Experimental Cocktail Club to reopen in New York

Global hospitality collective Experimental Group is opening a new bar in Soho, New York, this summer.

The venue will be divided between two concepts, with a wine bar on the ground floor, which is the second iteration of Compagnie des Vins Surnaturel in New York, while downstairs will host the Experimental Cocktail Club (ECC), with a beverage programme curated by bartender Nico de Soto.

De Soto started working with the group 10 years ago as head bartender for ECC Paris, before moving to London to do the same at ECC Chinatown and then headed up the now-closed ECC in New York’s Lower East Side.

The original ECC in New York closed in 2016 after four years of service.

Romée de Goriainoff, Experimental Group’s co-founder, said: “Our first location of Compagnie in Soho was incredibly well received, and we’ve been looking for a second location to expand our footprint in the city for a long time.

“We found the perfect spot in Manhattan’s beautiful and historic Flatiron District. The incredible building, erected in the 1860s and emblematic of the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, will be home to our newest wine bar, with a cocktail bar in the basement.”

The bar’s interiors have been shaped by designer Dorothée Melichzon.

Melichzon was inspired by the Art Nouveau period and has reimagined the space with large upholstered banquettes, coloured glass light fixtures and a lacquered white piano.

From here, live music, in the form of pianists and DJs, will take place – as with the group’s bar in Paris.

As for cocktails, de Soto will create ‘surprising novelties’ that use clarification, carbonation and lacto-fermentation, while classics such as the Old Cuban, St Germain des Près, and Kota Ternate will also be available.

In addition, ECC will house an ‘extensive’ collection of rare, artisanal, and sometimes out-of-production regional French apéritifs and liqueurs. The group said some of these can otherwise only be found in small villages throughout France and that the experience will be ‘akin to touring the country’s finest local distillers and producers’.

De Soto added: “I’m thrilled to be partnering with the Experimental Group once again. It’s reminiscent of my days living in Paris and London, when I worked with them to open the first two Experimental Cocktail Clubs, and then when I travelled to New York to open the original location of ECC New York.

“We’re picking up where we left off, with a new location and new offerings, but the same vibe and attention to detail and quality that ECC is known for.”

In other cocktail bar news, we recently rounded up the biggest global bar openings from winter. Stay tuned for spring.