Charles Schumann is the owner of of Schumanns bar in Munic, and author of numerous bar books. Tony Conigliaro, theme contributor and bar operations manager for Zuma and Roka, headed to Germany to find out what makes the man tick. Special thanks go to two Schumann regulars (of 22 years), Wolfgang Fisher and "Barbados" Mike, for Tony's two days of laughter.

Tony: So when and how did your bartending career start?
Charles Schumann: Too long ago. It was about 25 years ago now. I worked for 23 years at the original Schumann's, and two years previous to that at Harry's bar in Munich. The bar still exists, but it goes by another name now. I didn't intend for this to happen. After finishing my studies I wanted to go to Paris and was going to stop bartending because I had an offer to work in Paris for a French newspaper, as French is my second language. But friends of mine insisted that I continued to bartend. They asked me why, when I was really famous in Munich, did I want to leave? But I had doubts, as Munich was a small town. It wasn't really a capital; maybe the capital of Bavaria, but not a real capital. I wanted to stop working here, as I wanted to work in a real capital. Then a location came up and friends of mine said, "open your own bar for a couple of years, then you will be rich". I don't really remember how they persuaded me not to go and to stay and open the bar. A businessman gave me some money. So I said ok, I'll do it. At the time we opened, we were the only cocktail bar in Munich outside of the hotels. Hotel bars in Germany now have it a little better than before, as it was very difficult for them as they didn't have trade from outside.

Tony: Unlike New York, where it is more of a tradition.
Charles: Yes, exactly. After one year, we had a really big success on our hands. We had lots of writers, journalists and newspaper people coming to see us. We got more and more famous in Germany, and then we had the article in the New York Times, where the journalist wrote that we were one of the best bars in the world. After a couple of years of things going well, I decided to continue, but I never thought it was going to be forever.

Tony: So how did your American bar book come about?
Charles: I wrote the book because there weren't many good cocktail books in German. Books with pictures, yes. But no books for bartenders. Now the book is the largest selling bar book in the world, with over 25,000 copies being purchased in the U.S. last year alone. I am really proud. Not bad for a German bar book, huh!

Tony: And the tropical bar book?
Charles: I did all the books with one graphic designer, and he did a fabulous job. At the time we finished the first book, we had a friend who had lived in the Caribbean. He was a writer and kept saying to me that we should do a tropical bar book. And I kept saying, I know nothing about tropical bars. At that time I felt I couldn't do the subject justice. Rather than admit defeat, I started researching. I found that there were a few good books on Caribbean cocktails, so we took articles from famous writers about bars in general, the bars in their lives and famous bars.

Tony: When you were learning to bartend what books did you look at, and who would you credit for giving you inspiration?
Charles: I looked at all sorts of thing. English books, American books, old books like Thompson, The Savoy book had just been republished again. We were so close to Italy that we went there a lot, as there were still a couple of great bartenders that we could learn directly from. We learned from observing them, and then used this to work on our books. It took three years to do, and I am thinking of reworking and updating them now.

Tony: And how is business now you have moved?
Charles: We had a really good bar, but after 23 years of business we moved here to Odeansplatz after the owner of the house wanted to change the business. So we got the contract here. It was an over decorated French brassiere, which is very different to what we have here now, which is very purist. It is also a lot bigger than the first Schumann's. I also have a day bar now, in the centre of Munich, which is more or less a coffee bar. Although it sells cocktails too, it's very Italian, with only Italians working there. I think we make the best coffee in Germany. Really.

Tony: Do you see bartending as a form of entertainment for people?
Charles: Not at all. We are defiantly not throwing things up in the air. For me it is a serious business. The success of Schumann's is that we have truly professional bartenders. I have bartenders who have been with me for over twenty years. For me this is tremendous. They are the success of the bar. Bartenders that work behind the bar here know the business of cocktails.

Tony: What are your three favourite drinks?
Charles: (laughs) Coffee, coffee and more coffee. Seroiusly. I do have favourite drinks, for sure. Gin gimlets are high on my list, and I love whisky, mainly neat. When mixed, nothing beats a whisky sour with a good bourbon. In summer, I favour rum drinks, prefering simple stuff, like a good daiquiri.