I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Tuesday September 3rd — —

“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Tuesday September 3rd — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Tuesday September 3rd — —

Jigger’s the Noble Drugstore

During our last visit to Gent we discovered another gem that made our stay in the historical Flemish city more then satisfying. Jigger’s the Noble Drugstore was opened in September 2011 and is the brainchild of Olivier Jacobs, who named his cocktail bar referring to the American prohibition which was named ‘The Noble Experiment’ by the American government. And not just the name bears a connotation to the period in which alcohol was forbidden in the USA as the window display of the bar has nothing but a stuffed fox wearing a monocle in it, making it impossible to recognize it as an actual bar without any foreknowledge.

In order to enter one has to ring the bell and one of the bartenders, wearing a bow tie and braces, will come up from the bar that’s located in the basement, escorting the visitor to one of the free seats. Jigger’s is an elegant hidden drinking den just as they existed in the thirties in cities like Atlantic City or Chigaco. The interior of the dimly lit, and therefor very cosy, bar fits perfectly in the sentiment of long gone times and was designed by Pieterjan Deblauwe.

And not just in its concept and excellent execution of it Jigger’s stands out. Olivier is a bartender of the highest esteem having received the award for the best bartender in the Benelux during the Diageo World Class Bartender Contest twice already. At the Cocktail Spirits Awards 2013 the bar was named one of the 50 best cocktail bars of Europe underlining the quality of the experience and cocktails Jigger’s offers. This means that when visiting the bar one doesn’t have to expect the more common cocktails, although when requested the bartenders will prepare them for you of course. Every month one can discover a whole host of new cocktails on the handwritten menu’s laying on the tables. The cocktails offered, are on the one hand from pre-Bacardi domination days, very likely only known to cocktail-connaisseurs, and on the other hand variations on known cocktails produced by Jacobs and his colleagues based on their excellent taste.

When in Gent make sure to visit and enjoy the excellent cocktails and entourage of Jigger’s the Nobe Drugstore, however where earlier it was still possible to visit the bar at random, now a days due to growing popularity it’s necessary to reserve which can be done on the visiting day from 16:00.

Photography by Adam Jackson.

Jigger’s the Noble Drugstore is located at Oudburg 1 and is open: Monday from 18:00 until 01:00, Tuesday to Thursday from 17:00 – 01:00 and Fri- and Saturday from 17:00 – 02:30.

For more information and to make a reservation see here.