Right place at the right time
It is almost two months ago that I had been in Athens.
Just in case you wonder why I am in Athens again. It is quite easy, Athens is the place to be.
There is so much happening and there are a lot of bar celebrities around. Therefor it is paradise for barstalkers. As soon as I arrived at the airport and switched on my mobile again I saw that Remy Savage, bartender of the Little Red Door in Paris, is having a guest shift at Baba Au Rum. He has been awarded as the World’s Most Imaginative Bartender two year ago. His homemade paper syrup was the key to his success to win this award of Bombay Sapphire.
Well equipped with the Strawberry Rum and Vintage Vin de Noix of Nicolas Kröger and a nice bottle of New Grove I went to Baba Au Rum, which is traditionally my first destination. The joy was great and the owner introduced me to Remy Savage. Remy showed me the new menu of the Little Red Door. It is a picture book with some straps at the side to pull out that will show the ingrediences of the according drink. The idea behind is to select the picture which attacts you the most. For this purpose the drinks had been served to a couple of artists who painted afterwards their taste sensations. Remy brought four of this drinks along. I selected the picture with the female bust and had been surprised by a drink served in a seriously looking female head mug. He works with a lot of aromatic components and gives the drinks an unorthodox touch. The spirit itself seems less important than in the preparation of classical cocktails. I asked him about his favorit spirit. He confirmed my assumption by answering that he hasn’t any strong preferences but he likes absinth a lot. Absinth was also the dominating flavor of my drink including some sherry, banana and lemon. Refreshing and light drink with its own character. The next picture of my choice was based on Tequila and had a delightful acidity caused by adding some Verjus. This drink was amazing.
And the drink benefited a lot from the throwing technique of Remy, the bubbles were fine. It reminded me of the chai preparation of the chai wallas in India. He did some large movements which you can see below. Some of the other drinks had been shake very strongly. His facial play was also interesting to watch because he smiled a lot but while preparing the drinks he turned into a concentrated and more critical face. I love to watch the facial play of bartenders, it is very interesting how they “communicate” with their creations. By the way I liked his apron with those nice little birds straight from the beginning.
After a while I moved on to The Gin Joint. The Juniper Family of Nicolas Kröger was looking for a new home and I took the H.G.S.B. Gin and the Pure Juniper to this wonderful place full of Gin. I got my passport for the Premium Juiper Meetings that started wih Martin Miller’s, Thomas Henry some freshly grounded pepper and a piece of a carot. Ten weeks they serve every week another premium gin with the according tonic. You get a stamp for each G&T. I will make the first and the second week 🙂 The idea is very nice. Altogether this bar is a wonderful place with a wonderful bar team. The ambience is great and the drinks as well. Straight like from the land of milk and honey, the Negronis, Martinis and ice cold Gin are from the tap. I found the perfect home for the Juniper Family.
After this short excursion I returned to Baba to call it a day. The most charming shaking technique I have seen so far has Thanos. It seems like he is dancing, moving his shoulders in the rhythm of the shake and moves back and forth. The ones who didn’t notice before: Baba Au Rum is my favorite bar 😉
