Origin of the bar

Patrick's dream whisky bar

Patrick Fidder received the design for his bar in a nighttime vision.
Nearly ten years after that fateful night, Patrick’s Whisky Bar at Hotel Fidder in Zwolle now boasts nearly five hundred different whiskies. “For me, whisky is inextricably linked to memories and moments.” (Already 1100 whiskies!)

"Try something better," said my father
Although Patrick’s father wouldn’t exactly be described as a devoted whisky lover, he was responsible for the first whisky his son ever tasted. In the summer of Patrick’s seventeenth year, he and his father sat under a canopy, enjoying the rain and thunder — a welcome cool-down after a long, hot stretch. “I had a Hoegaarden wheat beer in my glass. I don’t remember what my father was drinking. ‘Try something better,’ he said. ‘A whisky, genever, or cognac.’ He liked that kind of thing. So, I poured myself a Four Roses.”

Four Roses wasn’t exactly an instant hit, but Patrick’s curiosity was definitely sparked.
“At first, I needed a bit of ice — it was sharp and burned a little. The ‘protective layer’ still had to wear off. But soon I learned how to truly enjoy a good glass of whisky.” From that moment on, he started discovering whisky at his own pace — a slow pace, in fact. Something he’s grateful for.
“With every bottle I bought, I also gained a story. I slowly built memories around each bottle.”

The Bar of Patrick’s Dreams
Little by little, Patrick continued to expand his whisky collection. Not for hotel guests — but for himself.
“At one point, I had about forty bottles in the office, which also served as my living room. My sister started complaining about the lack of space. ‘It’s time you drank it all,’ she said. Well, that doesn’t happen so quickly. So I moved them downstairs into a cabinet and began offering them to guests, dram by dram.”

However, the hotel still didn’t have a proper bar. With Patrick’s whisky collection now out in the open, it was clearly time for that to change. But finding the right bar setup proved tricky. Patrick visited several bar builders, but couldn’t find the style he was looking for.

“When I was younger, I often visited antique shops with my parents. I remember seeing a confessional converted into a bar when I was about fifteen. I loved the woodcarving — it was stunning!”
Finding something similar, however, turned out to be a challenge. Until one day, while cleaning out the shed behind the hotel, Patrick stumbled upon what seemed like a pile of junk destined for the dump — but among it were side panels from antique beds, old staircase spindles, and vintage lamps. Materials that turned out to be perfect for building the bar of Patrick’s dreams.

Literally.
“After a long day of clearing out, I fell asleep and had a good rest. The next morning, my wife said, ‘You were muttering and scribbling in your notebook last night.’ I always keep a notepad next to the bed, so I picked it up — and there was a pen sketch of a bar.”
He took the drawing to Harry Houtman from Interieurbouw Van der Most. That was at the end of 2007. Shortly afterward, Houtman collected all the old materials from Patrick’s shed — including a sideboard that once belonged to Patrick’s father. By February 2008, Hotel Fidder finally had its very own bar.

The bar was later featured in an issue of Whiskypassion — read the article [here].