I’m a sucker for a cocktail and when visiting a new city I always like to check out the bars and the drinks they have on offer. Last month I headed to Oslo and was on the lookout for some drinking establishments. I discovered Brooms & Hatchets on TripAdvisor, where it had some excellent reviews – so I decided to pay a visit.
Brooms & Hatchets is situated in the city centre, on Kongens Gate, a short walk from the Opera House. It’s part of the First Hotel Grims Grenka but very accessible to non-guests.
In the summer there is a roof terrace, where they host BBQs, but we were there in the winter – so were in the ground floor bar. This was very cosy with low level lighting and a more speakeasy feel to it.
Brooms & Hatchets prides itself on its more unusual range of cocktails, crafted by head bartender Mathias. Luckily for us, he was there on the night to advise on the drinks and make the cocktails for us. He was clearly very knowledgeable when it came to spirits and his creations were delicious and included flavours I’ve not tasted before.
The Drinks at Brooms & Hatchets
First up was ‘The Black Pearl’. Made with 30-year-old Ximenez Sherry, Dry Vermouth, Peach and lime, this drink looks black in colour and is served in a miso bowl with an ice ‘pearl’ in the centre.
Our second choice was ‘Hay Hay’. I chose this because of the name really – as it sounds a bit like my name (sad I know!). However, it was amazing and probably the most unusual cocktail I’ve ever tasted. It’s a gin-based cocktail, made with peach, rocket, lime and hay-smoked rapeseed oil (hence the name). The oil gave it a completely unique flavour and texture and tasted great.
Next up, we tried the ‘Madras’. Again this was a really unusual-sounding drink which is what made me go for it, and also I love curry so was intrigued by how this would work in a drink. This was a rum-based cocktail, made with coconut, pineapple, lemon, holy basil and madras curry. It was delicious. It was almost like Indian expired egg nog. The coconut gave it a creamy texture, and the madras curry was very subtle so just gave it a lovely flavour. I would definitely order this again!
Our final cocktail was ‘Nordic Penicillin’. This is made with Aquavit – which is a Norwegian spirit, with chanterelles, pine, honey, lemon and birch smoke. It is served with the smoke rising out of the drink. It was such a refreshing flavour and you could really taste the pine in it.
I really liked Brooms & Hatchets, it was great to try completely new flavours and drink cocktails I’ve never had anywhere else. It really adds to the travel experience and there are definitely other drinks on the menu that I’ll be trying next time!
Thanks to Brooms & Hatchets for hosting A Lovely Planet.