Behind Bars: Couch Club

The Couch Club in Munich´s Glockenbach area is a real eldorado for fans of the Gin & Tonic: A vast selection of over 130 gins is available. 

Thomas Henry Behind Bars met up with Alexander Schwarz, owner of the Couch Club and a passionate gin-fan. An ardour which the Nuremberg-born already had been celebrating at his previous bar in Munich, the “Niederlassung“ on Buttermelcherstraße. There, Gin quickly became more and more popular, creating a lot of buzz around the Gin & Tonic. “ Thus I quickly decided to to focalise on Gin as a topic at the Couch Club“, Schwarz explains. Currently, roughly 130 different sorts are available, ranging from classics like Bombay Sapphire and Tanqueray to the traction gaining New Western Dry Gins such as Hendrick´s or Monkey 47. Really rare bottles and all kinds of limited editions fill the shelves as well. “we certainly also offer local gins like The Duke or Feel! from Munich. These are very popular.“, Schwarz says. A thing that became very popular at the Couch Club is to drink a Gin & Tonic the Spanish Way: A big goblet with a lots of ice, Gin is floated with Thomas Henry Tonic Water, garnished with a slice of cucumber. „In the right [mixture] ratio the drink and the cucumber create an incredible taste which surprises even laymen.“, Schwarz says.

Laymen, let´s call them “up-and-coming connoisseurs“, are the biggest group among the guests at Couch Club. Mainly young people under 30 are blending in perfectly with with the bar´s sixties and seventies furniture (seating for up to 60 people is available). Or they hang out at the thirty-foot bar. If it’s too busy in the front, there’s more space in the back where the football table‘s waiting. Every sunday, a large fan base gathers to watch “Tatort“ (Germany´s most popular crime series) and clinks glasses to the end of the weekend. With great offers (e.g. premium gins at moderate prices) and promotions the Bar repeatedly creates occasions to taste lesser-known, more exclusive gins. Moreover, one can order a small Gin & Tonic in order to try another combination out of the
bar´s inexhaustible variety. Regular gin tastings are much sought, too, tickets sell out quickly. “We are planning to expand our tastings and to refine them. For instance, we might do German gins only for one night. It’s a juniper boom!“, says Schwarz, who has 20 domestic gins in his back bar.

Well, and should one not be in the mood for a G&T – relax: There are more than 50 cocktails on the menu and other great longdrinks. For instance the „Aperol Spicy Ginger“ with Thomas Henry´s spicy ginger lemonade and fresh lime juice. “Works very well in the summer“, Schwarz explains. So further on stay relaxed at the Couch Club.

Couch Club
Klenzestraße 89
80469 München

couch-club.org

Phone: +49 89 12555778

Opens from Tue through Thu 7pm – 1am, Fri/Sat till 3am, Sun till 12am