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

This month's agenda:

• 🍸 Popular cocktails
• 🏆 Awards galore
• 🚥 A synesthetic menu
• 💎 Beautiful ice cubes
• 🏅 Numerous competitions
• 🍊 Breakdown of a Negroni's cost
• ♻ Bartenders' career changes
• ☕ An Espresso Martini for lazy folks

And much more!

💎 Ice Cube Co launches its pro offer at €0.50!

Cocktail enthusiasts, rejoice! Ice Cube - Clear Ice Company continues to democratize access to pure ice and now announces the launch of a new pro offer at €0.50 each across its classic range (Perfect Cube, Old-Fashioned, and Collins)! Made in France using a slow freezing process of 3 days and available for delivery throughout France within 24 to 48 hours, these crystal-clear ice cubes will undoubtedly enhance your future creations!

🍹 Bars & Menus

Midi-Minuit

After her popup at Dali in Meurice, Margot Lecarpentier (Combat) has opened her first bar with Alain Ducasse: Midi-Minuit. For Barnews, she discussed the evolving concept of the venue based on the time of day, the importance of glassware in cocktail creation, the work with ice, the relationship with the kitchen, and much more! - See

Bar 1802

Donovan Chouari and Paul-Antoine Herbet, the new managers of the cocktail (and rum) bar 1802 in Paris, have launched an innovative menu titled "Matières". It consists of 12 recipes served in custom-made containers made from various materials (wood, porcelain, terracotta, bamboo, wicker, plastic, ...) - Source

Spectrum

In a different style, Fitz's Bar in London has launched Spectrum, a menu of 12 cocktails inspired by synesthesia (i.e., where the stimulation of one sense activates another). It aims to create a sensory experience where each cocktail is designed so that its color (classified as "light" or "dark") influences the perception of its taste (e.g., light = freshness, etc.) - Source

In Brief

• The new Bordeaux address of Remy Savage and Paul Lougrat, 🟧🟩🟪🟨🟥🟦 (aka "un_bar_avec_des_formes_pr_nom"), is officially open. Located at 17 quai des Salinières, the bar is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 6 PM to 2 AM - Source
• Jefrey's has launched a menu of 9 cocktails inspired by cult films until the end of the month. Designed by Anthony Rostoucher, it includes recipes such as the "Dude Russian", a twist on the beloved White Russian from The Big Lebowski, or a certain "What’s Up, Doc ?" with mastiha liqueur and carrot syrup, referencing the famous rabbit from Space Jam - Source

📈 Trends

Top Cocktails, and more if affinities

According to the Global Cocktail 2024 report by CGA by NIQ, a study conducted among 30,000 people in 38 countries, the Mojito is the favorite cocktail of consumers (40%), followed by the Margarita (32%) - Source

If you're interested in digging deeper into the topic, we relaunched the DistilCast (i.e., the podcast of Jigger Daily / Jigger Daily) at the end of October, with the very relevant Chris Jumentier (Trade Marketing & Advocacy Advisor @ Heads & Legs - Spirits Guardians) joining me. As the first episode of this new season, we focused on a variety of cocktail rankings, and their results often vary significantly from one source to another! To see more clearly, it's available in video on YouTube and Spotify, as well as in audio on all your favorite podcast platforms (Apple / Deezer / Amazon Music and more).

Moreover, if you like the format, we also discussed in two other episodes: innovation in the mixer field and the mention of brands in cocktail menus (which can sometimes be monetized for several tens of thousands of euros).

In short, feel free to take a look or listen, and especially to subscribe on your favorite platform. We have a lot of topics in preparation, including an episode dedicated to the role of Brand Ambassador next week! Not to be missed!

🏆 Competitions

Trophées du Bar

On Sunday, October 27, the 20th edition of the Trophées du Bar took place. After a day of varied challenges, Guillaume Hervot (Madame Pang, Bordeaux) won 1st Prize, ahead of Elsa Giraudo (Bootleg Bar, Nice) and Simon Kautz (Aedaen Speakeasy, Strasbourg), while Alice Revol (Alices, Lille) took home the Best Hope award - Source

Wizard Awards

Just before, on October 22, Gabriel Boudier held the very first French final of his liqueur creation competition, the Wizard Awards. The winning recipe, created by bartender Bérenger Bouttier, is a liqueur made from lapsang souchong, hibiscus, and Madagascar pepper. It will soon join the 2025 range of the Dijon house! - Source

Flavour Masters

The ultimate challenge of the international final of the first edition of the Flavour Masters by Mathieu Teisseire took place on Thursday, October 10. After various challenges, French bartender Maxence Piattelli won the title, ahead of Jordan Iwannidhs (Greece), Maxim Yukhno (Dubai), Francesco Manente (Netherlands), and Nguyen Minh Son (Vietnam) - Source

In Brief

• The final of the Angostura Cocktail Challenge, held in Paris on November 4, concluded with the victory of Martin Alvaro Estrella (Dirty Dick, Paris), ahead of Benjamin Fleuriot (Le Caribou, Marseille) and Maximilien Neuts (GRPS Bar, Lille) - Source
• The Île-de-France final of the St-Germain Spritz Club was won by Joffrey Vertalier, ahead of Louis Gorguet and Nancy Del Gais - Source
• The Association of Bartenders of France presented a new competition, the ABF Shaker Challenge, open to all learners in CAP, BP, or BTS in hospitality and catering. Organized on Tuesday, November 5, its podium rewarded Clément Pineau, Lucie Schmitt, and Enzo Boutin - Source
• The Calva Club announced the names of the 12 qualifiers for the final of its 4th edition, scheduled for early December: @feather_key, @juliewsk, @monsieur.ippon, @yunona_mari, @ethan.beitz, @les_cocktails_de_charles, @sushi_boy, @julius_achill, @benoitraza, @levicbartender, @jocelyn_deux_trois, @lucas_lichtenberg - Source
• Other notable finals coming up include the Artisan of Taste by Diplomatico on Monday, November 18, at Comptoir Général in Paris, followed by the final of The Bartenders Society on Tuesday, November 19, at the Aquarium de Paris.

🏅 Awards

50 Best Bars

On Tuesday, October 22, in Madrid, the World's 50 Best Bars revealed their 2024 ranking. After SIPS last year, Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico) was named the best bar in the world, ahead of Bar Leone (Hong Kong) and SIPS (Barcelona) again. On the French side, The Cambridge Public House (38th last year) moved up to 19th place, Bar Nouveau made its debut at 39th position, and Danico advanced to 49th place - Source

Further down (ranking from 51st to 100th place), we can note the presence of Little Red Door, in 59th position (vs 6th in 2023) - Source

Top 500 Bars

Meanwhile, the Top 500 Bars revealed its ranking of bars positioned between 100th and 1st place on Sunday, November 10. After Maybe Sammy in 2023 (7th this year), it is now Himkok in Oslo that has claimed the title of the most influential bar in the world, ahead of SIPS (Barcelona; 2nd) and Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City; 3rd). On the French (or mainly Parisian) side, several bars stood out in the final Top 100: Danico (23rd), The Cambridge Public House (24th), Bar Nouveau (32nd), Harry's Bar (63rd), Copperbay (69th), Moonshiner (79th), and Candelaria (83rd) - Source

The same Parisian dynamic is seen in the extended ranking from 101st to 150th place, with Bar Les Ambassadeurs (112th), Cravan (121st), Le Mary Celeste (127th), and Le Syndicat (133rd) - Source

Pinnacle

To conclude this awards section, The Pinnacle Guide announced it is expanding its scope to include bars in France (i.e., they were not included in the first two rounds of PINs recently relayed). If your establishment is interested, applications are open until November 30 at midnight - Source

📺 To watch, read, or listen

Espresso Martini

Neil Patrick Harris (aka Barney Stinson) made an appearance in a video on the account of Thomas Ashbourne, his RTD cocktail brand, in a faux challenge to make an Espresso Martini as nonchalantly as possible, with no effort 😅 - See

Negroni Economics

For fans of infographics, Vinepair interviewed 5 bars to understand how they price their Negronis. The result: 5 visual representations of the various costs associated with this cocktail, allowing a quick glance at the charges and profits remaining for each of these establishments. And as we can quickly see, it varies greatly! - Source

Tayēr Airlines

Everleaf and the London bar Tayēr + Elementary have launched Jasmine + Lily Highball, a limited edition non-alcoholic RTD based on Everleaf Mountain. While I don't place too much hope in the drink, the way Alex Kratena and Monica Suh promoted this launch on Instagram is still quite amusing! - See

Infusions Galore

What wouldn't a bartender try to infuse into a spirit? According to a recent post by Punch and its comment section, apparently not much! Herbs, fruits, vegetables, breakfast cereals, pastrami, cheese, mushrooms, mustard, ... Everything goes! - Source

Career Changes

Barmag has put together a small feature focusing on the career changes of some bar personalities. Four portraits/examples have been drawn detailing each individual's professional journey, such as Aron Farkas, who transitioned from bar manager to professional photographer; Charlotte Augustin, who moved from bartender and brand ambassador to co-founder of a social media communication agency; Emmanuel Brandelet, a former industrial designer and graphic designer who became a bartender, then a brand ambassador; and finally, Frédéric Le Bordays, who transitioned from photographer to bartender, then entrepreneur in the restaurant sector where he co-founded several establishments in Paris before moving to Lille to open the bistro Brigand.

🎟 Trade Shows

Cocktail Street

Jigger Daily was in the aisles of the very recent Cocktail Street at the last Whisky Live Paris. If you want to reminisce about it with us, we published a little recap on the site! - See

While just a few weeks ago the venue welcomed medalists and supporters within Club France, now over 30,000 cup athletes have walked the always windy aisles of this record-breaking Cocktail Street: 3 intense days, 72,000 cocktails served, more than 50 pop-up bars, and 13 street food stands competing for the public's favor.

BCB London

Meanwhile, Bar Convent London has confirmed its first edition will take place on June 30 and July 1, 2025, at Tobacco Dock in London. The event, which takes over from the now-defunct Imbibe Live, joins the family of BCB trade shows already present in Berlin, Brooklyn, Singapore, and São Paulo - Source

The next Bar Convent Berlin will take place from October 6 to 8, 2025. In the meantime, the trade show shared some figures from its last edition: it welcomed 15,114 visitors from 87 countries and over 500 exhibitors, generating 1,566 business meetings - Source

💌 That's all folks!

And that's it for this November 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! (with clear ice from Ice Cube Co if you can 😉).