icebar Stockholm opened its doors in 2002. It’s a collaboration between the Nordic Sea Hotel, Ice Hotel and Absolut, the Swedish vodka company. Hailed as the world’s first “permanent” Absolut Icebar, the Stockholm franchise is open year round.

Absolut Icebar franchises have since opened in Milan (2004), London (2005), Tokyo (2006) and Copenhagen (April, 2007). In June, the latest Icebar will be unveiled in Shanghai, China. At each location, the air temperature is maintained at a constant 23 degrees Fahrenheit. Every 6 months, when a new shipment of sculpted ice arrives from Sweden, each location is totally redesigned.

Due in part to the success of Absolut Icebar, sub-freezing watering holes are popping up everywhere. In Paris, there’s Ice Kube. The $50 entrance fee includes all the Grey Goose vodka you can drink. But guests have only 30 minutes in which to consume.

You can go glacial at Ice Club in Warsaw, get your chill on at Xtracold in Amsterdam, or freeze to the beat at Arctic Icebar (it’s inside Uniq Nightlife nightclub in Helsinki, Finland). Boasting 5 locations in Australia and New Zealand, Minus 5† (Celsius), plans to open a frosty drinking outpost in Grand Cayman Island, West Indies.

I wouldn’t (and couldn’t) spend the entire evening in a sub-freezing drinking environment. But for 45 minutes, it’s a cool experience. Just remember to hold on to your drink. Thick ski gloves and slippery ice glasses don’t mix.

Next Stop: London, England

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