Around this big blue marble, stylish 1920’s era bars are making a discrete come back. The most recent addition is door 74, in Amsterdam, which is under the watchful gaze of Philip Duff. For those who know Philip, most would agree that he is a bon vivant with an insatiable appetite for cocktails and beautiful women. His worldly travels landed him right back in Amsterdam with the desire to put his preaching’s to practice. Partnering with Sergej Fokke, they have created door 74 for those who have a taste for fine cocktails and classy surroundings. door 74 is a place where friends enjoy good conversation, over fine drinks. I’ll let Philip tell you the rest.
door 74 opened in the very heart of Amsterdam on 01 November, bringing fine classic cocktails, late-night drinking and relaxed, Prohibition-era surroundings to the discerning drinkers of The Netherlands and abroad. Menu and details: www.door74.nl
door 74 accommodates no more than 40 guests at a time, and is an all-seated bar. Just ring the bell at the unmarked door at Reguliersdwarsstraat 74 and join the eclectic crowd of bartenders, chefs, media mavens, classy ladies and scoundrels behind the curtain. Door 74 is open Tuesday-Saturday from 2000h until 0300h, 0400h on Friday and Saturday. Seats at the bar are first-come-first-served; table seating and booths can be reserved by calling +31(0) 8778 44980 on the day.
door 74 was founded by Philip Duff and Sergej Fokke. Philip Duff founded the Netherlands’ first bar and beverage consulting group, Liquid Solutions, in 1999. Since then, he has trained tens of thousands of bartenders in more then 70 countries, advising drinks companies of training programs and founding Europe’s largest bars school, as well as writing for numerous bartender magazines in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and eastern Europe. Sergej Fokke, a good friend and one-time colleague of Philip, is a former special-forces soldier in the Dutch Royal Marines who went on to manage many top Amsterdam venues such as Cineac, Vuong and The College Hotel, before opening his own boutique cocktail bar, Feijoa, just a few meters from door 74.
Duff: “We wanted to open the bar that was missing from the Amsterdam nightlife: no booming music, no crammed-in crowds of people, and very good drinks until deep in the night. At door 74, we really care about the drinks, but it’s by no means all cocktails: we import our own brewed botanical tonic water, freeze 5cm wide ice balls for serving whisky on the rocks, and serve absolutely superb house wines and champagnes. I was greatly inspired by bars like Milk and Honey (NY), Le Lion (Hamburg) and Rum Trader (Berlin), and every time I visited those places, I thought: I must open a bar like this in Amsterdam”.
Sergej interjects: “We even have an anti-nerdiness rules here: anyone who starts ignoring their friends or date to talk nerdy details too much with the bartender, has to order a beer and a shot of booze on the side to bring them back down to earth. It’s already happened a few times!”
There is no door policy at door 74, also no entry charge, toilet charge or wardrobe fee. If you love fine drinks with good friends in a relaxed surroundings, you are welcome in door 74. The ultra-classic cocktail list is updated four times per year with a different theme: the current theme is Charles H. Baker, a world-travelling playboy who wrote several landmark volumes on global cocktails in the 1930s and 1940s. The new theme, winter, kicks in around 15 December; expect Tom and Jerrys, hot gin punches, and spicy drinks with hellfire bitters.
