Simone Caporale and Marc Alvarez revolutionise the bar concept with a new project offering liquid tasting menus within Sips Drinkery House.
The name Sips (‘sips’, in English) already hid the original idea that Simone Caporale and Marc Álvarez had thought up for their Barcelona venue, currently considered the Best Bar in the World in the ranking of The World’s 50 Best Bars. The plural of the word is no coincidence either: their proposal did not want to focus on a single sip but on a sequence that explores flavours and aromas through gastronomic cocktails. And this is precisely the essence of Esencia.
Simone Caporale and his partner Marc Alvarez. Interior space Esencia by Sips
The way to oneself
Although this was the original idea for the restaurant, the pandemic made them change their plans a little. They opted to offer a classic menu of signature cocktails which, however, could not hide the great imagination of a team that seems to conceive each cocktail as a chef conceives a Michelin-starred dish. From now on, they will continue to maintain the Sips proposal but will add this new, completely unique concept.
Simone Caporale preparing a cocktail inspired by Andalusia.
As Caporale points out: “The first part of Sips will remain a pret-a-porter, where you can have a negroni or a signature cocktail. But Sips will only share three things with Esencia: the front door, the toilets and the wifi”. The renowned bartender also adds that, to create the cocktails for the new speakeasy, they have spent months experimenting and testing with local and global ingredients and spirits.
Unpacking abstract concepts
Under such abstract names as Tokyo, Ice or Bloody Mary, diners will be able to try eight to twelve cocktails that surprise with their originality and contrast of unusual flavours. The Japanese capital, for example, inspires sips that shun the ubiquitous matcha tea to highlight ingredients such as calamansi, little known in our country but widely used in Asia, which brings a strong citrus flavour.
Left: Bloody Mary cocktail. Above: ice ball with sherry wine and pine liqueur, … below the sea asparagus or salt grass, gives it the light green mixed with tequila and vermouth. Cocktail with mint soda mixed with fino and an ice cube.
The new cocktails, with a low alcohol content, also feature ingredients as divergent as candied chestnuts, fir honey or miso, and highlight cocktails such as rebujito, which they version with a homemade soda. Childhood memories, such as afternoons in the snow, also play an important role in one of the sequences, demonstrating that flavours and memory are closely linked.
A unique experience
Álvarez puts it another way: “Our idea is to seek the essence of our work. And we believe that this is found in the first sip of a cocktail, the one where we come into contact with the liquid that the bartender has prepared. For us, that can be a magical moment.” As magical as this new speakeasy that breaks the mould and surprises all five senses equally.
The tasting menu of these ‘sips’ is €65, all created by bartenders Marc Álvarez and Simone Caporale.
Esencia by Sips: Muntaner, 108 Barcelona
