For long-standing cocktail bars, explore around Les Halles in the 2nd arrondissement (2e). Harry’s Bar is a venerable establishment from 1911 where Hemingway, Sartre et other literati quaffed cocktails. Barmen here created the original White Lady in 1919, Bloody Mary in 1921 and Sidecar a decade later. At Jefrey’s, a gentlemen’s club with dandy leather Chesterfields, order a I Wanna Be This Drink (rum, strawberry juice, fresh raspberries and balsamic-vinegar caramel).
Paris’ new generation cocktail bars tend to cluster in the well-established nightlife hot spots Le Marais (3e, 4e and 10e) and Bastille (12e). For new openings, watch increasingly fashionable south Pigalle in the 9e and the upcoming 11e.
Begin at the Experimental Cocktail Club (ECC). This Parisian speakeasy pioneer was the first new-generation cocktail bar to open in the city in 2007 and it has lost none of its original appeal. A retro-chic decor evokes the cocktail-fuelled années folles (Golden Twenties) of Prohibition-era New York and cocktails are mixed with fresh fruits and homemade syrups. Pauvre Chérie – crushed pink peppercorns and fresh sage mixed with gin, sherry and bitters – is an ECC classic. The same team is behind Prescription Cocktail Club and Le Ballroom, the basement cocktail bar of restaurant Beef Club.
By the Louvre, another hot cocktail spot is the subterranean candle-lit Lockwood. On rue Frochot in Pigalle, hostess bars have been transformed into creative cocktail temples like Glass , which democratises the scene with palatable cocktails on tap, thumping music and a dance floor; Dirty Dick across the street with its exotic Hawaii-style vibe and fabulous rums; and next-door Lulu White serving absinthe-based cocktails in Prohibition-era New Orleans surrounds.
At ultra cool bar Le Coq, signature cocktails like Les Fleurs du Mal (absinthe and rose-infused vodka) and Initials BB (Benedictine and bourbon) incorporate original and forgotten French spirits with outstanding effect.
In the Marais, laidback Le Cap Horn packs a punch with well-shaken pina coladas, punch cocos and cocktails made with pisco (Chilean grape eau-de-vie).
A stunning city panorama accompanies cocktails at the Bar Américain inside Le Ciel de Paris on the 56th floor of Tour Montparnasse. Or head to Gare de Lyon where cocktails and belle époque opulence at Le Train Bleu make for a memorable au revoir (goodbye) before leaping on a train.
Regulars swear by the weekend brunches with cocktails at cool taqueria Candelaria. At Le Mary Céleste in the Marais well-mixed cocktails are partnered with oysters (September to April) and gastronomic tapas dishes. Reserve to eat – the nautical-feel bar gets rammed. Not far away in the foodie district of 11e, a hip crowd favours Blue Valentine for cocktails and exquisite dishes spiced with edible flowers by Japanese chef Terumitsu Saito.
For serious cocktailians, you can't go past the Cocktail A at Pasdeloup . Created specifically with eating in mind, the sparkling Cachaça-based cocktail is only served as part of a food pairing (with a Catalan kid goat brioche sandwich).
Nearby at À la Française cocktails come courtesy of France’s top mixologists. The drink and food menus only feature French and francophone products, old and new.
No guessing what the driver behind Le Grand Pigalle – the latest venture from the ECC team – will be when it opens in Pigalle in February 2015: cocktails. A state-of-the-art cocktail bar enjoys pride of place on the ground floor of the boutique hotel, and mini-bars in the 37 rooms are stocked with craft cocktails.
A cocktail in the bar at Hôtel Amour is utterly romantic. Within slingshot of the Eiffel Tower, St James Paris is a luxurious mansion hotel behind a high stone wall. The hotel bar, open to non-guests and al fresco in summer, is a beautiful setting for a cocktail – as is Bar 228 at five-star palace hotel Le Meurice where bartender William Oliveri has mixed cocktails for 35 years.
Little beats a cocktail with a Sacre Coeur view on the dazzling roof terrace of the edgy Generator Hostel in the 10e. Order its signature cocktail Le Macaron (gin-infused white pepper, Suze, cherry liquor, fresh ginger and macaron syrup).
As cocktails take off big-time in Paris, more and more venues are offering courses where you can learn the craft. Le Coq runs Saturday afternoon mixology classes (two hours, €60 including cocktails), as does La Maison du Whisky , which ticks off vintage cocktails, rum cocktails, advanced techniques etc in themed sessions (two hours, €90). Or get in touch with The Chamber, a pop-up cocktail club which organises monthly tastings, classes and other cocktail events for its members (annual membership €249 or one-off fee for visitors). The Chamber is the brainchild of cocktail guru Forest Collins who reviews a new bar each week. Famously, she always orders a dry martini first as a means of comparison, followed by the cocktail of her choice.
To shake your own at home, food hall La Grande Épicerie at Le Bon Marché has an entire section dedicated to cocktail ingredients.
Then there are all the pop-up cocktail classes – Paris Cocktail Week (pariscocktailweek.fr, 24 to 31 January in 2015) is the perfect opportunity to catch one.
