It’s a rainy Friday night in early March in Zurich. You’ve had a long week working a job you only do because it allows you to enjoy your free time without keeping too close an eye on your wallet. You’re tired. You could just go home and curl up and watch Netflix with a hot cup of tea, but Past You made plans that Present You is not about to break. So you get yourself ready and make sure to meet your friends on time. It’s off to The Last Toucan.
Once you arrive, you’re ushered up the elevator by an extravagantly dressed doorwoman who checks your names off her list. This place is exclusive – and for good reason. The Last Toucan is not merely a cocktail bar; it is an Event, a
Happening. It is an evening where you bask in the atmosphere created by the Toucan’s dedicated team and forget real life. The venue is small, fostering a feeling of well-being and intimacy. The servers, dressed elegantly in black, provide you with a hot, scented towel and a glass of chilled water. You wipe your hands and sip the cool drink, cleansing your palate in order to fully immerse yourself in the night’s experience. As you and your companions contemplate the menu, you are stunned by the creativity of the selection and it gets really hard to decide on how you would like to echant your senses.
Only a handful of cocktails are listed, but none are like those you’ve seen before; called enigmatic names like Bosi’s Legacy (a complicated mix of rum, sherry, pimento dram, various juices, bitters and curry), Dragon’s Chest (a slick mixture of rum, chestnut liqueur, tarragon syrup, lemon juice and egg white), Kumano Kodo (a heady combination of rum, Darjeeling tea liqueur, Ancho Reyes, sherry, chartreuse and lemon bitter) or Alpine Ascent (a fascinating drink containing gin, St. Germain, triple sec, Strega and Campari, served in a teapot with dry ice, giving the illusion of steam streaming out of the pot). You don’t think you’ll be able to decide on just one drink and have a feeling you’ll be waking up worse for the wear. But that is Future You’s problem. Once everyone has selected their drinks, you finally have a moment to notice the incredible surroundings. The room is very small, and discreetly lit. There are only a few tables, but almost every one is filled with Zurich’s best, dressed to impress. You feel as if you’re in an antiques storage closet, loaded with curiosities and ancient treasures just waiting to be discovered. You finally notice the band, just settling in to play. They pick up their instruments just as your first cocktails arrive.
With your first sip of your first drink, the experience is complete. The venue, the ambiance, the music and now the drink have all combined to transport you to another, more glamorous time. This is escapism at its finest.
As you and your fellow patrons make their way through the menu, tasting each unique and surprising combination the bar staff has in store, the party heats up. The room is loud, raucous, and having a blast. Real life is forgotten for a while.
You end up staying much longer than you had planned, your earlier exhaustion forgotten. When the time finally comes for you to go home, you leave with a warm feeling that has nothing to do with alcohol. You know you’ve experienced something very special.
This is not just a place where well-crafted, original cocktails are served this is a whole package where every detail from the music to the space to the staff, is purposely designed to enhance the drinks themselves. This is The Last Toucan.
by Sara VVyss
Images: ©Markus Marty
