Consulting · Signature cocktails
Signature cocktails with a point of view
A signature cocktail is an original recipe that says who you are, not a version of a classic. I create one or several for your bar, restaurant, hotel or brand, we refine them over tasting rounds, and you get each one with its exact recipe, spec sheet and a simplified version your team can repeat.
I create signature cocktails and signature serves for bars, restaurants, hotels and brands: drinks that say who you are and that your team can make exactly the same way every service. Each one comes with its spec sheet and, where needed, a simplified version. Tell me the idea and I'll suggest a way forward.
What you get
- A first meeting about your venue or your brand
- One or more signature cocktails (usually 3 to 6 for brand projects)
- A written recipe with exact measures for each cocktail
- A bar version and a simplified version
- Spec sheet: ingredients, prep, glassware, garnish and method
- Tasting rounds until every recipe is signed off
- A training session for your team or your brand ambassadors
- Duration
- Indicative: 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the number of cocktails and tasting rounds.
- Format
- Hybrid: tastings and training in person in Madrid; the rest, remotely.
- Price
- Bespoke — ask for a proposal
How I work
A signature cocktail isn't a whim: it has an origin, a technique and a reason to exist. Here's how I build one.
First meeting
We talk about your venue or your brand: what you want to say, where it will be served, who will make it and with what kit.
Idea and technique
I put forward concepts and choose the technique that genuinely adds something: a ferment, a cordial, a clarification, an infusion or, sometimes, simply good balance.
Development and tastings
I write each recipe with exact measures and we adjust it through tastings until it comes out the same every time.
Two versions
I prepare the full bar version and a simplified one for when there's no time, staff or lab: an event, high volume or, for a brand, the drinker at home.
Spec sheet and handover
I hand over the spec sheet for each cocktail and show your team, or your brand ambassadors, how to make it and how to talk about it.
Is it right for your project?
Bars and cocktail bars
You want one or more house cocktails that people link to your bar and come back for.
Restaurants
You're after a cocktail that speaks to your food: as an aperitif, after dinner or for a specific menu.
Hotels
You need a house cocktail that represents the hotel and comes out the same whatever the shift.
Drinks brands
Distilleries, distributors and liqueur, vermouth or non-alcoholic brands that need signature serves to present their product.
Before we start
How is this different from cocktail menu design?
Here I create individual drinks with their own identity and leave the rest of your drinks list alone. In menu design I work on the whole menu: structure, balance between cocktails, costs and service. If it's the menu as a whole that isn't working, the other service will suit you better.
How many cocktails can I commission?
From one. For a brand we usually work on 3 to 6, so there are options for different drinking occasions. We pin it down in the proposal.
Do I need a lab or special equipment?
No. I design each cocktail around the kit you have. If a technique can't be sustained in your bar, I make the simplified version or find another route to the same character in the glass.
Does it work for a drinks brand?
Yes: I develop signature serves with your product at the centre, with a bar version and a simplified one, and train your ambassadors to make and present them. If you also need activations or events, we cover that in the events and brands service.
How long does it take?
As a guide, 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the number of cocktails and how many tasting rounds we need. When we agree the proposal, I'll give you a firm timeline.
From a working bar.
I'm co-owner and creative director of Stillroom, the gastronomic cocktail bar on Calle Moreto in Madrid, where 8 of the 19 cocktails on the menu are signatures. I work with ferments, cordials, clarifications, infusions and fat washing in our own lab. And I show how to build them on the signature serves course at Stillroom Academy.
Pairs well with: cocktail menu design, events and brands and cordials and ferments.
Shall we create your cocktail?
Tell me who it's for, where it will be served and what you want it to say. Starting from your idea, we'll work out what your menu or your brand needs.
Ask for a proposal