Lebensstern

We just know you’re in Berlin, hanging around Nollendorfplatz, looking for an extremely cozy place to take a few friends for perfectly crafted drinks.

We’ve got the place for you.

Lebensstern.

Up on the second floor of an old mansion that belonged to silent film star Henny Porten, Lebensstern (“Star of Life”) is all soft lights, glass cabinets filled with exotic bottles, leather chairs, and warm hospitality.  

And what else to do in such a setting but have a cocktail named for a hotel in Louisville, Kentucky? Their Seelbach (Noah’s Mill, Cointreau, Angostura, Peychaud’s, champagne float) was ideal on our visit, with the sweetness of the bourbon and cointreau sliding smoothly into the soft bite of the champagne.  And on the subject of drinks named for American establishments, it was a bit of a shock to have come over continent and ocean to find a Tommy’s Margarita on the menu.  (Truth be told, it was better than the Margaritas at Tommy’s.)  Also notable was the presence of gins we’d never heard of -- Lebensstern’s house brand, as well as Xoriguer (from Menorca), Blue Ribbon (a London Dry from Bordeaux), and Blackwood (from the Shetlands).

Camper English has the whole Lebensstern menu. (We mean on his blog, but wouldn’t that make a great reality show?)

So walk on over, settle in, and enjoy the best cocktails in Berlin.