Ballantine’s makes consumer’s dream bar a reality

Ballantine’s blended Scotch whisky is to make a consumer’s dream bar come to life this September in Paris, following a competition the brand held earlier this year.

L’Epicerie, a Moroccan-inspired pop-up bar in Paris, will be Ballantine’s first Bar Project

Having launched The Bar Project in France in January, Ballantine’s received over 100 submissions from the general public, all detailing creative new bar concepts.

A judging panel eventually chose L’Epicerie, a Moroccan-inspired, grocery-themed bar by bartender Abdou El Afsar as the winning concept, and will now launch the idea as a pop-up venue at Parisian club Le Chacha.

L’Epicerie, modelled after a traditional Moroccan night market, will feature shelves of fruits, spices and fresh herbs. Visitors will be able to select their own fresh ingredients from the shelves with which to form the base of their cocktail.

Peter Moore, global brand director for Ballantine’s, said: “The Bar Project has been a hugely successful pilot initiative for Ballantine’s in France, and we were pleased to see such high quality entries from across the country.”

He added that following the successful trial in France, the concept had potential to be rolled out to other markets.

The Bar Project was first unveiled in January as part of Ballantine’s brand owner Pernod Ricard’s innovation day, at which it unveiled the concept and thought process behind around 100 new projects.