You don’t really come to GILT if you’re looking to stick to Piña Coladas and Mojitos. Sure, the bartenders are professionals and can make you anything you want, but would you go to the cinema to buy a DVD? 

Funky façade and drinks

(All photos: gilt.dk)

Slightly off the city centre, it hides on a street that is recovering its old hipster glory after some troublesome years, and you may be forgiven for taking the windowless façade for a portal into an invite-only kinky kind of club. Nothing could be further from the truth. The décor is stylish with leather couches, wooden walls and white-tiled chic, but otherwise entirely down-to-earth. 
Like the subdued jazz in the background, the cocktails at GILT can get a bit funky. 

The gin-based ‘Tanquin’ we had, for example, took me by surprise with its coriander note. Interesting, but mostly delicious.  

Yearning for balance
And that probably goes for all the cocktails on the menu. The Springtime Negroni comes with a note of cucumber: the martini with birch sap. Such unexpected hints give character without distracting from the taste of the liquor at the same time. Every cocktail at the GILT yearns for balance.

However, I could recommend all these choices, but you won’t find them on the menu. The owner Peter Altenburg redesigns it quarterly, going with the flow of the seasons. People want a different drink in summer than they do in winter. 

The best part about the 14-item menu, except for its crisp descriptions, is that it shows you the type of glass you drink will come in. Anyone who has ever stared at a Martini glass as if it had just told you it was pregnant will appreciate the little images gracing the list. 

Devil’s Kiss is bliss

One item I can whole-heartedly recommend is ‘Devil’s Kiss’. The combination of aperol, gin, elderflower and rhubarb is so winsome that it has guys drinking pink drinks from martini glasses by the dozen. Nine out of ten orders are from the menu, and nine out of ten times they’re asking for ‘Devil’s Kiss’ – it might have something to do with Danes’ predilection for sweet drinks, but this one is here to stay. 
This is Nordic cocktail craft at its best. If you didn’t know there was such a thing as a Nordic cocktail, the guys behind the bar are happy to explain.

GILT
Rantzausgade 39, Cph N; open Wed-Thu 18:00-01:00, Fri-Sat 18:00-01:00; 85-100kr per drink; gilt@gilt.dk, gilt.dk