Casa Eminente in Paris welcomes Clumsies takeover

Nikos Bakoulis, co-owner of Clumsies and Line in Athens, has taken residence in Cuban rum Eminente’s temporary home in Paris.

The latest in a series of guest takeovers of the bar that began with London’s Tayēr + Elementary in February this year, Bakoulis will be in residence until the house closes on 19 July.

Casa Eminente is an immersive multi-storey residence in the centre of Paris that has been transformed by Moët Hennessy into a home for the brand, complete with bar and restaurant, as well as four invite-only bedrooms. The intention is to evoke modern Cuban culture, inspired by the restaurants and bars located in family homes in Cuba, known as paladares.

“Casa Eminente is a really exciting project, expressing Cuban vibes and culture,” said Bakoulis. “In my collaboration with Casa Eminente we will serve guests some Caribbean and Mediterranean flavours for the next month.”

Combining the concept of his Athens bar Line with the Caribbean aspect of Eminente, Bakoulis has created a trio of drinks for the bar, starting with El Casa Punch, with Eminente Ámbar Claro, hazelnut butter, thyme honey and more. El Afrutado, also with a base of Eminente Ámbar Claro, includes kumquat cordial, pomegranate juice and cherry soda, while El Melocotón combines ingredients Eminente Reserva with ingredients such as white port, dried peach and tonka.

Other bartenders to have taken over the bar since its opening in February include Monica Berg and Alex Kratena of Tayēr + Elementary, Matteo di Ienno of Locale Firenze in Florence and Lucass Maraton of Symbiose in Bordeaux. When The Spirits Business visited the house recently, Raki Sillah and Arun Punavendran of Kink Bar & Restaurant in Berlin were in residence. Their trio of drinks included an Old Cuban twist, Young Croco, with Eminente Ambar Claro, spiced honey syrup, lime, huacatay distillate, spirulina and champagne.

The bar itself was designed by Hauvette & Madani’s Lucas Madani, while artistic curator Laura Salas Redondo was responsible for the house’s Cuban-inspired art and design. Located in the city’s 4th arrondissement, behind two large wooden doors, Casa Eminente is open to the public, and available for private hire. On weekends, masterclasses are held on Cuban rum and cocktail making.

Celebrating Cuban culture in Europe

As a collaboration between Moët Hennessy and the Cuban government, it’s fitting that the brand’s temporary home away from home is located in central Paris, bringing the cultures of these two countries together, and making aspects of Cuba more accessible to a European audience.

“It’s not always easy to get people to Cuba, so the idea was to create a home away from home, and be able to give people an authentic Cuban experience with a Parisian lens,” said Max Helm, international brand, market and national account manager for Moët Hennessy.

Eminente Rum combines Moët Hennessy’s expertise with dark spirits and Cuba’s long-standing rum-producing tradition. Maestro ronero César Martí has drawn on elements of 19th century rum production in Cuba, with a focus on aguardiente, the more flavourful component of the country’s rums.

“He wants to bring back the old notion of aguardiente, and what that meant in Cuba in the past, where it was really at the forefront. He wants to make that the centre of the story,” said Helm. “That really differentiates us a lot from the other rums currently in Cuba at the moment.”

The rum is also differentiated by its focus on the style of rum particular to the central Cuban province of Villa Clara, said to be a combination of the more mixable rums made near Havana and the sipping rums made on the eastern side of the island.

The range currently consists of two rums, namely Eminente Reserva and on-trade exclusive Eminente Ámbar Claro.