Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/39104
Thirst Arrondissement by Natalie Bovis community, or the fourth annual Cocktails/Spirits bar show kicking off a few Métro stops away, its hard not to become drunk on atmosphere when visiting the French capital. Over the past few years, new cocktail bars have popped up in unexpected corners of the city, and passionate bartenders have kept tipplers rife with continually renewed enthusiasm. Shaking raindrops from my umbrella and entering the main showroom at La Maison Rouge, I note the usual global spirits companies and their ambassadors impressing guests with signature cocktails. However, it soon becomes obvious that the focus at the intimate Cocktails/Spirits is on bartenders rather than brands. W Founders Thierry Daniel and Eric Fossard help those who toil behind the stick evolve by inviting prestigious bars from around the world to present their cocktail programs, and share their challenges and success stories. The featured guests from each year nominate the bars for the next, keeping the circle tight, personal and industry-driven. The 2011 line- up included Buddha Bar (Paris), Hotel Amano (Berlin), L’Antiquaire (Lyon), The Savoy (London), Papa Doble (Montpellier), Malabar (Lima) and Dutch Kills (New York). Respected personalities also led seminars on industry trends such as barrel aging, the history and future of absinthe and the culture of the Italian aperitif, each lecture filled with knowledge-thirsty bartenders from around Europe and beyond. Finally, Cocktails & Spirits ended with an elegant soirée featuring the now-obligatory specialty alcoholic punches flowing in every corner of an ornate marbled-and-arched venue. Each year there are new spirited events in all parts of the world but Cocktails/ Spirits is one to attend. If not for the seminars, parties or sharing of great bar-minds, use the trade show as an excuse to bask in the glow of the morning after a night of cocktail bar-hopping around Paris in the springtime, with or without the sunshine. Bartender Abraham Hawkins from New York bar Dutch Kills demonstrates ice carving. 112 / the tasting panel / august 201 1 as it the steaming vapors of café au lait in bed or the classical violin wafting in from the neighboring apartment that created an intoxicating aura across this drizzling June morning in Paris? Never mind the flourishing mixology THE FOURTH ANNUAL COCKTAILS/SPIRITS BAR SHOW DRAWS AN INTERNATIONAL CROWD IN PARIS PHOTO: PHILIPPE LEVY, COURTESY OF COCKTAILS/SPIRITS