At this whimsical Oslo bar, every cocktail has its design counterpart

Oslo tastemakers craving an intriguing cocktail often settle onto one of the leather stools at pioneering Himkok, the sprawling city-centre bar and distillery that Erk Potur opened in 2015. Resulting from the transformation of a 19th-century pharmacy-appliance warehouse, the bar is known for its cocktails showcasing Nordic produce, served up in dark-wood interiors that are dotted with apothecary-style bottles containing spirits made on-site.

Already beloved by the hospitality industry, Himkok’s memorable menus fuelled by art, photography, fashion and music have also thrust the bar into the cultural spotlight in recent years. The newest menu, launching on 11 September 2025, is a bold homage to Scandinavia’s rich design heritage that reinforces the site’s flair for visual storytelling.

Himkok introduces its new ‘Design by Sipping’ menu, in collaboration with Studio Sløyd

Hatched alongside two local collaborators (the creative agency 2.edition and design practice Studio Sløyd), Himkok’s ‘Design by Sipping’ menu follows a quartet of similarly experimental examples celebrating Norwegian talents. In 2021, a menu revolved around NFT artworks by illustrator Esra Røise; in 2022, imagery from multimedia artist and photographer Olav Stubberud enlivened another. Fashion designer Eline Dragesund (in 2023) and Sony Music Norway artists (in 2024) translated Himkok cocktails into garments and songs for their respective menus.

For the 2025 menu, local design practice Studio Sløyd is building on that buzz by reimagining Himkok’s 13-serve menu into a series of furniture and objects that will be displayed in a gallery setting at Oslo’s Berlin Studio (11-13 September), in tandem with Designers’ Saturday – the city’s popular design and interior architecture event (12-14 September). From 5pm on 11 September, the collectables, some of which may be reproduced in the future, will be sold via an online auction, running through 18 September.

Mikkel Jøraandstad and Herman Ødegaard, Studio Sløyd’s founders, jumped at the opportunity. They’ve crafted products for Norwegian furniture companies such as Northern and LK Hjelle, but partnering with a bar was thrilling new territory. ‘Himkok focuses on local and sustainable production, and that’s important to us too, but we thought we could explore it even more,’ says Ødegaard. ‘Taking some parts of the drinks and making them come to life was an interesting process.’

Himkok menus, which stay in play for about a year, are taken seriously. The team spends six to seven months fine-tuning them, each cocktail – ‘Scandinavia in a glass’, as head of R&D Paul Aguilar describes it – named for its dominant flavour profile. Studio Sløyd also embraced this conscientious mindset, carefully conceiving prototypes for the corresponding designs with the help of local artisans. ‘Himkok let us have total creative freedom, and we appreciated that. After tasting the cocktails, we had initial ideas and then we developed them further, considering materials and shapes,’ explains Ødegaard.

The objects run from small to large, ‘from the obvious to the symbolic’, says Ødegaard. For the Carrot cocktail (Himkok gin, Martini aperitifs, fresh carrot, Mandarine Napoléon, Fireball), a cherry- and walnut-wood candleholder takes cues from the vegetable’s slender silhouette.

Equally stunning in their simplicity are the aluminium bottle opener that nods to the purity of the Cardamom (Patrón Reposado tequila, aquavit, cardamom distillate, fino sherry and Palo Santo cordial); and the epoxy and steel hook that expresses the hushed complexity of Plum (Himkok aquavit, Noilly Prat, Skott Gård plum juice, brewed ginger, chocolate bitters, vanilla bourbon).

For this project, Studio Sløyd delved into ceramics for the first time. Clay spawned the sculptural diffuser that nods to the fresh notes in the effervescent Cucumber (Himkok vodka, cucumber and mint kefir, pandan liqueur, brewed ginger, apple, grape), and also the elegant cafetière that honours rejuvenating coffee break rituals for the Fika (Grind espresso liqueur, Teeling whiskey, Aga Sideri’s non-alcoholic Humlesus cider, Lagavulin 16 whisky).

Glass was another new medium for Studio Sløyd, and it manifested in a duo of sleek vessels that evoke the Cloudberry, a Gimlet riff (Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal Cognac, cloudberry liqueur, cloudberry vanilla whey cordial, fino sherry, De Kuyper Dutch Cacao), as well as curving spoons that invite you to plunge into the frothy crown of the Elderflower, a twist on the Ramos Gin Fizz (Bacardi 10 rum, Saint-Germain, Noilly Prat, elderflower liqueur, cream, Greek yogurt). ‘We worked with wood that was familiar to us, but it was also important to try something different,’ points out Ødegaard.

Lighting designs forge a dialogue with three of the drinks, including the Peanut (Himkok Vodka, fino sherry, Noilly Prat, brewed ginger, peanut distillate) and the Raspberry (Himkok aquavit, red wine, raspberry, rhubarb liqueur, Galliano vanilla), a spin on the Clover Club. The standout is the cherry-wood and steel floor lamp that is inspired by the soft, velvety notes of the Manhattan-like Cherry (Buffalo Trace bourbon, Merlet cherry liqueur, Carpano Dry, dark chocolate, butter-washed finish).

A pine wood chair, sparked by Studio Sløyd’s observations of a decomposing tomato, accompanies the savoury Cherry Tomato (Himkok x Linie Aquavit, mezcal, green paprika distillate, cherry pepper, Skott Gård plum wine, vinegar). ‘When we saw the fibres inside, it inspired the frame,’ says Ødegaard.

Other pieces draw on nostalgia. A whimsical clock, fashioned out of glass, Douglas fir and steel, is teamed with the Softis, the Norwegian term for soft-serve ice cream (Linie aquavit and Diplom-Is ice cream, Disaronno, white Dutch cacao, fino sherry), hinting at the short-lived joy of ice cream before it melts. The Fruktnøtt (Jameson Black Barrel whisky, De Kuyper Dutch cacao, Himkok almond distillate, PX sherry, Krokan wine reduction) calls to mind its namesake raisin- and hazelnut-studded milk chocolate bar, and Studio Sløyd responded with a fold-out pine and steel seat that suggests carefree bygone days.

‘We build on memories,’ says Aguilar of the connections prompted by Himkok's cocktails. ‘This is the first softis you eat every summer. This is the chocolate your grandparents always gave you when you visited.’

Himkok is located at Storgata 27, 0184 Oslo, Norway.