When winter has a firm grip, some travelers chase warmth. Others chase adventure. For some, there are few experiences more unique than stepping into a bar made entirely of ice, where every surface shines, the chill fogs your breath before the first sip and where music and laughter echo through frozen hallways.
These are not gimmicks; they’re monuments to craftsmanship and hospitality, built anew each year, and then, just as nature intended, they melt back into the landscape come spring.
In a Hook & Barrel world, that fleeting beauty feels right. After all, adventure isn’t about comfort, it’s about stories worth telling. So, throw on your fur-lined parka, and let’s tour the five coolest bars in the world.
Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos
Rovaniemi, Finland
If Santa Claus had a speakeasy, this would be it. Just outside Rovaniemi, the official hometown of Santa Claus, sits the Arctic SnowHotel, an icy fortress carved fresh each year from snow and crystal-clear river ice.
You step through the towering ice archway into a shimmering world of blue light, where benches are covered in reindeer pelts and every drink is served in a glass sculpted from solid ice.
This is one that my family and I personally experienced last year. We also explored the hotel.
The hallways were carved out of snow and led to dining rooms, a chapel for those who want to marry within the beauty of the walls and even hotel rooms where guests sleep on beds of ice with subzero sleeping bags.
I’m not sure I would spend a night there, but I didn’t decline the shot of peppermint schnapps served to me to make me at least feel warmer!
The bartenders, bundled in parkas, pour from bottles that frost over between rounds. Their best creation? The Northern Lights Negroni—a Finnish riff on the classic that swaps gin for local Kyrö rye gin and adds a whisper of cloudberry liqueur.
It’s bitter, bright and crisp like a walk through a midnight snowfield. And when you have finished your drink? Simply take the ice cup and smash it against the wall—because why wouldn’t you be encouraged to essentially have a drunken snowball throwing contest?
Finally, when you’re done, step outside and look up at the wonders of the Aurora Borealis glowing mysteriously above. Not bad for “last call.”
Drink Recipe: Northern Lights Negroni
Vibe: A frozen take on the classic Negroni, with Finnish rye gin and the subtle fruit of Lapland’s cloudberries. Best enjoyed in a glass carved from ice under the shimmer of the Aurora.
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce Finnish rye gin (try Kyrö Napue Gin)
- 1 ounce Campari
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- 1/2 ounce cloudberry liqueur
- Orange peel, for garnish
Preparation:
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass filled with ice.
- Stir until well-chilled and silky.
- Strain into a short glass—bonus points for one made of ice.
- Express an orange peel over the top and drop it in.
Icehotel
Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
Before there were copycats, there was Icehotel. Born in 1989 from the frozen Torne River, this was the world’s first ice hotel, and it’s billed as “A Frozen Icon.”
Each November, sculptors and artists from around the globe descend on the tiny village of Jukkasjärvi to carve a new version from 10,000 tons of ice and 30,000 tons of snow. The resulting masterpiece lasts only until spring.
The ice bar here is a minimalist’s dream—translucent walls, neon-blue lighting and music that echoes off the ice like cathedral bells. It’s less a place to drink and more a place to experience temperature.
A must-try is the Torne River Martini—vodka, lingonberry liqueur, pine-tip syrup and lemon zest. This evergreen-laced cocktail tastes like the Swedish wilderness distilled. The glass, of course, is made from the river itself.
Icehotel also runs ice bar outposts in Stockholm and London, but purists make the pilgrimage north to the OG of ice bars.
Hôtel de Glace
Québec City, Canada
On this side of the Atlantic, in Québec’s wintry woods, lies North America’s only full-scale ice hotel, and it’s every bit as stunning. The Hôtel de Glace rises anew each December with a different artistic theme: One year a frozen cathedral, another a crystal forest, another a mythic Arctic castle.
Step into the bar and the French-Canadian flair is unmistakable: Think DJ beats under an ice chandelier, maple syrup shots in ice shooters and travelers from every corner of the world wrapped in thermal capes.
The drink to order is the Caribou Old Fashioned, a twist on the Québécois winter classic “Caribou,” a spiced fortified wine.
Here, it’s reborn as a whisky cocktail: Canadian rye, a drizzle of maple syrup, a splash of caribou wine and orange zest. The result is deep, warming and just rebellious enough to fight back against the cold.
Drink Recipe: Caribou Old Fashioned
Vibe: A fireside spin on the Québécois “Caribou” wine tradition—equal parts elegant and rustic, perfect for après-ski storytelling.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces Canadian rye whisky
- 1/2 ounce oz maple syrup (grade A amber preferred)
- 1/4 ounce “Caribou” fortified wine (or substitute port + cinnamon)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Orange peel and clove for garnish
Preparation:
- Add whisky, maple syrup, fortified wine and bitters to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until chilled and viscous.
- Strain into a rocks glass with one large cube.
- Garnish with an orange peel studded with a clove.
Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel and Ice Bar
Alta, Norway
If the Arctic Circle had a luxury lodge, Sorrisniva would be it. Built along the banks of the Alta River, this remote ice hotel is famed for being the world’s northernmost.
What sets it apart isn’t just its scale or design, it’s the silence. Step inside the ice bar, and the world goes still except for the soft clink of glass against ice and the hum of conversation in a dozen languages.
The bar is sculpted with intricate snow art—polar bears, fish, runes—all bathed in shifting LED hues. The air temps hover near 23°F, but somehow it feels comforting.
Their signature concoction is the Blue Ice Aquavit Sour—aquavit, blue curaçao, lemon and a touch of syrup.
Guests often end their evening in Sorrisniva’s sauna and outdoor hot tub, letting the Arctic steam away the frost. It’s hard to imagine a better way to cap off a night.
Aurora Ice Museum Bar
Chena Hot Springs, Alaska
In the wilds outside Fairbanks, there’s a bar that never melts. The Aurora Ice Museum—the brainchild of world-champion ice sculptors — is a year-round ice palace maintained at a brisk 25°F, even in midsummer.
Inside, frozen chandeliers sparkle over thrones made of ice, and the bar gleams with carvings of snowflakes and spirits. The crowd here is a mix of adventurers, honeymooners and locals chasing the Aurora.
Order the legendary Aurora Appletini — vodka, green apple liqueur and a squeeze of lemon, all poured into a martini glass chiseled from solid ice.
When you step back outside into the Alaskan night, the shock of warmth is startling. But the memory of that frozen drink, that sculpted glass, that glow...it lingers.
Last Call At The Ice Bar
There’s something poetic about these ice bars. They’re born from the earth, shaped by human hands and returned to nature when the thaw comes. The same ice that chills your drink today may be part of a river by May.
These aren’t the places you stumble into by accident. You plan them. You layer up, you travel far and you drink with intention, not to escape the cold, but to meet it head-on.
For H&B readers, that’s the essence of the modern outdoorsman’s spirit: finding beauty where others find discomfort, adventure where others find obstacles and a good drink where most wouldn’t even think to look.
So, here’s to the fleeting. To the bars that melt, the glasses that vanish and the stories that stick around long after the ice is gone.
Shots of Valhalla Herbal Liqueur All Around
If mixed drinks aren’t your thing, I found a much more herbal version of Jäger, named “Valhalla,” on my trip to Finland. Valhalla was inspired by the rugged extremes of the north, endless winters, polar nights and the mythology of Valhalla, the hall of fallen warriors from Norse legend.
It’s produced by Altia Corporation (the same company behind Finlandia Vodka) and is crafted to capture the untamed spirit of Scandinavia.
The recipe was developed in collaboration with Finnish bartenders who wanted a northern answer to herbal digestifs like Jägermeister—something you could sip straight from the freezer after a day of hunting, snowmobiling or ice fishing.
It is distilled from 15 natural herbs, roots and spices, several of which are native to Lapland.
While the full recipe is proprietary, the profile includes arctic herbs such as angelica root, yarrow and wormwood, pine and spruce notes, Citrus peel and licorice root for balance and sweetness, and Gentian for that bitter backbone.
At 35% ABV, it sits between a liqueur and a digestif. It’s strong enough to warm you up, but smooth enough to sip neat.
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