The Taste of Drinks to Come

Experimental Cocktail Club
 
In 2007, when Romée de Goriainoff, Olivier Bon, and Pierre-Charles Cros opened their first Experimental Cocktail Club on rue Saint-Sauveur in Paris’s 2nd arrondissement, few could imagine that within just five years there would be no less than four further branches in Paris with varying names, as well as ECC outposts in both London and now New York, boosting the already burgeoning molecular mixology scene into hyper-drive. And while it may seem a trifle dangerous to export cocktails to the city that invented them, the concept has been nothing short of a resounding success with the drinks cognoscenti on the lower east side.
 
The triumph is little wonder when you consider the relaxed, speakeasy scene: an interior fit-out of hand-blocked Zuber mural wallpaper, lacquered tin ceiling, huge fireplace and ikat sofas, that altogether form the perfect, slightly off-kilter backdrop for the heady and innovative 14-strong cocktail list designed by mix-meister Nicolas de Soto featuring a slew of homemade and globally sourced ingredients ranging from salted caramel mescal to habanero bitters. Our favourite? The wickedly complex and delicious Kinkakuji, which blends 12-year old Yamazaki whiskey, tamaryokucha green tea, Batavian arrack, Trinidadian rum, pineapple juice, coconut water and Japanese spices. Say goodnight boys! Seriously good drinks made by serious bartenders with serious ingredients demands serious dedication, and to score a table here with its notorious no telephone reservation policy, you’re going to need some serious dedication of your own.