Stockholm Ice Bar

ABOVE: Patrons in parkas belly up to the
Absolut Ice Bar in Stockholm's Nordic Sea Hotel.
The
Absolut Ice Bar in Stockholm, Sweden gives new meaning to the phrase "on
the rocks." Drinks are served in fist-sized hollow ice cubes, and the barmaid
plunks them down on a bar made of clear ice blocks. The walls and tables are
also built with ice harvested from the Torne River on the border between Sweden
and Finland, where the Ice Bar's management has operated the widely publicized
Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi since 1989. (The
ice bar and its frozen furnishings are rebuilt every six months.)
Stockholm's Ice Bar, which opened in 2002, is probably the most
celebrated alcoholic attraction in Sweden. It drew 70,000 visitors in its first
year, has been featured on the BBC and CNN, and has been frequented by such
celebrities as Pierce Brosnan and Sweden's own Stellan Skarsgård.
The bar's success prompted Absolut, the Swedish vodka distiller, to buy naming
rights in late 2003. The rechristened Absolut Ice Bar is said to be "the first
establishment in Icehotel's and Absolut's new joint global franchising concept,"
so who knows: An Ice Bar might be in your future even if you live in Freemantle
or Phoenix.
Next page:
The Ice Bar experience
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