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# Sakaba: Discovering Irasshai's bar with Audrey Charpenat
- URL: https://jiggerdaily.com/sakaba-irasshai-bar-audrey-charpenat-japanese-cocktails/
- Published: 2023-10-30T12:41:38.000Z
- Updated: 2025-01-27T16:05:07.000Z
- Description: Tucked away at the back of Irasshai’s grocery-restaurant, Sakaba bar highlights a cocktail menu steeped in Japanese flavors. Behind the bar, mirrors brighten the space, where head bartender Audrey Charpenat greets guests.
- Author: Thibaut Neuman
- Tags: Bars, Bar People, Menus

## The story behind Sakaba’s first cocktail menu

"Originally, for the **Irasshai** project, the cocktail menu for the **Sakaba** was supposed to be created by **Christophe Davoine** (MOF in the bar category and **Suntory** brand ambassador), but I arrived at my position earlier than anticipated. As a result, we're offering my cocktails. Nevertheless, **Christophe Davoine** tasted all my creations and gave them his seal of approval. He also had us take part in a **Suntory** training session and taught us the proper way to carve clear ice (we source ours from **The Nice Company**)—an exercise we perform in front of customers every day. The menu isn't intended to change completely every quarter, but it does evolve regularly according to the seasonality of ingredients and the products we sell at the grocery store. For example, our *Matcha Daiquiri* is about to be replaced by a *curry-infused Daiquiri*. This allows the bartenders to practice, come up with ideas, and gain a better understanding of Japanese flavors. It's also a chance for them to experiment."

![](https://barnews.fr/content/images/2023/10/irasshai_sakaba_clemence-sahuc-4.jpg)

![](https://barnews.fr/content/images/2023/10/irasshai_sakaba_clemence-sahuc-2.jpg)

![](https://barnews.fr/content/images/2023/10/irasshai_sakaba_clemence-sahuc-3.jpg)

## From video games to mixology

"Before my various bar experiences—including the opening of **Lavomatic**—I spent eight years working in the video game industry. I was already interested in Japanese culture, and I spent two years at a Japanese institute in Paris before traveling there. As a result, I've always enjoyed drinking sake, which is why I pursued my **WSET** certification in sake purely out of passion. However, it's not necessarily the simplest ingredient to use in cocktails, because of its lower alcohol content and the fact that it's not always highlighted. When it comes to mixology, whisky is my preference, although I also really like rum because of my Mauritian roots. At the moment, we're using Japanese brands like **Ogasawara**, **Kiyomi**, and **Santa Maria**, which is a pure sugarcane rum from Okinawa. Regarding gin, our recipes sometimes include **Kino Bi** or **Roku**. We also incorporate French products from the **Baccae** distillery, **Maison Ferrand**, and the *Escale à Tokyo* gin by **La Compagnie du Mieux Boire**."

![](https://barnews.fr/content/images/2023/10/Audrey-Charpenat.jpg)

## Beyond cocktails

"In addition to cocktails, our menu features many Japanese spirits for tasting, such as shochu, yuzushu, or umeshu, for instance. The bar area also hosts a spirits section where customers can purchase bottles. Finally, in the near future, we'll begin offering introductory masterclasses, and naturally, the first one will focus on sake!"

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**Sakaba**, 40 rue du Louvre ; 75001 Paris

Open 7 days a week from 6 p.m. to midnight

![](https://barnews.fr/content/images/2023/10/irasshai.jpg)

![](https://barnews.fr/content/images/2023/10/Audrey-Charpenat_2.jpg)

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## Menu

![](https://barnews.fr/content/images/2023/10/menu_sakaba_2023-2.jpg)

![](https://barnews.fr/content/images/2023/10/menu_sakaba_2023-1.jpg)