Imbibe la France! Five Paris cocktail bars putting spirits from the regions in the spotlight
This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Paris
France boasts a wealth of speciality spirits: brandies, vermouths, aperitifs and liqueurs. But many are so regional, so particular, that you rarely see them outside local bars. In the capital, though, that’s changing, thanks to a new generation of mixologists who are putting homegrown drinks from all over the country at the heart of their cocktail lists.
Bar Les Ambassadeurs, Hôtel de Crillon
10 Place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris
Hotel bars don’t come much more palatial than Bar Les Ambassadeurs — Le Crillon’s grand, gilded cocktail lounge overlooking the Place de la Concorde (which once witnessed Marie Antoinette’s execution and will play host to the Olympic “urban” sports this summer).
Under lofty ceilings frescoed with 18th-century cherubs, you can sit at the central horseshoe-shaped bar or sink into plush upholstery at one of the low-lit tables. The cocktail menu by talented young gun Kevin Rigault takes fresh seasonal ingredients as its cue, and makes elegant use of an array of French spirits old and new.
Tarragon, an aromatic stirred drink made with unaged eau de vie from Domaines des Hautes Glaces, an organic grain-to-glass whisky distillery in the Alps. Instead of Campari, Rigault uses Lutèce, a new-wave French aperitif created by Joshua Fontaine, co-founder of trendy Paris bars Candelaria and Le Mary Celeste. The anise-y hit of tarragon is amplified by a drop of La Fée absinthe.
Rémy Martin VSOP cognac provides the backbone for Plum, a sour on the rocks that is shaken with red shiso, plum syrup and a dash of Louis Roque La Vieille Prune plum eau de vie — a classic digestif from Quercy in south-west France.
Chartreuse is a speciality at Le Crillon — several of its rarest bottles are on display in the lobby. If you don’t fancy spending €370 on a glass of La Fabiola Tarragone Chartreuse Jaune 1966–73, you can sip regular yellow Chartreuse in the Linden, a floral twist on a martini. Website; Directions
CopperBay, Hôtel Lancaster
7 Rue de Berri, 75008 Paris
CopperBay co-founder Aurélie Panhelleux is absolutely mad about pastis — so much so she created her own house recipe. ‘Our Mauresco pastis draws inspiration from Mauresque, a Provençale aperitif,’ she explains, ‘which is pastis served long with iced water and a little bit of orgeat (almond syrup). We wanted something similar, but less sweet, so we used tonka and orange blossom, instead of orgeat. It’s made at the Distillerie de la Plaine in Marseille, and we propose it the traditional way by the glass or carafe.’
Other French specialities at CopperBay include the 19th-century quinine wine Bonal, the Fernet Branca-like Amaro Nuova Aquitania from Bordeaux, and Feli’Geto Népita Glaciale, a wild mint liqueur from Corsica. The house gin, which majors on Mediterranean herbs, is made by Distillerie de Paris, which when it opened in 2015 was the first distillery in Paris for over 100 years.
Panhelleux is a fount of knowledge on vernacular French mixed drinks such as the Tomate (pastis and grenadine — a favourite of Jacques Chirac, apparently), the Perroquet (pastis with mint syrup) and the Fond de Culottes, or ‘seat of your pants’ (Suze and crème de cassis). Adding ice to pastis before water is a terrible faux-pas, she says: ‘As any French person will tell you, adding the ice first is just terrible.’
CopperBay’s original bar is in the 10th arrondissement; it also has a branch in Marseille. Its new, faintly nautical, outpost is on the ground floor of Paris’s historic Hôtel Lancaster, which famously served as the crash pad for Marlene Dietrich for several years (one of the suites still has her piano in it). This summer, the best tables will be in the courtyard among the fairy lights and climbing jasmine. Website; Directions
Bar Nouveau
5 Rue Des Haudriettes, 75003 Paris
The French chanson on the speakers and swirling Art Nouveau fittings make this matchbox-sized bar in the arty Marais feel almost like a pastiche — but the mixed crowd it attracts (metallers, scenesters, Paris beau monde) has made it a fixture on the counterculture scene.
Its creator is French bartender Rémy Savage, a maverick whose art-movement-inspired cocktail bars in the UK and France are much admired in the trade for their combination of mixological skill and meticulously designed interiors. His Bauhaus-styled joint in east London, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, regularly figures in World’s Best lists; there’s also the Hopper-esque Abstract in Lyon, which comes complete with an on-site micro-distillery.
Bar Nouveau is a tribute to the French drinks culture that Savage grew up with. “We’re always told that the cocktail was an American invention, but France has this whole history of mixing local wines and spirits,” he says. “There is such a huge variety of terroirs, and the result is a huge range of alcohols that you can mix with.”
The marble-topped 10-seater bar is straight out of the Belle Époque, but it’s manned by heavily tattooed guys in pearls and painters’ smocks. The menu features just six cocktails, and changes frequently. The recipes are technically accomplished but also easy drinking.
Fine à l’Eau reimagines the old-school fine à l’eau (cognac and water) as a champagne-like cocktail of cognac, verjus and soda. The crystal-clear Get Perrier blends Get crème de menthe — traditionally drunk with sparkling water or as a shot — with cacao and Perrier over a trio of immaculate ice balls.
The bar’s collection of vintage French spirits is showcased in cocktails such as the Chrysanthemum, a martini-style drink made with Martini vermouth, Benedictine DOM and absinthe from the mid-20th century. There is also an exquisite stash of vintage and contemporary glassware. Website; Directions
Experimental Cocktail Club
37 Rue Saint-Sauveur, 75002 Paris
When the Experimental Cocktail Club launched in 2007, it revolutionised Paris’s bar scene, marrying craft cocktail know-how from the UK and US with an air of French decadence. Today, ECC is an international brand, with bars and hotels in cities around the world, but its original premises (which were recently revamped) remain an essential stop on any Paris bar crawl.
Visitors step off the street, through thick velvet curtains, into a room that’s thrillingly dark, twinkling with tea lights, cut glassware and a handsome zinc-topped bar. There’s an upright piano and velvet-upholstered armchairs. Wooden beams and exposed brick walls meet softly glowing chandeliers.
ECC, as it’s known, has long been a champion of new French producers — it was one of the first to list the aforementioned Domaines des Hautes Glaces, which makes expressive, terroir-driven rye whiskies in the Alps. It also stocks heritage producers such as calvados-maker Christian Drouin. His unaged Blanche de Normandie is the base for the bar’s best-selling Polite Cosmo, a twist on a Cosmopolitan.
The menu also features the regional speciality épine, an almond-y aperitif made with red wine, brandy and an infusion of blackthorn leaves. ECC’s version is made by bartender Marlène Bargoin according to her father’s recipe, in collaboration with the artisan distiller Laurent Cazottes (the doodly label is by a tattoo artist in Marseille). It is blended with marsala, cognac, myrtle and sweet vermouth to create a cocktail reminiscent of a Manhattan. An excellent way to finish the evening. Website; Directions
Le Syndicat
51 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75010 Paris
From the outside, this fly-posted premises in the 10th arrondissement looks like an abandoned shop — but inside you will find one of Paris’s best and most convivial cocktail spots.
Everything in this tiny bar, which subtitles itself “organisation de défense des spiritueux français”, is proudly French, from the hip hop on the turntable to the spirits selection. Even the hexagonal tiles on the ceiling are a nod to the outline of France. The drinks are skilled but the emphasis is on fun — on a Saturday night it can feel like you’ve accidentally stumbled into a gold lamé-curtained house party.
Signature drinks include the Spicy or Not, a sparkling mix of calvados, lemon, roasted coconut water and vin d’Arbois, and Deeez Nuuuts, a “gourmand” coupe of French blended whisky, Noix de la Saint Jean (a walnut liqueur from Provence) and lime. Mint syrup — a mainstay of many French childhoods — is repurposed in a refreshing julep with Armagnac and crème de pêche over a mountain of ice. Even the yuzu sake used in the Parfum Quartier (which also features elderberry, rose, vetiver and Esprit de Bière eau de vie) is brewed in France.
“Currently, the French drinks scene is thriving,” says Le Syndicat founder Romain Le Mouëllic. “There is a renewed interest and pride in local beverages, reflecting a global trend where many countries are rediscovering and celebrating their own distillation traditions.”
The bar also has a line of French-made canned cocktails called Féfé, which includes a strawberry daiquiri and gin basil smash. Also in the range are hard seltzers such as the Cucumber & Eucalyptus, a sparkling vodka cocktail infused with essences developed in collaboration with renowned French perfume house Jean Niel. Website; Directions
Alice Lascelles was a guest of the Hôtel de Crillon
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