Rum Trader

Address: 40 Fasanenstrasse, (corner of Ludwigkirch Str), Berlin, 10719, Germany
Tel: +49 30 881 1428

Style: Lounge bar
Food: Bar Snacks
Established: 1976

This is a cult bar and bar aficionados must visit. The Rum Trader was founded in April 1976 by the legendary Mr Schroeder, a Dublin-born Berliner who started as a glass washer at Berlin's Adlon hotel in 1944. At the end of the Second World War he set out on a bartending tour that took in Paris, Dublin, Madrid and finally San Francisco where he worked for Trader Vic.

The Rum Trader has a colonial British club feel, with just the merest hint of Tiki. The bar's logo - a small, ghost-like person holding a bottle of rum - resembles a Tiki god and this adorns the flag which is flown whenever the bar is open.

Mr Schroeder ran this tiny bar for a quarter of a century, turning the room that barely holds thirty into an institution - it's even referred to in Ian Fleming's Octopussy. Then in 2001 Mr Schroeder passed the reins to his prodigy: the irrepressible character and polished gentleman that is Mr Gregor Scholl. The legend continues.

Come here early (there are only 13 seats) and order a simple mixed drink from the vast selection of rum and gin brands. Soak up the atmosphere and the light jazz.