Le Botaniste

Le Bar Botaniste in Paris Is Mixing the Most Creative Cocktails in Europe - AFAR

"Set inside the Shangri-La Hotel just steps from the Trocadéro and a short stroll from the Eiffel Tower, this botanically driven cocktail bar showcases head barman Clement Emery’s year-long, travel-journal approach to hunting rare herbs and preserving them in alcohol. The 20-item menu—honoring the building’s former owner, botanist Prince Roland Bonaparte—reads like a supplements aisle and features inventive tinctures and presentations (the “Nektar” is served in a bee-shaped glass and combines mead, pollen, beeswax, and propolis). Notable concoctions include the Silk Road–inspired “Cyrus” (Polish rye, black lemon powder, Lillet), the flower-garnished spritz “Bloom” (amaro with a housemade tincture of 20+ ingredients), a saffron- and green-cardamom twist on the negroni, and the “Cocoa Dementha” (gin, chocolate mint, cocoa bean, marshmallow root). Plush leather chairs, theatrical plating, and a strong focus on botanical aromatics create the feel of an around-the-world tasting journey; the bar is open daily from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m." - David K. Gibson