Inside the Hôtel de Crillon, Bar Les Ambassadeurs stands as one of Paris’s most refined drinking destinations, and it now proudly unveils a new drink list. This is the second volume of A Sense of Memories — this time inspired by autumn and winter and the emotions they evoke.
A Sense of Memories 2: Bar Les Ambassadeurs’ New Chapter
Led by head bartender Arnaud Volte, the team at Bar Les Ambassadeurs has created fifteen signature cocktails guided by two key principles. The first is the use — whenever possible — of meticulously selected French ingredients. The second is a focus on seasonality, drawing direct inspiration from the colors, flavors, and sensations of autumn and winter.
Each drink evokes a specific memory: one recalls the taste of traditional gingerbread biscuits, another the freshness of an autumn breeze, and yet another conjures the image of a deserted beach covered in snow and swept by winter winds. Every cocktail comes with a corresponding illustration, guiding guests’ imagination through this sensory journey of memory and emotion.
The New A Sense of Memories 2 Cocktails and the Spirit of Autumn
The signatures of A Sense of Memories are divided into four chapters, beginning with a tribute to autumnal nature.
Forest leads the way along a woodland path with a twist on the Old Fashioned made from Scotch whisky, shiitake mushrooms, honey, soy, bitters, and hints of pine. Thanksgiving captures the warmth of festive gatherings — a sour based on bourbon and sweet vermouth infused with chicken skin and cranberries. Harvest, meanwhile, draws on early winter chills and the season of shared crops: an effervescent highball made with Japanese whisky, vermouth, honey, Madeira, spelt, verjus, and a spelt kvas.
The Festive Season
A second group of cocktails celebrates the various moments of the holiday season, featuring four recipes. New Lunar Year evokes ancestral traditions and dancing lanterns with duck fat–washed cognac, spices, honey, and soy. Gingerbread pays homage to the classic biscuit with a blend of cognac, spices, and gingerbread soda.
Hot Chocolate turns a comforting winter cup into a drink of indulgence, with rum, chocolate, spices, and chipotle chili. Christmas, on the other hand, brings together mezcal and calvados with chestnut, honey, cinnamon, and pear. Each of these creations is also available in non-alcoholic versions, designed for guests who prefer a lighter experience.
Snow-Covered Landscapes of A Sense of Memories
Four other cocktails are dedicated to the magic of snow. Mountain is a sour that combines gin, verjus, quince, gentian, elderflower, and a Carthusian monk liqueur. Seaside balances vodka, sherry, bianco vermouth, seaweed, coffee bitters, and tonic water. Flowers celebrates blossoms touched by frost, blending cognac, tonka beans, vetiver liqueur, vanilla, sherry, cacao bitters, myrtle, and chai tea. Finally, Trees evokes snow-laden branches in an aromatic highball made with tequila, homemade vermouth, pecans, and cocoa.
Friendship and Playfulness
The last four cocktails of A Sense of Memories share a more abstract common thread: friendship and carefree moments. Friendship celebrates snowball fights and walks with friends, mixing tequila, pecans, homemade vermouth, and cocoa. Birthday Cake naturally evokes celebration itself — prepared with vodka, mascarpone, ladyfingers, coffee, white cacao, cream, and cherry. Funfair draws from memories of winter carnivals, a champagne cocktail made with gin, candied apple, calvados, sherry, citrus, and champagne (also offered in a non-alcoholic version with dealcoholized gin and wine). And finally, Greetings Card captures the charm of handwritten wishes — a clarified punch of rum, walnut, curaçao, pear, clementine, spices, and milk.
Images courtesy of Bar Les Ambassadeurs
