#26 | Woods, Cologne, Germany
Last Visit: May 2024
Woods in Cologne celebrates its 5th anniversary in July this year (2024). There are probably only a few bars that, after such a relatively short time, give you the feeling that they have been part of the bar community in this city of a million people on the Rhine for a much, much longer time. There are many reasons for this: First, the unique interior, which is immediately memorable and which we will come back to later. Then, as is often the case in the industry, there are the many creative and changing bartenders behind the bar, the high level of activity during two years of the Corona nightmare, the huge number of new drinks within a few years … I could go on and on.
Copyright: Woods Bar
The bar was founded by Simon Bach and a friend from university whose family works in the construction business specialized on trade fairs and the craftsmanship is immediately apparent when you enter the bar (or look in through the large window outside). The design with many precisely crafted wooden elements, especially on the ceiling and the lamps — in keeping with the name — were a real hype around town as soon as it opened and still amazes every new visitor today.
The idea from the outset was to open a bar with its own charm and character, and they definitely succeeded with that. It is a little smaller and cozier than some other bars, but never cramped, except for some very hyped special events of course. The special concept is also reflected in the menu, both in terms of content and appearance, as it is also ingeniously and wonderfully integrated into the wooden design (see the pictures below). Originally, it was based on a fairy tale theme with drinks such as “Ziegenpeter”, “Tischlein Deck Dich”, etc. (German titles of old fairy tales). (see photos below), but this no longer runs through every drink, although a charming touch remains thanks to the specially created drawings and nice accompanying texts, as well as other graphic elements.
Copyright: Woods Bar
The drinks are relatively evenly distributed in terms of spirit category and strength, the typical “something for everyone” also applies here and if this is not enough or if you become a future regular, there is always plenty of new stuff coming up. The many drinks mentioned above in such a short time? Well, no bar manages to find so many occasions to create drinks. There are drinks of the week (which really are new every week, which I would say only 1 in 3 bars with this concept manage to actually keep up with). There are always small brand events with 5 new drinks on a special menu. I would say the most guest shifts in the city, and it feels like there's an extra drink every other public holiday. Halloween? Scary drink. Easter? Easter drink. Legendary mangaka dies? Drink of honor. World Schnitzel Day? Ok, just kidding, but it feels like it could happen soon.
Truffle Pig from Berlin, Raiza Carrera from Barcelona, NoIdea from Zurich and many more have been there in the last 12 months alone. Nork has sponsored a phenomenal event with grain spirit drinks from the team, occasionally on Sundays there is a coffee brunch with Redbreast Whiskey and cakes & snacks from a local café. The creative energy is inspiring and has been since the opening, even if the frequency of new creations is getting higher by the year.
This is certainly also thanks to the head bartender, René Karthäuser. He has been at Woods for 4.5 years, full-time in his position now since 2022 and was one of the finalists in The Blend Scholarship Program at Worlds50 last year from over 600 applicants and was invited to Singapore. But even apart from him, or rather these days thanks to him, Woods always manages to find good talents or train them itself, which leads to even more new ideas coming to life.
El Dorado
| Tequila
| Verjus
| Rice
| Cocoa
| P.X. Sherry
| Roasted Walnut
Sometimes bars do have that one signature drink that gets around, and you can reminisce about it with other former guests of the bar in completely different places around the world. The El Dorado definitely has that special vibe for the Woods. It also falls into a category of drink that I particularly like, as it stands for the combination of unusual and culinary notes that are still not often found in bars. It's the kind of drink where you're not quite sure at first sip whether you think it's brilliant or just weird. In the end, you always end up with the former. An exciting combination of fresh, only slightly earthy agave from a blanco tequila with Vietnamese rice vodka, just a hint of P.X. Sherry, white cocoa liqueur and just the right amount of verjus. An art that generally works better in Woods than in many other bars: to find just the right amount of verjus for a drink. Here it balances the drink exactly in the middle, fresh, silky, delicate and yet full of aromas. The highlight is a few drops of roasted walnut oil. Not forgetting the little chocolate, specially created with a local café to accompany the drink, with white chocolate, cocoa and rice notes, served with a sprinkling of salt. Atypical. A dream.
Butterfly Effect
| Mezcal
| Chartreuse
| Elder flower
| Verjus
| Mint oil
Love at first sight. Coincidentally, it found its way on the menu directly after our return from Athens, and mentally it took me straight back to my beloved agave bar there, Barro Negro. Based on the Last Word in a broader sense, crisp but not too overloaded smoky mezcal with green chartreuse, elder flower syrup, just the right amount of verjus again and absolutely not to be left out: a few drops of incredible mint oil on the drink. Full of aromas, intense, refreshing and herbal. Lingers forever and fills the whole mouth. It doesn't always take crazy combinations of rare ingredients, sometimes the precise substitution of ingredients in familiar templates is enough to create something completely new and fantastic. Maybe my favorite Last Word Twist I've ever had in a bar.
Kassiopeia
| Clairin
| Chartreuse
| Raspberry Eau-de-vie
| Coconut
| Minz
| Soda
As not a big fan of long drinks, I'm always particularly pleased when one does appeal to me and doesn't seem like it was made for summer or easy-drinking. This is also the case with the Kassiopeia, which has been added to the menu together with the Butterfly Effect above. It's also immediately recognizable why I like it more than those easy sippers. Intense, aroma filled ingredients galore, Clairin rhum, green Chartreuse, raspberry eau-de-vie and a very nice, fresh cordial of coconut, mint and lime make for a full-bodied drink that can be enjoyed at any time of the year. The soda as a co-player gives all the flavors the space to develop, which is very important.
The fourth drink shown is more a symbol for all of the fantastic made-to-order drinks I've had at Woods. In addition to Seiberts, Woods (as far as Cologne is concerned) is the place to go for exciting, spontaneous experiments and little riffs, especially thanks to Simon and René. The picture shows a drink that was mixed spontaneously on the day the article was written with the rough idea of a reverse Manhattan, 20-year-old white port as the absolute main player, some Williams pear eau-de-vie, Stork Rye Korn (a rye eau-de-vie basically, without ageing) and a few drops Peychaud's Bitters. Liquid gold full of yellow fruit, herbal honey, pear, some spices and an eternal finish. You could list half a dozen more highlights in this direction.
Woods has always been a real gem, not only for the Cologne bar community, but also for the rest of Germany. Here, in a very small space fantastic ideas and moments are created to this day and, apart from the fantastic cocktails, there is always excellent hospitality, various events, special drinks and everything else you could wish for. It's bars like this that make Cologne worth the journey from all corners of the country.
A little look back at just some of the moments at the Woods:
