Anais Marrot is a bartender at Bar Luciole in Cognac. She makes us two cocktails, one with Gin and Sil-Timur Berry Syrup and the second with Cognac and Homemade Spiced Bitters.
Anais introduce yourself
My name is Anais Marrot and I began my career as a pastry chef in a gastro restaurant after studying hotel and catering. My family has produced cognac for a long time, so working in a cocktail bar was a natural progression for me, as it merged spirits, creativity and a lot of links with pastry techniques and products. I first discovered Bar Luciole as a client and loved it, so when they were looking for someone I applied and I’ve been here for two years now.
The classic you want to show us
Eucalyptus Collins
50ml of Gin
25ml of Lime
15ml of Sil-Timur Berry Syrup
Top with Homemade Eucalyptus Soda
The bar you dream of
My dream bar would be a place with pastry and cocktail pairing here in Cognac in an intimate cosy place, made with Charentaise’s stones, for around 50 people. For instance, if the pastry you choose is sweet and fruity, the cocktail will be more dry to create a contrast between the two products. Gin, rum and cognac work very well with pastries, which is good. My only issue would be would I work more on the cocktail side or the pastry side, as I want to do both. One of the pairings would be a Tarte Tatin with homemade caramel and vanilla ice cream with a cocktail based on cognac and salted caramel liqueur.
What do you do in your time off
I organise tours for the team in the Cognac houses and there are more than 500 here in the area. It’s great because it allows us to explain the products in-depth here at the bar. I try to visit other bars too and I love to do research on spices and pastry techniques.
The spirit you like the most
Cognac obviously. As a category, I like its versatility… you can make 100 cocktails with a different cognac each time. That’s why we are a cognac bar and we mostly make cocktails with cognac.
What makes a good cocktail
Like in pastry, all the ingredients need to talk to each other with no one ingredient stronger than the others. This creates the right balance and one emotion.
What ingredient do you enjoy using in cocktails
It would be berries because they remind me of my pastries. At the moment there is one berry I really like using called the Sil-Timur Berry which has citrusy notes.
The signature cocktail you want to show us
Lucy
40ml of Hine Cognac VSOP
10ml of Passion Berry Liqueur
5 Dashes of Homemade Spiced Bitters (Vanilla, Cinnamon, Iris, Caramel, Ginger, Passion Berry)
7.5ml of Passion Berry Syrup
Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender
You need to go to Symbiose in Bordeaux.