Ok, so the location hardly looks enticing from the outside: blacked-out windows on premises that used to be home to an "adult" store. Yet A21, one of the first of the new wave of cocktail bars that arrived in the Finnish capital a decade ago, has a huge following with the creative community here. That’s chiefly due to the intimacy effortlessly achieved through the secluded curtained booths and the inhibition loosening drinks often made with eye-watering local spirits such as kossou, made with barley, or jaloviina, which is similar to cognac. If you’re intrigued by what the Fins imbibe to get through the winter, then there’s regular cocktail "workshops" here too.

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