“We swizzle”

Johan Evers’ A Bar Called Gemma has just been crowned Sweden’s “Best New Cocktail Bar”.

When we spoke to Johan Evers, the man behind A Bar Called Gemma, this spring before the opening of his creation, he said that the ”smaller, more personal places have had to take a back seat for the last while”. He also added that ”digital had reached its peak” and that we ”within a couple of years will hunger for real meetings and feelings”. Already, we felt it would be difficult not to like his project. He furthermore happened to mention that the cocktails would be of sky-high quality, and very, very few, if any, have disagreed with that since he opened his doors in May. His bar was nominated both in the Best Cocktail Bar and Best New Cocktail Bar categories in Sweden’s Bartender’s Choice Awards. He fell at the last hurdle when it came to the main category but winning the best new cocktail bar when there’s been such an avalanche of ambitious new openings this year is not bad at all, for a start.

Congrats. What does such recognition mean to you?

A lot naturally. It’s huge for me personally when you put so much into this. I’ve put everything at stake and opened my dream. Especially since this [award] is from the people within the bar industry. And I’m very happy for our employees.

What do you think is the biggest factor in you winning the prize?

Partly that we are a bar that Stockholm was lacking. It’s a bar built with feeling, passion and so much love. We’re welcoming to all. We’re honest. We don’t mind telling people what we’re doing and are keen to showcase it. It’s a type of bar that didn’t exist before. Combining a bar with a shop and a consultation service.

We’ve seen an avalanche of new bar openings in Stockholm. So generally, what makes a good cocktail bar and how do you view the current scene in Stockholm?

The bar scene is generally very good. Actually the whole scene in the Nordic countries is incredibly good. It’s great that we are beginning to gain more international recognition. We’re worth it up here, we’re onto something big.

What makes a good cocktail bar and what differentiates us up here from other places is an eye for detail. Every little thing matters. And consistency. Whoever does something, the same standard is kept. There’s a high level of service, the cocktails are good and the atmosphere is great. As a guest you’re supposed to be taken care of, seen and welcomed. And you’re supposed to have fun at a bar. I think that’s really important.

Yeah, the quality is high up in Scandinavia, but apart from the level of the service and the cocktail offerings, is there anything at Gemma that makes it a specifically Nordic bar? And explain the quite unique approach you have with your cocktails.

No, we’re not particularly Nordic in terms of what we serve. Our cocktail idea is very liberal. We don’t follow a ‘Scandinavian’ or ‘American’ way of thinking. We follow five different ways of making a cocktail and then we work from that. We shake, we stir, we carbonate, we throw and we swizzle.