Welcome to this new edition of Jigger Daily, your 100% bars and bartenders newsletter!

This month's menu (among other things!):

• 🍸 New bar openings, of course
• 🏆 A bunch of bartender competitions
• 🧪 Mixology techniques
• 🍹 The latest cocktail trends
• 🏅 Top awards and recognitions
• 🚰 A bit of prevention
• 📚 Bubbles
• 🍊 The real story of the Negroni (or not)

And much more!

🍹 Bar News

Terroir

For over ten years, Moonshiner has been the flagship speakeasy bar in Paris. To celebrate the release of its new menu paying homage to French terroir, Davide Piccone Casa, its bar manager, shared its genesis and upcoming changes (classic cocktail menu, revamped whiskey offerings, etc.) - Read more

Openings

• Arnaud Scotty, after several months as bar manager of Syndicat, has opened his own bar, Harmony. Located at 14 Avenue Trudaine in Paris (9th), it will be open from Wednesday to Saturday, from 8 PM to 6 AM - Source
• Marine Lamour (formerly of Agence Faux Rêveur and PWP) and James Drury (formerly of Pernod Ricard) have also opened a new cocktail bar, this time in Marseille: Paloma - Source
• Lyon now has a brand new spot to enjoy tiki cocktails: The Pineapple Room (21 Rue Juliette Récamier, in the 6th). At the helm is Valentin Disson, previously head bartender at L'Antiquaire - Source
• In Spain, Paradiso, the Barcelona bar ranked #1 in the 50 Best Bars 2022, has opened a new location at Pacha in Ibiza - Source
• And Shingo Gokan has officially opened his first bar in Europe, Devil's Cut in Madrid. His menu will pay special tribute to Sherry, which has greatly influenced his bartending career - Source

World's Most Iconic Bars

In a more timeless manner, Punch has shared a list of the World's Most Iconic Bars. Among the bars mentioned are the American Bar (London), Boadas (Barcelona), Harry's New York Bar (Paris), the Bar Hemingway at the Ritz in Paris, and El Floridita in Havana - Source

📈 Trends

Yuzu, Adaptogens, and RTDs

According to Allara Global (a bartender training platform), here are some of the main trends currently shaping the bar scene in the United States: Asian flavors (with ingredients like yuzu, matcha, shiso, and lemongrass increasingly present in cocktails), a growing popularity for low-alcohol or non-alcoholic recipes, the use of adaptogens (e.g., rhodiola, ginseng, ...), and the adoption of RTDs or pre-batching for establishments facing staffing challenges (or simply for faster service) - Source

Top Cocktails in the USA

CGA by NIQ has revealed the results of its Cocktail Sales Tracker, indicating that the Margarita remains the most consumed cocktail in most U.S. states. However, the Mojito now surpasses it in value in Nevada. Other popular options across the Atlantic include the Spritz, Espresso Martini, and Moscow Mule - Source

Top Cocktails in the UK

Closer to home, another study by The Whisky Masters based on Google searches in 20 British cities indicates that the Aperol Spritz is the most searched cocktail in the UK (especially in London). It is followed by the Pornstar Martini and the Negroni - Source

Millennials

According to IWSR, the consumption of non-alcoholic beverages in the United States has doubled since April 2023, with a 20% increase in volume last year, particularly driven by Millennials (a.k.a. Generation Y), who represented 61% of non-alcoholic beer consumers in April 2024 (up from 45% a year earlier). However, this increase seems to coexist with the opposite phenomenon, as this generation also shows a higher consumption of spirits than others - Source

Alcohol Consumption

Finally, according to the REACH report by CGA on alcohol consumption trends in 38 countries, 37% of consumers report drinking less alcohol than a year ago, compared to 13% who drink more. Among the main reasons cited are health concerns (68%) and budget (50%). Despite this trend, 26% of respondents still intend to visit bars and restaurants more in the next three months, more than twice the number who plan to reduce their outings (12%) - Source

🏆 Competitions

Results

• Rémy Martin hosted 24 participants in Cognac for the world final of its Bartender Talent Academy competition. Norwegian Marek Novak (Grand Hotel Oslo) took first place, followed by Chinese Ellen Xu (Chimney, Hangzhou) and Beneluxian Matthis Verhaeghe (Bar Ran, Bruges) - Source
• The Giffard West Cup 2024, whose international final took place in Angers on September 24 and 25, was won by Konstantyn Wulf (Italy), followed by Stefi Fletcher (Ireland) and Anthony Sebaaly (Lebanon) - Source
• Valentin Pérès, from the Fat Cat and kodomo bars in Toulouse, won the French final of the Stauning Drinks Kollektive competition. He represented France in the world final in September in Copenhagen, which was ultimately won by the local contestant, Logan Campbell Jones Wandel - Source
• Jameson announced the winners of its Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series 2024 competition. Following its final in Cork, Ireland from September 3 to 5, the winners were Vladimir Reitenbakh (Kazakhstan), Josh Black (United Kingdom), and Rohan Matmary (Malaysia) - Source
• Jules Daudin (Danico, Paris) won the House of Suntory DOJO 2024 on Tuesday, October 1. He will fly to Tokyo next November! - Source
• The Nc'Nean Creations competition, which we mentioned in BarNews #03, has also announced its results in recent days: Norbert Drozdowski (Stein's, Padstow) finished first, ahead of Carrie Smith (Hoot The Redeemer, Edinburgh) and Merlin Boesch (The Door, Karlsruhe) - Source
• Lilou Dalla-Libera (Groom, Lyon) won the Monin Cup France, followed by Marie Koeller (Code Bar, Strasbourg) and Nicolas Jouniau (Genever Bar, Lille). She will represent France in the international final, which will take place on December 3 and 4 in Bourges - Source
• Finally, Keegan McGregor (Canada) won the title of World Class Global Bartender of the Year 2024 at the international final of the Diageo competition, which took place in mid-September in Shanghai - Source

Upcoming

• Angostura has launched its Global Cocktail Challenge 2024, which is open to French bartenders. To participate, simply present a twist on the brand's iconic cocktail, the Queen's Park Swizzle. The best entries will be selected for the French final on Monday, November 4 in Paris - Source
• Passoã (Lucas Bols) has relaunched its international competition centered around the Pornstar Martini. Open to participants from 9 countries, including France, it offers a prize of €1000. Entries are open until October 31 - Source
• Mathieu Teisseire is organizing his international final on Thursday, October 10 in Paris, with Maxence Piattelli representing France! - Source
• As for the Bartenders Society, it has announced its international final will take place at the Aquarium de Paris on November 18. It will be preceded by the French final the day before, at the same location - Source

🏅 Awards

50 Best Bars

While waiting for the global announcement of the 50 Best Bars (on October 22), Bar Leone (Hong Kong) has already been crowned the best bar in Asia at the 9th edition of Asia's 50 Best Bars 2024. This is the first time a newly opened establishment (i.e., summer 2023) has won this distinction. Zest (Seoul) and Jigger & Pony (Singapore) complete the podium, while Coa (Hong Kong), a three-time titleholder, drops to 4th place. Singapore dominates the ranking with 11 bars (including Atlas, which won the "Legend of the List" and "Best Bar Design" awards), followed by Hong Kong with 9 establishments - Source

On an individual level, Iain McPherson, owner of Panda & Sons in Edinburgh, won the Bartenders' Bartender Award 2024, succeeding GN Chan (Double Chicken Please) in this title's history - Source

Danico Wins at the Spirited Awards 2024!

If you missed the news this summer, here it is again: the Parisian bar Danico won the title of "Best International Restaurant Bar" at the Spirited Awards 2024 during the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation! - Full list of winners

Pinnacle

The Pinnacle Guide revealed its second series of "PINs" on Wednesday, October 2. For the very first time, a bar has been rated "Exceptional" (i.e., 3 PINs on its own): Lyaness in London - Source

Top 500 Bars

The ranking of the Top 500 Bars has also resumed its unveiling, including establishments ranked between 150th and 300th place. Several French bars are featured: Combat (166th; Paris), Bisou (172nd; Paris), Bar Hemingway (217th; Paris), Bar 1802 (271st; Paris), and Abstract Bistrot (274th; Lyon). The final ranking will be presented on November 10 - Source

50 Best Toilets

If you need even more, even venturing into the most unusual rankings, Danil Nevsky announced on Instagram the upcoming launch of a voting site aimed at rewarding the best... bar toilets! Stay tuned! (or not) - Source

🍸 Technical Cocktails

Dirty Martini 2.0

Punch Drink shared a little technique to "simply" twist the classic Dirty Martini recipe. This involves using a fatwash, infusing a liter of vodka with 40g of olive oil, then freezing it to separate the fat from the liquid. Worth a try! - See

Pseudo Citrus and Mojito Express

If the Super Juice technique caught your interest, Steve The Bartender shared another method on his YouTube channel that you might want to experiment with to compare results. Developed by Brian Tasch and called "Pseudo Citrus", it allows you to obtain over 500 ml of juice from just 3-4 lemons, using only the zest, sugar, citric and malic acids, and salt - See

Another "hack" offered is a technique to quickly make a large quantity of mojitos without sacrificing quality. The key: preparing a fresh mint syrup in advance, which is briefly submerged in boiling water and ice, then blended with water and sugar, and finally filtered - See

Syrup Calculator (and more)

Jeffrey Morgenthaler has adapted his universal syrup calculator, originally shared as an Excel file, into an online version accessible from your PC or directly on your mobile. It helps determine the precise quantities needed to make perfect syrups in a 2:1 or 1:1 ratio, including with honey or maple syrup bases - See

In the same vein, he has also launched a Batch Cocktail Calculator, among others - See

Cryo Concentration

Iain McPherson (Panda & Sons) shared a video demonstrating his "Cryo Concentration" technique, which involves slowly freezing fruit juice to extract water in multiple passes (each time lowering the freezer temperature), ultimately resulting in a concentrate - See

Ghost Ice

For clear ice enthusiasts, The Educated Barfly has published a video dedicated to Ghost Ice, a rather rudimentary directional freezing system (i.e., a "pro" version of the cooler + silicone molds), but effective, allowing for the creation of many pure ice cubes without resorting to more complex (and expensive) equipment - See

Training

The Art of Shaking, the online training platform by Simone Caporale, has released a new module, the TAOS Paradiso Edition, in collaboration with Giacomo Giannotti from the bar Paradiso (#1 of the 50 Best Bars 2022). High-level training ahead! - Source

📺 To Watch, Read, or Listen

Prevention

The Scotch Whisky Association has launched a new version of its prevention campaign Made to be Measured. This aims to raise awareness among Scottish consumers about the amount of alcohol in drinks, which is recommended - across the Channel - not to exceed 14 units per week - Source

Motion Cocktails

For fans of beautiful digital creations, motion designer Simon Sjöö has created an animation of a cocktail transforming multiple times, with a lot of fluidity (pun intended), in front of a pool 👌 - See

Flavor Chart

Because it can be challenging to communicate about aromatic bitters, The Bitter Truth has published an interesting communication tool, listing its many references, categorized into several groups (Aromatic, Fruit, Savory) and detailing their flavor profiles and possible pairings (types of spirits and specific cocktails) - Source

Bubbles

For those who want to delve deeper into the topic of cocktails on tap and everything related to CO₂, the now-closed London bar Crossroads has published its first book, Bubbles: A Guide to Carbonated Cocktails - Source

The Invention of the Negroni (or Not)

To wrap up this edition lightly, TikToker boobieklapper has posted a short video attempting to explain how the Negroni was invented. If you're not too picky about cocktail history, her version holds up quite well 😅 (and if you like the format, she has also done similar videos for the G&T and the Dirty Martini) - See

📅 Agenda

Viva Agave!

Viva Agave!, the first French festival dedicated to Mexican spirits (not just agave-based) will return for its 3rd edition on October 6 and 7 (this weekend). It will be held at the Hôtel 1K in Paris - Details

Masterclass

Want to discover an extraordinary spirit? Mezcal Brothers is organizing a masterclass on MAH - Spirit of the Forest, an Indian spirit made from mahua flowers, on Monday, October 21 at 3 PM at BABEL Belleville (Paris 20) with its founders present. If interested, just RSVP to [email protected] (Note: session reserved exclusively for professionals)

Marseille Cocktail Tour

If you're in Marseille this week, from yesterday until Friday, it's the Marseille Cocktail Tour. Six establishments are participating: Le Caribou, Vice et Versa, Coquetel Club, Le Carry Nation, Copperbay, Le Directoire - Source

TOTC 2025

Finally, the Tales of The Cocktail Foundation has opened applications for seminars for its 2025 edition, which will take place in July, in New Orleans as always. Proposals must be submitted before November 21 - Source

💌 That's all folks!

And that's it for this new edition!

As always, if you enjoyed this newsletter, please feel free to share it with your colleagues, friends, and others!

With that, have a good shift!