What are the aims and vision of the Bar.Kultur.Geschichte. (Bar.Culture.History.) network, and who is it aimed at? Our position paper, which we would like to share with you here, answers these questions.
If you would like to get in touch with the network, the best way to reach us is at https://barkulturgeschichte.de/ (kontakt[at]barkulturgeschichte.de).
Concept
The Bar.Kultur.Geschichte. network is committed to viewing the bar as a complex total work of art, researching its historical and cultural context, and applying the insights gained to promote quality-conscious bar practices.
The network’s founders – Andreas and Jenny Berg (MIRABEAU bar, Freiburg), Dr Michael C. Bienert (Ernst Reuter Archive Foundation, Berlin) and Armin Zimmermann (Bar-Vademecum, Hanover) – initiated the Forum for Bar Culture to foster dialogue with bartenders, academics, cultural practitioners and journalists.
The network is free, independent and pursues no commercial interests.
Target Audience
The Bar.Kultur.Geschichte. network welcomes anyone who sees the bar as a cultural space and wishes to engage in cross-disciplinary discussion and further their knowledge on this topic. This includes, of course, bartenders, academics from all disciplines, cultural practitioners, distillers, journalists and bar-goers.
Research
The bar as a cultural venue is a field of research that has so far gone largely unnoticed in Germany. We support research that is interdisciplinary, source-based and open-ended. The following disciplines can contribute to this: history, art history, literary history, sociology, musicology, architectural studies, gender studies, etc.
Initial project ideas: Wilhelm Schmidt and his art of mixing, the taste profile of the capital around 1930, and a bibliography of German-language bar literature.
Forum
The findings gathered are to be presented and discussed at a forum once a year. Each forum should be dedicated to a specific key topic. An important role of the forum will be to work together to identify ways in which the findings can be put into practice in the bar.
The public
Research is not an end in itself, but should be supported by the bar world and the public. We believe it is essential to make our findings freely accessible (e.g. on a digital platform). In this way, we aim to raise and foster awareness of the bar as a cultural venue.
Making quality visible
To date, there is no convincing system that makes quality visible in a bar. Rankings and awards are usually based on subjective, non-transparent judgements and, on their own, say nothing about the quality of the drinks. Yet there are objective quality criteria if one focuses on the central product – the drink – and its ingredients: e.g. freshly squeezed citrus juices, homemade syrups, liqueurs without flavourings, additives or preservatives, artisanal spirits, untreated fruit, etc.
The Bar.Kultur.Geschichte. network aims to develop a clear, practical and transparent catalogue of quality criteria for bars (e.g. 10 commandments). This could lead to a quality seal. Any bar, whether it offers creative modern drinks, works to historical recipes or follows any other concept, can receive the seal provided it meets the quality criteria.
Such an objective and transparent system would have many advantages: it would help guests find their way around, give smaller bars greater visibility, and foster a new community. This innovative bar guide could be expanded to include, for example, artisanal spirits used by the award-winning bars – spirits that have proven their worth in mixology. This would therefore also be of interest to distillers and producers.
Competition
Competitions have been a feature of the bar world for around 150 years. To this day, the vast majority are product-based, organised by the spirits industry for marketing purposes and to build customer loyalty. We would like to launch an alternative award focusing on the careful and creative development of a specified, previously unknown historical recipe. Such an award would recognise bartenders who possess outstanding product knowledge and great technical skill. As Wilhelm Schmidt (stage name ‘The Only William’, who died in New York in 1905) was one of the most innovative bartenders of all time and left behind a vast treasure trove of artistic recipes, the network’s initiators propose the name ‘William Schmidt Bar Award’ for the prize.
Museum, permanent exhibition
There is currently no museum or permanent exhibition in Germany that showcases and illustrates the various aspects of the bar. The network aims to compile collections (from estates, e.g. everyday objects and furnishings from the bar, historical books and menus, etc.) and make them accessible to the public.
Recognition of the bar as intangible cultural heritage
This networking and research work could culminate in the recognition of the bar as intangible cultural heritage. It is therefore necessary to provide credible evidence that the bar is a distinct art form and a cross-disciplinary cultural space (combining traditional elements from music, design, painting, literature, etc.) with its own cultural tradition.
Institutionalisation, legal form
The network will initially start as a loose association of interested and committed bar enthusiasts. The aim is to establish it as a non-profit association.
explicit capitulum
*
If you would like to get in touch with the network, the best way to reach us is at https://barkulturgeschichte.de/ (kontakt[at]barkulturgeschichte.de).
Concept
The Bar.Kultur.Geschichte. network is committed to viewing the bar as a complex total work of art, researching its historical and cultural context, and applying the insights gained to promote quality-conscious bar practices.
The network’s founders – Andreas and Jenny Berg (MIRABEAU bar, Freiburg), Dr Michael C. Bienert (Ernst Reuter Archive Foundation, Berlin) and Armin Zimmermann (Bar-Vademecum, Hanover) – initiated the Forum for Bar Culture to foster dialogue with bartenders, academics, cultural practitioners and journalists.
The network is free, independent and pursues no commercial interests.
Target Audience
The Bar.Kultur.Geschichte. network welcomes anyone who sees the bar as a cultural space and wishes to engage in cross-disciplinary discussion and further their knowledge on this topic. This includes, of course, bartenders, academics from all disciplines, cultural practitioners, distillers, journalists and bar-goers.
Research
The bar as a cultural venue is a field of research that has so far gone largely unnoticed in Germany. We support research that is interdisciplinary, source-based and open-ended. The following disciplines can contribute to this: history, art history, literary history, sociology, musicology, architectural studies, gender studies, etc.
Initial project ideas: Wilhelm Schmidt and his art of mixing, the taste profile of the capital around 1930, and a bibliography of German-language bar literature.
Forum
The findings gathered are to be presented and discussed at a forum once a year. Each forum should be dedicated to a specific key topic. An important role of the forum will be to work together to identify ways in which the findings can be put into practice in the bar.
The public
Research is not an end in itself, but should be supported by the bar world and the public. We believe it is essential to make our findings freely accessible (e.g. on a digital platform). In this way, we aim to raise and foster awareness of the bar as a cultural venue.
Making quality visible
To date, there is no convincing system that makes quality visible in a bar. Rankings and awards are usually based on subjective, non-transparent judgements and, on their own, say nothing about the quality of the drinks. Yet there are objective quality criteria if one focuses on the central product – the drink – and its ingredients: e.g. freshly squeezed citrus juices, homemade syrups, liqueurs without flavourings, additives or preservatives, artisanal spirits, untreated fruit, etc.
The Bar.Kultur.Geschichte. network aims to develop a clear, practical and transparent catalogue of quality criteria for bars (e.g. 10 commandments). This could lead to a quality seal. Any bar, whether it offers creative modern drinks, works to historical recipes or follows any other concept, can receive the seal provided it meets the quality criteria.
Such an objective and transparent system would have many advantages: it would help guests find their way around, give smaller bars greater visibility, and foster a new community. This innovative bar guide could be expanded to include, for example, artisanal spirits used by the award-winning bars – spirits that have proven their worth in mixology. This would therefore also be of interest to distillers and producers.
Competition
Competitions have been a feature of the bar world for around 150 years. To this day, the vast majority are product-based, organised by the spirits industry for marketing purposes and to build customer loyalty. We would like to launch an alternative award focusing on the careful and creative development of a specified, previously unknown historical recipe. Such an award would recognise bartenders who possess outstanding product knowledge and great technical skill. As Wilhelm Schmidt (stage name ‘The Only William’, who died in New York in 1905) was one of the most innovative bartenders of all time and left behind a vast treasure trove of artistic recipes, the network’s initiators propose the name ‘William Schmidt Bar Award’ for the prize.
Museum, permanent exhibition
There is currently no museum or permanent exhibition in Germany that showcases and illustrates the various aspects of the bar. The network aims to compile collections (from estates, e.g. everyday objects and furnishings from the bar, historical books and menus, etc.) and make them accessible to the public.
Recognition of the bar as intangible cultural heritage
This networking and research work could culminate in the recognition of the bar as intangible cultural heritage. It is therefore necessary to provide credible evidence that the bar is a distinct art form and a cross-disciplinary cultural space (combining traditional elements from music, design, painting, literature, etc.) with its own cultural tradition.
Institutionalisation, legal form
The network will initially start as a loose association of interested and committed bar enthusiasts. The aim is to establish it as a non-profit association.
explicit capitulum
*