PARIS 7 April 2022 Following a brief soft launch period, ecoSPIRITS closed loop service has launched officially in France, starting with the Paris region. To celebrate this milestone, ecoSPIRITS France has teamed up with La Maison Du Whisky and FAIR, the leading Fair Trade liquor brand, to support Experimental Group in reimagining the leading hospitality group’s famed Experience No. 1 cocktail. The new Experience Infinity cocktail will feature FAIR Vodka and be available at both Experimental Cocktail Club and at the Hôtel des Grands Boulevards through June. The early response to ecoSPIRITS in the French market has been strong, with both Experimental Group locations and more than 60 other leading on-premise venues joining the ecoSPIRITS Climate Partner Program in the soft launch period.
The making of the Experience Infinity Cocktail
Experimental Cocktail Club opened in Paris in 2007, marking the emergence of a leading European hospitality brand and operator that has since grown to encompass 24 venues in 6 countries. By focusing on high quality ingredients, Experimental Cocktail Club is credited with having catalysed the cocktail renaissance in France when few bars in the country were focusing on cocktails. Led by three passionate French entrepreneurs Romée de Goriainoff, Pierre-Charles Cros and Olivier Bon, Experimental Group has since branched out to operate bars, restaurants and hotels in Paris, New York, London, Ibiza, Menorca, Verbier and Venice. Each venue showcases the group’s signature style of tailor made bohemian luxury.
Hôtel des Grands Boulevards, Paris
Experimental Cocktail Club, Paris
Olivier Bon, Co-Founder, Experimental Group
“One of the strengths of the Experimental Group is our bars, which we have always loved. We identified a foundational problem with handling the glass bottles, the waste, and the packaging; turning to ecoSPIRITS to reduce this impact as much as possible was an evident choice. One of our establishments’ main challenges is the waste and handling of single-use glass after shifts. We turned to ecoSPIRITS to reduce the operational and environmental impact of this material with less handling, transport and waste.”
The inspiration for the Experience Infinity Cocktail is a rebirth of one of the most popular cocktails in the history of the Experimental Cocktail Club in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. FAIR Vodka, which is organic, Fair Trade certified, and available in low waste ecoTOTE™ format, was an obvious choice for the base spirit. Developed by Karim Hamadouche, Head Bartender at Hôtel des Grands Boulevards, the Experience Infinity Cocktail balances out the cereal notes of the quinoa vodka with a housemade citrus essence incorporating lemongrass, basil and chamomile.
The result is a wholistically sustainable and socially responsible cocktail imbued with freshness and lightness. In celebration of the collaboration, ecoSPIRITS, FAIR, and La Maison du Whisky will sponsor the planting a native tree in the ecoSPIRITS Forest Program for each Experience Infinity Cocktail served over the next three months. Overall, the Experience Infinity cocktail is ethically sourced, involves no packaging or ingredient waste and eliminates an estimated 61g of carbon emissions per cocktail through the elimination of single use glass. This carbon impact is supplemented by an estimated 22 kg of carbon emissions sequestered per annum by each tree planted once it reaches maturity. Trees in the ecoSPIRITS Forest Program have an average lifespan of 100 years.
The Experience Infinity Cocktail, with FAIR Vodka
Karim Hamadouche, Head Bartender, Hôtel des Grands Boulevards
“To celebrate the new partnership with ecoSPIRITS and FAIR, we decided to recreate Experimental Group’s most iconic cocktail. Named Experience infinity, it leverages a homemade citrus essence made of discarded lemon husks, combined with basil water, lemongrass essential oil and chamomile flowers. The result is a fresh, easy, and wholistically sustainable and responsible drink.”
Fair Vodka is the first vodka produced from quinoa, a grain farmed for over 5,000 years by the Incas in South America. Organic and Fair Trade certified, FAIR spirits are ethically sourced and distilled in Cognac, France. Born out of the research of French distillers and Bolivian farmers, quinoa for the production of the vodka is sourced in the Andes mountains from 1,200 Bolivian farmers grouped together in the “Anapqui” cooperative. Having joined as an ecoSPIRITS Climate Partner in France, FAIR will soon become available in ecoTOTE™ format in the United Kingdom as its partnership with ecoSPIRITS begins to expand to markets around the world.
FAIR Quinoa Vodka is now available in France in ecoTOTE format through La Maison du Whisky & Maison Richard
Alexandre Koiransky, Founder, FAIR
“Partnering with ecoSPIRITS and the Experimental Group is more than a business opportunity, this is all about sharing values of sustainability. Our brand FAIR was built on a mission to support small farmers in developing economies. If we can combine our mission with low waste and low carbon distribution, then our work has an even greater meaning. We look forward to expanding this exciting partnership with ecoSPIRITS to the United Kingdom and other markets in the months ahead.”
Jeremy Moreau, Président, eS Operator France SAS
“ecoSPIRITS France is thrilled to announce this collaboration with FAIR and Experimental Group, both trailblazers in their own right. Experimental Group were the first to bring contemporary cocktail culture to Paris back in 2008 and FAIR has been an industry pioneer in their unwavering commitment to ethical ingredient sourcing and sustainable development since 2009. These pioneers are examples of how deep sustainability runs in France, where the soft launch of ecoSPIRITS has been a unmitigated success. Stay tuned for news on exciting brand partners and many more venues in the months ahead!”
For more information about Experimental Cocktail Club and the Hôtel des Grands Boulevards, please contact [email protected]. Bars, restaurants and hotels interested in joining the ecoSPIRITS Climate Partner Program in France may contact La Maison du Whisky via [email protected]. Brands interested to learn more about joining ecoSPIRITS in France may contact [email protected].
About Experimental Cocktail Club
The Experimental Group was founded by Olivier Bon, Pierre-Charles Cros and Romée De Goriainoff, three childhood friends with a taste for innovation. Passionate about the cocktail culture that was developing in New York and London, and convinced that Paris could rediscover its rich mixological history, they opened the Experimental Cocktail Club in 2007 in a small street in the Montorgueil district, which became the spearhead of the cocktail wave in the capital. Xavier Padovani joined them in 2010, reinforcing the group’s common vision to offer a contemporary hospitality experience to a demanding clientele around the world. Now famous for introducing cocktail culture to Paris, the group now operates cocktail bars, wine bars, restaurants and hotels in Paris, New York, London, Ibiza, Menorca, Venice and Verbier.
For more information please visit https://www.experimentalgroup.com/destinations/paris
About FAIR
FAIR is the leading Fair Trade liquor brand. The hallmark of this range (rum, vodka, gin and liqueurs) is in the combined use of fair trade, sustainable development and French craftsmanship for producing these products. The brand has a philosophy of fair deals for all partners involved in the production chain. This aim has taken them across the world in order to produce high-quality spirits from the finest ingredients.
For more information please visit https://fair-drinks.com/