Cocktails in Paris

The rules don’t exist. The instincts do.

A cocktail bar can feel like familiar territory, yet each visit begins with a small moment of uncertainty: the menu. Some guests scan it for classics they trust. Others hunt for novelty. A few bypass it altogether in favour of a recommendation. That decision, simple as it seems, reveals more than just personal taste.

For this project, I reached out to people who work in the drinks industry — some spend their nights behind the bar, others rarely touch a shaker, yet all of them shape how we drink. I’ve spent time with them, shared drinks, watched them work, and listened to how they think. I trust their judgments, they are professionals and but as you will see, their methods vary, sometimes wildly, and that’s what makes that topic fascinating to me.

This is not an attempt to define the right way to read a menu. I’m not looking for a rule or a trend. I’m simply curious, I thought I was lacking a ‘scientific strategy’ myself so these are the questions I would genuinely ask them to build the best system for myself. How do professionals, who live and breathe flavour, decide what to order when they become guests? Do they look for comfort? Creativity? Technical skill? A story?

The answers show that choosing a drink is less about expertise and more about instinct. Even among industry insiders, the experience is personal, subjective, and shaped by mood, memory, and expectation. There’s no universal strategy — just individual ways of seeking pleasure in a glass.

And that is where the true story of a cocktail begins…

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When you enter a bar and get the menu, what’s your first move?
Chris: Honestly, I check the surroundings. Are other guest drinking cocktails? Are the bartenders holding their own? If yes I’ll dive into a classic tequila or aperitif cocktail.

Do you have a personal strategy when choosing a drink from a new bar?
Chris: Sometimes yes. If you’re a pizza place, I’ll judge you by the Margherita. If you’re a diner, I’ll judge you by the classic cheeseburger. If you can’t get those right, how can I expect you to get the more experimental offerings on point. Gotta start with a simple Tommys or negroni. Fewer ingredients are often harder to disguise and easier to F$?k up! I’ll be checking those house pours also!

How much do you rely on the bartender?
Chris: I think after the first drink I’ll definitely rely on the bartender. If they get that on point, then I’ll be inclined to explore a little more. Now I want to be pleasantly surprised. SIP something more unique to the bar and the person making it.

What is one thing on a menu that immediately makes you want to order the drink?
Chris: Simplicity for me is paramount. If a menu looks messy or cluttered with too many offerings, I’ll probably just order a beer and a nice sipping tequila. If you don’t have me reading a book and you keep it clean and concise, you’ll definitely have my attention!

And what is something that turns you off right away?
Chris: Honestly, it starts before the menu. It starts the moment I enter the door. Guest experience. If I’m not made to feel welcome, even on stressful nights, I’ll more likely step into a menu with a sour taste in my mouth. Keep me happy and I’m yours for life!

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When you enter a bar and get the menu, what’s your first move?
Elvira: I usually read all the menu first, I like to have an idea of the offering and the concept of the bar before asking for a cocktail. I usually start with a signature drink unless I don’t fancy any of them.

 Do you have a personal strategy when choosing a drink from a new bar?
Elvira: I usually ask the one I think I would like the most, that’s normally a spirit forward drink. If I fancy more than one, I choose the weirdest, the most intriguing or the one with the twist I’ve never tried before.

How much do you rely on the bartender?
Elvira: I prefer to choose myself, I only ask if I doubt between several cocktails or there is some ingredient I don’t know.

What is one thing on a menu that immediately makes you want to order the drink?
Elvira: I tend to choose spirit forward, umami flavours and smokiness.  

And what is something that turns you off right away?
Elvira: I usually avoid choosing acidic or citrus drinks as my first option, and I tend to steer clear of cocktails that include sparkling wine or passion fruit. The creative glasses are also a turn off. If the price is too high, I try to choose more carefully because I can’t try as many cocktails as if the price was lower.

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When you enter a bar and get the menu, what’s your first move?
Diego: Honestly, after years of visiting hundreds of bars for work and tasting drinks, I’m at a point where I like to pay attention to the details when I enter a cocktail bar! Menu creation, development ideas, drink presentation, bar food. Then I order a low-alcohol highball of the bartender’s choice, preferably without pineapple or coconut.

Do you have a personal strategy when choosing a drink from a new bar?
Diego: Often it is enough to watch the bartender’s hands as they make the drinks before ordering and if I have to choose a drink I opt for a Martini cocktail.

How much do you rely on the bartender?
Diego: If the visit has a specific purpose, I try to give just a couple of indications, such as the category of drinks such as Martini, Highball, Mocktail and I close the information by saying what I don’t like without being too pretentious. Having said that, I leave the Bartender free to choose.

What is one thing on a menu that immediately makes you want to order the drink?
Diego: I have a very simple taste. I love drinks with few ingredients and I prefer a low alcohol content, so when I have to choose, I often look for drinks with these characteristics.

And what is something that turns you off right away?
Diego: Everything as above. Except for the price, which I’ve never looked at because I believe everyone should apply the most correct costs for their work. If I had to choose the detail that immediately makes me skip the drink when looking at the next one, it would be the excessive ingredients.

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When you enter a bar and get the menu, what’s your first move?
Sam: Read it and check the prices so I know how rough a night I’m going to have (is this a trick question?).
Look for any sloppy Al that’s becoming an increasingly ugly thing in menus.

Do you have a personal strategy when choosing a drink from a new bar?
Sam: If there’s nothing that immediately grabs me, l ask what’s the most popular serve/best seller.
Pretty good indication of what to expect and what the vibe is. How old is the menu? Have the current team worked on the menu?
I never understand people that go into a brand-new bar and start ordering classics, try the menu! It’s supposed to be a fun new experience not a cocktology exam.

How much do you rely on the bartender?
Sam: Depends on their vibe. You get what you give.
If the ingredients/techniques are vague I’ll ask for more details.

What is one thing on a menu that immediately makes you want to order the drink?
Sam: In no order: Fresh ingredients, drinks reflecting local cuisine/snacks and a an extremely good pitch by the bartender serving.

And what is something that turns you off right away?
Sam: Unpopular opinions:
Over reliance on sherry where it’s all I can taste in the drink – stop that
Coffee cocktails, if it’s not an Irish coffee or espresso martini I don’t want it. Stop putting coffee in everything.
Non-effervescent drinks in highball glasses.
Unbalanced acids.

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When you enter a bar and get the menu, what’s your first move?
Thanos: Straight to the signatures — no warm-up. That’s where the bar reveals its soul or its secrets. If I see a drink that makes me say “Wait, what is THAT?”, that’s my hello.

Do you have a personal strategy when choosing a drink from a new bar?
Thanos: Yes, first round is always the bartender’s flex. I pick the drink that looks like they had the most fun creating it.

How much do you rely on the bartender?
Thanos: A lot. If you ask me A great bartender is part therapist, part magician. Why would I ignore that?

What is one thing on a menu that immediately makes you want to order the drink?
Thanos: A cheeky story or a flavour combo that feels a bit rebellious. If a drink winks at me from the menu, I’m ordering it. Confidence is attractive, even in cocktails.

And what is something that turns you off right away?
Thanos: When a drink tries too hard to be famous on Instagram. If it comes with a smoke machine, a fireworks show etc,  I’m out. Drinks have to be delicious first, photogenic second.

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What these answers ultimately show is that there’s no single way to read a cocktail menu — not even among the people who understand drinks best. Their choices aren’t driven by one rule, but by a mix of instinct and experience: judging the room, weighing simplicity, spotting sincerity, deciding whether to trust the bartender, and following personal preferences that no amount of expertise can erase.

Some professionals begin with the classics to test a bar’s foundations. Others want a signature that tells them who the bar really is. They can admire creativity, but only when it serves flavour, not spectacle. They look for honesty in a drink before they look for fireworks. And while they have strong opinions, those opinions point in different directions — which is exactly what makes them interesting.

This small survey of industry minds isn’t here to tell anyone how they should order a drink. It’s a reminder that even the most knowledgeable people approach a menu like the rest of us: with curiosity, with mood, with personal taste. Expertise doesn’t dictate choice; it just gives it layers.

Consider this a light, end-of-year reading — a peek into the habits of the people who help shape how we drink. Part one of a series that will continue to explore how professionals view the simple, subjective pleasure of choosing a cocktail. More voices are coming, with more opinions, more contradictions, and no definitive answer.

Because in the end, the best way to choose a drink is still your own.

Aurélie Duboé