From Sh*tshow To Sovereign Force As Himkok Oslo Turns 10!

“Well, 2015 really was a sh*tshow,” Maroš Dzurus laughs. “Nobody understood what we wanted to do at Himkok. Mostly, we just wanted to host people and give them the best time. That was it. And that’s still it,” he nods. Ten years on, their focused approach has proved remarkably effective, propelling Himkok up the World’s 50 Best Bars list – they’re currently placed at No.11 – and establishing the Oslo bar as a pioneer of Scandinavia’s cocktail culture.

In those ten years, Himkok’s gone far beyond simply hosting guests (although it does that impeccably well). The venue has connected the worlds of art, fashion, music and mixology — both by creatively navigating Norway’s stringent alcohol laws and through deliberate community building — creating a cultural hub that transcends traditional bar experiences.

It’s The Simple Pleasures For Himkok’s Maroš Dzurus

Maroš Dzurus, who’s from Slovakia, represents the third generation of a family with deep roots in hospitality. “I think I could pass for Norwegian though,” he smiles, sliding one hand through his blond hair while holding a coffee cup in the other.

Besides overseeing Himkok’s continuing evolution alongside founder and owner Erk Potur and head of R&D Paul Voza — extending well beyond just the new menu launch — it’s still the simple pleasures that get him excited in the morning. Pleasures like this morning coffee.

“There are some nice coffee roasteries in Oslo – I think we’re the third or fourth biggest coffee drinking culture in the world. In summer, I prefer Tim Wendelboe, which does a lighter roast, for Aeropress – that’s a light, fruity coffee. But in winter I prefer something more heavy and darker, from Supreme Roastworks, which is focused just on pour over-style coffee, for V60 and Chemex. But right now, I’m doing French press, so I can drink a liter!” he says, lifting up the cup.

Learning To Navigate Norway’s Regulatory Maze

We’re getting off track. But the promotion of cocktail culture in Norway has to do that too. It’s a country where restrictive licensing laws force establishments to take indirect routes or face censorship from authorities — a regulatory maze that Himkok has learned to navigate.

“It’s amazing, really, the level of care the rules show to protect the people here,” Maroš commends. Even as a bar, you can’t show cocktails or spirits on social media (or you face a fine of 5% of your annual profits). You can’t serve anyone who’s clearly intoxicated – or even anyone in the same group unless the inebriated member is called a taxi and ensured they get in it safely. If you order a round of shots, you’ll have to identify who the shots are for. “We couldn’t even put a proper sign outside,” Maroš shrugs. “So, for us, that was the impetus to do things differently.”

There is a discreet sign adorning the exterior of the 1926 building — once home to a tailor and shoemaker — that became Himkok in 2015. The distinctive emblem features the bar’s signature snake coiled around a white ‘H,’ creating a symbol for the now-celebrated establishment.

It hangs outside in the fresh Oslo air. “Man, we have this crispy air here,” Maroš smiles, glancing out of the window. “It’s not too warm and not too cold – just perfect.”

Evengelists For Himkok And Its Word-Of-Mouth Success

Back in the early days, they’d offer guests distillery tours. Those guests would become evangelists for the brand, and they’d take their friends on tours, and, through fandom and the word of mouth that created, things grew and grew.

Still, there were lots of other hurdles back then.

First and foremost, many people failed to recognize that cocktails could serve as powerful encapsulations of a country’s identity, preserving elements of collective memory and cultural heritage in liquid form.

“We didn’t have Coca Cola in the bar. We didn’t have Sprite. Cocktail culture wasn’t big historically. So, perceptions were built on Long Island Ice Teas, Mojitos, and Old Fashioneds. But for us, coming in and ordering any of those would be like asking for a Schnitzel in a MICHELIN-star restaurant!”

After 3 or 4 years, he remembers, people started to understand what they were trying to achieve. And they started to appreciate it. “They’d be traveling a lot. And they’d discover the same cocktail culture around the world. And they’d come back wanting to see what we were doing because they were proud of what we have here.”

At the same time there were more bars opening up around the city doing similar things, creating a diverse and immersive cocktail culture.

Something Of A Win-Win

At Himkok, those guests would discover a team making signature cocktails “not in the cliched ‘my grandad used to drink this cordial,’ kind of way,” Maroš quickly points out. Instead, they’d: “Talk to guests a lot. Listen to their stories. Hear them recount the occasions they’d celebrated. The moments they’d remember. And what they ate and drank then.” For example, cross-country skiing is in the DNA here Maroš notes. “In the forest, people make an open fire and drink hot chocolate and toast marshmallows. And we’d try to tell that story in a cocktail and recreate that moment – with smokiness and chocolate. And everyone connects.”

It’s something of a win-win, he concludes. Tourists want to understand local culture and locals enjoy the sense of nostalgia and national pride that comes with it.

The Practice Of Hospitality 

Maroš is well-aware that drinks are only one part of the experience. “I think people might forget what they drank,” he confesses, “but they’ll remember how they felt.”

The last ten years have taught him to focus on that. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously,” he explains. “And we try to read the person in front of us. Everyone has different needs. Some need space. Some want interaction. It’s learned through practice. You can’t learn just like this,” he adds, clicking his fingers.

“I remember one time, I’d accrued so much knowledge and I wanted to impress my guests with it. An office worker, who just finished work, came to the bar and asked for whiskey and I gave him a 15-minute speech about the different ones we had. My colleague came to me and asked how I’d feel if I’d just finished work and someone gave me a 15-minute speech,” he remembers. “I learned that If people want to learn more, they’ll ask.”

Over Himkok’s ten years, the team has diversified and become more international, “each person bringing something new to the table.”

“I like to work with the team. Sometimes it’s frustrating, to be honest. You know when you have kids and they grow up – they make mistakes. But when they achieve their goals, you feel very proud of them.”

The Importance Of Staying Relevant 

Then, at Himkok, as with any new bar or restaurant, the glow of opening and the first flashes of success might fade and things plateau, at best, or decline, at worst, and they’d be faced with the challenge of keeping a bar relevant.

“Around that time, we began to realize that our generation didn’t go to bars much,” Maroš remembers. “They’d settled down and stopped going out so much. So, how do you get new customers?”

Himkok’s solution – which fitted neatly with the need for guerilla marketing – was to work with people with the power to influence that younger generation – artists they thought could help bring new customers to the bar – while also bringing something back to the community at the same time and supporting those artists.

A Pain In The Ass…In A Good Way

“Each one of the collaborations has been a pain in the ass, to be honest!” Maroš laughs. “But in a good way.” The fashion collaboration was a good example. “It took something like one year to plan and the fashion show only lasted 30 minutes,” he widens his eyes.

Much like Himkok’s organic rise to prominence, these creative partnerships have developed a momentum of their own. When one of the fashion event organizers — a singer with Sony Music connections — proposed a collaboration, it led to their next ambitious project. The resulting ‘Beats & Sips’ menu, which debuted at Himkok’s sister venue, Oslo’s Goldie club, brought together nine Sony artists, including hip-hop artist Destina, hip-hop and R&B artist LilNeya, talent show star Mari Bella (the youngest ever winner of Idol Norge at 15), Mat Duo, a house music DJ, and indie band PandaPanda, who created 13 original songs. “First of all, imagine trying to get nine artists in the same room at the same time,” Maroš marvels.

Once corralled together (almost all of them hadn’t been to Himkok before), the artists got to taste cocktails, each based on one main ingredient and using Himkok’s in-house spirits like their aquavits, gins and distillates, and turn the intoxicating reverie that ensued into original music. Songs like ‘Svensk Blond Tjej’ by Swingklubben, incendiary purveyors of party music, that was based on Himkok’s ‘Lingonberry’ cocktail. I don’t gravitate towards lyrics, more towards bass, but that is one song from the collaboration that I could have on repeat,” he admits.

From Chaos To Craft

The coffee is good. The air outside is crisp. And there’s another day at Himkok ahead of welcoming guests, navigating regulations and building connections. Ten years on from that initial “sh*tshow,” they’ve transformed chaos into craft — still giving people the best time, just as Maroš promised, but now with a decade of accolades to prove they knew exactly what they were doing all along.