463 N. High St.
Columbus, OH 43215
614.984.7351
website
Columbus has quite a few bars in Short North and Arena District these days, and many of them are slinging good cocktails. So standing out is a matter of uniqueness, ambiance, some other things. Denmark, right above the Greater Columbus Convention Center, benefits from a heightened view of the street below during many festivals. The ambiance, almost a clubby-feeling bar with colorful decor, juxtaposes well against many of the more casual-feeling cocktail bars in the city. And then there’s the cocktail list, which has some highlights.
Some of the things to try on that occasionally-rotating menu:
- Bee’s Knees: Old Tom Gin, Lemon Juice and Honey. This is a to-the-point cocktail with a little bit of sweetness but reasonably so, and not with too much of a headache in the sugar front.
- Last Word: Another gin-based cocktail, this one with green chartreuse and a little lime juice, with a maraschino cherry for garnish. A little deeper in the flavor, and maybe a little stronger too. Good if you want kind of a mild flavor.
- Manhattan: This take on the Manhattan features Dolin Rouge, Angostura and Cherry Vanilla Bitters. You pick a whiskey to your liking, I always think that Maker’s Mark with its vanilla hints complements well.
- Moscow Mule: A vodka-lime juice-ginger beer combination always popular in the cocktail bars these days, and in this case maybe a bit sweeter than average, maybe a bit higher on the ginger beer.
- Flatbreads: So there is a small menu of food, but it’s primarily flatbreads, because the bar is mostly built to cater to cocktail appreciating crowd. These are kind of mild and simple.
The bar has a colorful lounge-like ambiance and the atmosphere depends very much on the time of the day; while it’s open in the evenings, the bar tends to be more spacious during the middle of the week and then grows much busier on the weekends. The price points are pretty normal for these kinds of cocktails.
This bar is mostly about the good ambiance and the handy location, so that’s a plus. There’s such a growing component of wonderful cocktail maestros in this part of the city though and Denmark will be on its toes to catch up to them. Keep it in mind for a night out on the town.
Recommendations
- Good to come here during events; there are few better views of High Street during Highball for instance.
- A good place to go for simpler cocktails.
- Good for a small group of friends on weekends.
Another Food Critic 