Tiny Cocktails

The Cambridge Public House is an English pub with cocktail expertise. Our menu never changes in its entirety and is primarily based on a seasonal cocktail offering.

On the cover page is the cocktail of the week. Then, we find the Tiny Cocktails - which we also call "amuse-bouche cocktails" - with three recipes launched two years ago. The idea came from several bars around the world, notably Handshake Speakeasy during a trip to Mexico with Hyacinthe Lescoët (note: co-founder of Cambridge Public House), and it became an obvious choice. In fact, this concept works very well. These are batched cocktails, with three different balances.

It always starts with a Gimlet, currently made with rye instead of gin. The second is invariably a "Martini style" - at the moment, a fifty-fifty balance, inspired by Japanese flavors: sake, umeshu, and a little ponzu. As for the third, the most "spirit forward," it’s a base of Manhattan, but with rum, blended with some aperitifs, including Noix de Saint-Jean and a bit of sesame oil on top for added complexity.

The recipes are designed to be quite accessible and understandable so that customers can analyze the cocktail and have something to drink very quickly – hence the batched aspect – while they delve deeper into the menu; which is particularly rich.

However, the original purpose has been somewhat diverted, and some people order the trilogy. In this case, we advise them to follow the order of the menu. It also happens that we are asked for these cocktails in standard format. Finally, some customers take a Tiny with a beer - in the spirit of a Boilermaker, but with the cocktail instead of the shot.

Last Chance

A section of our menu is titled Last Chance. Since we regularly change our offerings - at least one cocktail per week - the bar often ends up with a lot of surplus "prep" that we cannot use. Hence this section, announcing that the cocktail will remain on the menu for a few more days.

One of the recurring anxieties for a cocktail bar is being "sold out." When a bartender presents the menu to customers, we have a certain amount of information to provide, and it is always frustrating to have to start with "tonight, we are out of this cocktail." This issue is absent from the Last Chance section. If after three days there is no more of that cocktail, we stamp it with a little "game over" mark, and customers immediately understand that this drink is out of stock. We really designed this section to avoid waste, as it is difficult to anticipate the exact amount of "prep" needed when offering new recipes every week.

We don’t really communicate about this, but 2 euros per cocktail from this section are allocated to building a small fund to help charities. Last time, it was for bars in Turkey after the earthquake.

Cigarette After Sex?

The Cigarette After Sex has been present since day one. Its recipe is not subject to seasonality.  This cocktail is somewhat inspired by Mexican culture, with a base of mezcal, a bit of sloe gin, and agua de Jamaica, an infusion of dried hibiscus flowers – in the spirit of a bissap – sweetened with agave. At Cambridge, we use French honey and a bit of verjus for acidity. In my opinion, if this drink has naturally established itself on the menu, it is primarily due to its practicality, independent of seasonality. Additionally, it has a rather atypical taste: it’s a Long Drink that is quite refreshing but with character. The mezcal provides a certain length on the palate. Moreover, this spirit was not well known to the general public at the time this cocktail was created. It is a bit more recognized today, but it remains very "industry." These are quite surprising flavors for the French, but also for foreign visitors, like Asians. It always seems good to have a signature, a reference in a bar, especially when the menu has a fairly high rotation. Moreover, when we explain to customers, we always present the Cigarette After Sex as the cocktail from the first menu of Cambridge Public House, which also allows us to explain our views on seasonality.

Our second signature cocktail is the Pimm’s, now in its 6.0 version, as it changes almost every year. It is a twist on Pimm’s Cup with a different wine each year, as well as the gin. It’s a batched cocktail, to which we add dilution before carbonating, served in the spirit of a "Pet Nat" (note: natural sparkling wine). The idea here is to have a wine-based cocktail, referencing French culture. It’s also a nod to our small selection of wines on the menu.

A Menu Focused on Seasonality

All other cocktails always have a seasonal ingredient. As soon as the period is over or it is no longer available in France, it is easy for us to stop using it, as the support is easily modifiable. We don’t have an entire menu to reprint, with design to redo, since we change the cover page – made of recycled paper - every week.

Sometimes, when an ingredient has a micro-seasonality, the bar can decide right away to feature it as the cocktail of the week. The other option is to keep the ingredient for a long time, purchased at the right moment. For example, last year, we took a significant stock of mirabelles, which we then let infuse for six months in a cocktail like El Presidente. The drink is, of course, out of season, but with an ingredient acquired at its optimal time.

Moreover, eco-responsibility pairs well with the idea of seasonality. It’s a smarter way to work, in my opinion. Obviously, the cocktail bar did not invent this issue. In the kitchen, great chefs always strive to find the best product. And, by definition, that corresponds to the peak of its season.

When sourcing premium spirits or liqueurs, there is logic in also sourcing high-quality ingredients when they reach their full flavor.

During our travels, when we participate in master classes on the Cambridge while explaining our creative process and our menu, we make it clear that this formula suits us because we are in France, with local, varied, and seasonal products.

However, this could not be successfully applied in Singapore, for example, because they import all their ingredients, which are available without interruption all year round. A menu centered on seasonality would therefore be irrelevant there, and consequently, they focus on other aspects of their menu.

Focusing the menu on seasonality may not be the best concept in the eyes of some, but we like it, and the Cambridge Public House has adhered to it since its opening; we perpetuate the tradition. One of the stimulating aspects is finding the same products every year, but each time with different recipes.

Pre-batch and Sustainability

We batch a lot of spirits with liquids to save our movements and thus gain efficiency and speed, but it is true that a bar must be a lively place. There is a show aspect that should not be forgotten. That’s why we will always offer a shaken cocktail on the menu – at least a Sour - as well as "stirred" recipes.

That said, our guiding principle is to minimize our waste. However, we use many vacuum bags to store our preparations or during our travels, which results in a certain amount of plastic waste. Upon searching, the team found an alternative, with compostable vacuum bags.

We implemented composting nearly three years ago by working with the company Les Alchimistes. They come to collect our bin every week. This proves that by putting ourselves under a bit of constraint, particularly regarding eco-responsibility, we can find creative solutions.

Relationship with Little Red Door

The arrival of Little Red Door into the group is still recent, as it dates back to July. Our idea is to make them two distinct entities, with no crossover between the teams. They are two different bars, each with its own vision. Hyacinthe and I have an eye on what happens there, with meetings every Thursday, and I have the chance to focus on the creative part of the menu. The principle of seasonality is also present at Little Red Door, but the menu is crafted differently. It is designed for a duration of three months where we choose five ingredients with a fairly long seasonality (pear or apple, for example).

Hyacinthe worked a lot on the first concept of the Little Red Door menu, titled Twisted Mirror, the funhouse mirror. It is inspired by what was done at the bar's opening - an attachment to the classics - and the latest menu: Farm to Glass by Alex Francis and Barney O’Kane (note: who now oversee Bar de Vie and Comptoir de Vie). It is a mix of the two, including five classic international cocktails, with the best possible recipe and, in mirror, a version crafted 100% French with a seasonal product. The goal is to reignite the machine a bit.

The establishment will certainly also undergo a little "refresh." The Little is now 12 years old and between 300 and 400 people pass through it each night. It is an establishment that has received great recognition, a lot of international visibility, and its clientele is sometimes made up of 80% tourists.

Best Progression in the 50 Best Bars Ranking 2024

I don’t think there is a miracle recipe for progressing in the 50 Best Bars ranking. When the results were announced, we were both surprised and delighted. A large number of trends currently exist in bars internationally, among which is a return to bar styles like the Cambridge Public House, that is, a bit more relaxed, laid-back - what we call "neighborhood focus." It turns out that this has been our concept from the beginning and it has met the right moment. It must be said that many people from the industry vote, and they are currently looking for more casual establishments.

At Cambridge Public House, we have a neighborhood bar dimension, friendly and quite "chill" that we wish to maintain.

Previously, very conceptual bars were in vogue, sometimes with extravagant recipes. This may also be explained by a saturation effect in the face of all the cocktail bars offering essentially the same thing: very "clean" drinks, always clarified and with abundant use of the Rotavap.

We have our own "signature" cocktails, a bit different. We use modern bar techniques, but we also want to retain certain elements. In this regard, our emblem, which reads "Tradition and Transition," summarizes our conception of cocktails well. Certainly, the bar has a Thermomix, immersion circulators for sous-vide cooking, but the Rotavap has never aligned with the concept of our drinks.

This is undoubtedly one of the keys to Cambridge's success: the uniqueness of our cocktails is now well established, and we have not deviated from this trajectory. Our progression this year in the 50 Best is the sum of a trend and good timing.

A ranking in the 50 Best Bars provides a lot of visibility, which is very important for a business. Of course, this should not necessarily be the main goal, but it greatly helps in achieving success. As soon as the results were revealed, the Cambridge Public House experienced a spike in attendance; many customers congratulating us on this achievement. For travelers, it has really become a reference, among Anglo-Saxons, Asians. The Chinese seem to be interested in it now. In France, even, many media outlets are more willing to relay the rankings, and the French who frequent the bar easily talk about it.

I would like one day for French bars located outside the capital to appear in the rankings. We should talk about the French scene, with other cities. Lyon also has a great cocktail culture, and a recent opening like Povera in Nice also supports this. It’s more difficult, as the type of clientele that travels and is interested in cocktails favors Paris. While establishments like Symbiose in Bordeaux have an incredible cocktail offering – but also in cuisine. For now, they have less visibility, but I sincerely hope that this will happen one day; I am even certain of it.

Tips for a Successful Opening

I would advise, to start with, not to make the 50 Best the main objective, especially if it’s about opening a bar. I have participated in the launch of some establishments myself, and the solidity of the business must be the priority. If success is achieved, then it will be possible to devote a bit more time to international visibility, but that requires a lot of travel and events.

Having well-established foundations is certainly key, as then you need to be ready. Recognition in this type of ranking immediately brings an additional 20 to 40% in revenue. So, if you are not yet comfortable with the "operational," and the whole team is not yet sufficiently seasoned, it becomes very difficult to manage, and you can quickly find yourself "underwater." So, to summarize, it is important to have solid foundations and also to cultivate a community spirit. This is something quite present in the bar world, especially in Paris where we have always been lucky to know a close-knit community. Everyone knows each other, helps each other. We all have a list of recommendations for establishments to send clients to. For example, in London, it’s more competitive: when you ask a bartender for a recommendation, they will point to an address from the same group or suggest staying in their bar.

A Journey Between Eden-Roc and Bisou

I have always been immersed in the hospitality industry.  Not necessarily in cocktails, but in catering - having studied at a culinary school in a hotel high school in Nice. I discovered the bar somewhat by chance, and I immediately liked it. My parents being restaurateurs, they bought a new establishment in Saint-Raphaël and offered me to work with them. It was a great five-year experience, formative. I was very young and passionate, devouring videos on the internet and books about cocktails, while making a few trips to London to find ways to differentiate from the offering in the south of France.

Later, it seemed important to me to travel, and I spent a little over a year in Hong Kong, where I discovered great cocktail bars – like those found in London – in a very international atmosphere. I was truly immersed in this strong culture, with its hotel bars.

Upon my return, a stint at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, in Cap d’Antibes, was also very educational. However, it is a seasonal establishment, and in the fall, I found myself looking for a new job. I then decided to go to Paris and contact Jérôme Kaftandjian, also from the South and already established in the capital. He connected me with Nicolas Munoz who was looking for someone to replace Sara Moudoulaud (note: now at Bar Nouveau) at Bespoke, as she had just left to join Remy Savage at Little Red Door.

I became a bartender at Bespoke and we had a very good rapport with Nico Munoz, probably because he also comes from the South. It was a real pleasure to work with him. Quite quickly after my arrival, he found the location for Bisou, and offered me to accompany him for the opening of the establishment. Originally, it was about offering cocktails that change very often, but I believe that Nicolas had just returned from a trip to New York where he visited Attaboy and we started to think about the possibility of reproducing the concept of having no menu, but in a small place. In my memory, on the first day, we were both super stressed (laughs). We had spent the night before reviewing our classics and, in the end, it happened naturally. Customers really liked the idea, and this experience taught me a lot about creativity, especially thinking differently and quickly.

Having worked in establishments with very different profiles is a real asset. Each experience is beneficial and helps build your personality and improve your level; the club teaches you reactivity, the palace the art of service and hospitality.

Then, I did the pre-opening of Cheval Blanc with Florian Thireau. He forged his own style, and it was very enriching to work with him, but I no longer wanted to return to the palace universe and left before the official opening. Hyacinthe, whom I knew from Mary Celeste, then offered me to join them at Cambridge Public House. It turns out that I knew the place well, as a regular customer and also for having done some extra shifts there from time to time. So, I joined the team in September 2021, two months after Léa Rouel, whom we are lucky to still have with us.

These have been three wonderful years, and I hope there will be at least three more, if not more. I am now the bar manager of Cambridge, but I still consider myself a bartender and prioritize the notion of team above all. Moreover, the arrival of Little Red Door into our fold allows me to stimulate my creative side – we have taken over the lab - and Hyacinthe has just launched, with his partner Hugo Gallou, the consulting branch of the group, in which I am also involved. I feel really lucky to have such a team at Cambridge, and grateful for the trust placed in me for all these exciting new projects.