Rohan Whyte, the Heineken Top Star, serves up some XtraCold Heineken to Keri-Ann McKenzie, brand manager for Heineken, inside the Amsterdam Ice Bar during his recent visit. - Contributed

Picture ice everywhere, it is freezing cold, negative eight degrees and you are covered in winter garb from head to toe. No, you're not in Alaska; you are in the middle of Amsterdam at Rembrandt Square in the Netherlands.

The Amsterdam XtraCold Ice Bar is the first of its kind in Amsterdam. It was opened in September 2006 and has since been delivering an extra cold experience to visitors, even in the dead heat of summer.

A Jamaican contingent, headed by Frederique Asberg, country manager for Heineken, recently made a trip to the Amsterdam Ice Bar as a part of the recently concluded Heineken Sub Zero campaign in which the company introduced coolers that are specifically designed to cool beer at below-zero temperatures.

Sub-zero cooler

The sub-zero beer has caught on with numerous beer lovers all across Jamaica since its launch and many retailers of the brew now have a sub-zero cooler in their shops.

Rohan Whyte, winner of the Top Star competition, a major part of Heineken's Sub Zero campaign, earned a trip to Amsterdam. Hundreds of contestants vied for the top spot by impressing judges with their Heineken shout-outs. Whyte was accompanied by his friend Tamirand DeLisser.

The Ice Bar

The initiators of XtraCold Amsterdam, Wilfred Hunsel and Robert van Duuren, wanted to have something unique when they created the Ice Bar. Well-known Dutch designer, Jan des Bouvrie, came up with a concept, based on contrasts with the bar, having the theme of 'Some Like it Hot' and the Ice Bar 'Some Like it Cold'.

"Water and fire are fascinating elements of nature. We absorbed these contrasts in the design for the café and the lounge. This is the starting point for XtraCold Amsterdam," reflects des Bouvrie, the national style icon of the Netherlands who enriched the interior of Holland with a touch of frost.

Two different venues

The classy establishment is divided into two different types of venues complementing each other. The interior illustrates the difference between 'hot' and 'cold'. At first, guests enter the XtraCold lounge where the interior gives a heart-warming experience.

The colours used are predominantly red for the walls and white for the furniture. Here, you eat, drink and enjoy the excellent atmosphere.

Frozen seats

The XtraCold Ice Café is completely made of ice and lives up to its theme, 'Some Like it Cold'. The walls, the bars, the seats and cocktail glasses are frozen. A temperature of minus eight degrees Celsius is maintained in order to enjoy a Heineken beer. What makes the Ice Bar special, according to Frederique Asberg, is its significant link with Heineken because Amsterdam was one of the very first places in the world where the beer campaign was launched. She also said that with Amsterdam being the home of Heineken, it seemed logical to have the winner tour the city.

Changing themes

To embrace the cold, every visitor received special thermal clothing, including gloves, before entering the IceBar. The interior will be redesigned twice a year as it tends to melt and will be replaced with new sculptures. Ronald Mooijer of XtraCold Amsterdam says that the changing themes keep the bar interesting and make it more appeasing to customers.

"People come from all over the world to visit our Ice Bar because every six months, it changes. It is ever changing and unique and that keeps it interesting, year after year," Mooijer said.

Whyte enjoyed the visit to the Ice Bar sipping on a cold Heineken and he even gave Amsterdam a taste of his winning shout-out. "I can't believe that I am here, this is a dream come true for me," he said.