BEHIND FAMILIAR iron gates sits Cobbler Yeon-hee, a classic whisky bar one may easily associate with the pub where Harry Hart—an agent in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service—had his drink right before coining the famous quote “Manners maketh man.” With the establishment of Cobbler, the owner and bartender Yoo Jong-young was able to transform a former private house into a pub that gives off a mid-century European vibe. Inside, numerous secret doors lead to various rooms with antique furniture—the interior of the bar is as intriguing as its concept of serving people customized drinks. 

   "I have worked as a bartender for over 25 years. Before opening Cobbler Yeon-hee in 2020, I had first opened a bar named Robin’s Square in Hong-dae in 2007 and ran a smaller han-ok[1] version of today’s Cobbler in Jong-ro around 2016. I always wanted to open a bar near Yeon-hee or Seo-rae Village and provide customers with an original drinking experience. I was discontent with bars that overly focus on drinks and the action of drinking itself since they often neglect the lesser-known beauty of drinking and allow the perpetuation of behaviors that contribute to its negative reputation. Bars should not be a place that merely offers customers drinks; they should rather use drinks as a medium that can encourage customers to get to know each other through genuine conversations. This is why I decided to have a garden beside the bar as a free space where customers can move around and engage with their setting.” 

   “As for my aspirations, I wanted customers to feel somewhat relaxed. While bars should always offer well-made cocktails and drinks, its owner should be conscious of interior design as well. For example, the symbolic reason why the bar tables here are designed thick and wide is to let customers leave all big or small burdens behind once they step out of the bar after a few drinks. They also often leave behind personal belongings here, which is fine too as long as they come back for it.”

   “Our bar does not have a strict menu. There are countless recipes to make cocktails, and we use that to our advantage. Even a small change in mixing or in the intensity a bartender shakes the cobbler shaker can heavily affect the drink’s final taste. When ordering drinks, customers either order ones they are familiar with, or they take a risk with something bold. It is always a 50:50 gamble for customers. So, we got rid of that predicament by removing set printed menus, choosing instead to communicate with our customers. If they already had dinner on their way to Cobbler, then we would make a light fruit-flavored drink with sparkling water. If they already had a few shots on their way here, we would consider that too when taking their order. This process takes longer than usual bars because we have to spend more time asking how customers feel, what they ate that day, and guide them through their drink choice. Fortunately, it never failed us, and, daringly, we believe this is why customers frequent our bars.”

   “The bar has two floors, but the second floor is now under construction. Once it is done, we are going to spare rooms for seminars targeted to those customers who want to taste various types of single malt whiskeys and gins and make drinks with the help of a bartender. Some of my attempts working on the seminar made me realize the need to invest in a distillery that I am planning for the more distant future. My main focus, for now, is to provide more services through Cobbler. The first floor is still going to be operated as a bar at regular operating hours, but wouldn’t it be tempting to taste samples from the actual bar?”

   “While drinking is no longer tabooed, it is still often negatively portrayed. Of course, alcohol addiction or driving under the influence should never be excused; however, I believe there are definite benefits to drinking in moderation. Sometimes, several sips can lead you to discover hidden qualities of your co-worker, who you assumed to be always boring and unfriendly at your workplace. As a bartender, this is the goal that we wish to achieve: providing an opportunity to open up one’s heart to another and ensure that our customers are drinking responsibly. It is one of the things I educate my staff members about in every workshop session.”

   “Ten years from now, I do not see myself expanding the bar but rather focusing on my gin distillery in Yang-pyeong and later introducing a Korean-made gin in the global market. As a bartender, I always dreamed of one day receiving credit for the drinks that I have invented. Perhaps, that is every bartender’s ultimate dream. When I reach my sixties, I would like to open a small bar with no menus and no orders, which means that all my customers would be those whose tastes and preferences I know. Probably they would be people who have stood beside me, watched me grow, and sometimes fail, and I want to spend the rest of my time with them as their one and only bartender. Sadly, one of the things that a bartender can never have is a ‘bartender’ for him or herself. Bartenders usually start working when others leave their workplaces to destress, so if we were to find one for ourselves, who would be serving the customers? Even though I may not get to have a bartender myself, I hope Cobbler aims to be a place that can pat you on the back after an exhausting day or be a place where you can even celebrate the good ones.”

[1] Han-ok: A traditional Korean house