Cocktails: Guest brands

Bar and hotel: they are both very closely tied. There is no palace without its legendary bar; no boutique hotel without its trendy and explosive bar. Communication vectors for the hotel when the bartender is at creative heights, these places for meeting and conviviality act as magnets that draw customers inside. And havens of peace for residents. But, as behind every good bar stands a good “mixologist”, behind every successful cocktail hides a well-known alcohol. Brands of spirits have understood this well and have made hotel bars strategic showcases for their products. Influence influencers and seduce the connoisseurs and curious alike: hotel bars distill their good image and showcase their bottles. Which goes perfectly well with upselling– or premiumisation – strategies of spirits groups.Guy Musart, President of the Barmen’s Association of France “For fresh products the organic label can give a certain edge to a menu. But organic alcohols don’t convince me. Those with continued popularity are still vodka and light rums like cachaça. The latino trend perseveres with many variations on the mojito including cucumber or basil. Another trend: premium alcohols are increasingly in demand, and this rise in range and in price might make it possible for upmarket alcohols such as eau-de-vie blanche d’armagnac to appear on menus. Moreover, I am happy to see our trade become more professional with the professional certificate bearing the complementary mention of Barman and soon the beginning of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France competition of which the finale will be in 2010.”Today, it is no longer rare to taste very successful mixes in which even the hotel’s DNA, the bar’s personality and brand image play a role. Thus, the French vodka Grey Goose partners with the Ice Kube Bar at the Parisian design hotel Kube as the Swedish Absolut vodka did...