Steph C.
Yelp
I live in a city with extremely good cocktails, so when I travel, I try to manage my expectations, even at fancy bars. I guess this was unnecessary in Copenhagen. Brønnum would be a standout cocktail joint anywhere in the world. We'd be lucky to have this place in Los Angeles.
My husband Matt B. and I walked in after dinner a few weeks back, at around eleven o'clock on a Monday night. The bar was attractive and spacious, with plentiful seating in at least two large rooms. It was also empty when we arrived, though it got slightly busier around midnight, with like five more people joining the party.
We seated ourselves in an interior room with ornate chandeliers and walls painted to look like a clouded sky (and because this was a cool bar in Copenhagen, the paint job was somehow not cheesy). We were entirely alone, aside from a server, who came to take our order then returned with our drinks. It felt kind of awkward in there, so we decided to take our cocktails and sidle up to the bar, where we ended up chatting with the friendly French bartender. We had a great time hanging at the bar, not least because the bartender kept giving us free drinks. He poured everyone shots of Fernet Branca at midnight, then made us a Hanky Panky so we could try Fernet in a cocktail.
All of our drinks were excellent. There was a short cocktail list, which we ordered from for our first round. I got the Punch of the Indies, made with Mount Gay Black Barrel rum, Wray & Nephew rum, Clairin Rhum Vaval, Batavia Arrack, Taffel Akvavit, Pastis Ricard, and spiced and clarified milk sherbet. It was a lovely punch, strong and silky rich, with a pleasant sweetness. Matt had The 3 Methusalem, a boozy sipper of Monkey Shoulder whiskey, 30 year-old Methusalem sherry, Schumacher's walnut brandy, cane sugar, and Aztec bitters. Our bartender was perfectly happy to make any cocktail, it seemed. That Hanky Panky was great, a classic I'd never had before, with gin, sweet vermouth, and Fernet. We also enjoyed the house Manhattan, which he made with Maraschino liqueur.
We had a wonderful time at Brønnum and would recommend it to anyone looking for well crafted cocktails in Copenhagen. We went to Ruby the next night, which is part of the same family of bars, and were considerably less impressed. Maybe Brønnum just has the best bartender. He certainly won us over. If we'd stayed in town any longer, we would've come right back for more leisurely drinking.