Berlin, Germany (Gastrosofie). Since it opened up a week ago, the Berlin-based pop-up bar „Tu Salud“ on Oranienburger Straße in Berlin-Mitte has ben going full swing. Thus, the bar concept by Roger Breitengger takes its second round. During the first „The Tape Over“ offered Craft Beer and Craft Spirits, quite a craze just a few months ago. Now it is Mezcal time, and here is the hip place to meet and enjoy that real Mexican feeling.
Craft Beer from the Hamburg creative brewery Kehrwieder, or Sommelier Beer brewed by sommelier Hans Müller in the the Braukunstkeller of Michelstadt are, however, still on the list. But now its really all about the Mexican agave liquor called Mezcal, meaning nothing other than liquor „made from the pulp of various species of agave“ according to Wikipedia. Tequila, by the way, is produced in the area of Tequila „exclusively from the blue agave plant.“ But then, everybody knows about Tequila, don’t they?
In „Tu Salud“ we saw neither Tequila nor the famous Mezcal with the wonderful worm which „was introduced in 1950 by Jacobo Lozano Páez“ as a nice or maybe nasty bit of marketing. Instead of the worm, the Mexicans usually serve a slice of lime sprinkled with chili salt or simply chili salt with the pestled „powder of a previously dried caterpillar“.
The „Tu Salud“ wants to win customers with Mezcal out of a crowd of cocktail drinkers looking for something different, and keen to become familiar with the rustic style of a Mexican particleboard wooden hut in Tacheles-chic. That the „Tu Salud“ is, thanks to the creative minds of Sick Siggy studios as well as artist Lucy Libre, whom we gave a helping hand while she was decorating the bar. „Its wrestling masks (luchas libres), pictures and prints create that authentic Mexican flair“ Jana Kaminski, PR manager of Arcotel hotels in Germany, explained to us. Certainly a great vibrant place to have a drink in style!
Without a wrestler but with one or the other eye-catcher we then tried three of the five mouthwatering mixed drinks from the list and found all three „delicious“. We made a start with Smokey Cooler (Mezcal, pineapple, agave, lime). Then went on to Via Lectea (Mezcal, almond, banana, lime, agave bitter) and ended up with the “Ta Vez La Ultima Pralabra” (Mezcal, Chartreuse, lime, maraschino, egg white). Roger Breitenegger got them going with a colleague before our eyes, 100 percent delicious to the last drop and well filled with 40-percent Mezcal.
Breitenegger and Kamenski have upcoming events, ranging from the „Craft Beer Cocktail Night“ to the „Hacienda Opening“ of the terrace and as theme party „Mexican Tiki“. More on Fratzebuch underhttps://www.facebook.com/theTapeOver?fref=ts
Tu Salud
in the Arcotel Velvet, Oranienburger Straße 52, D-10117 Berlin
Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday from 7 pm till late