Inside Danico’s latest globetrotting menu
Peru is the current destination for the Xplorer menu series at Danico in Paris. Bar manager Corentin Gaudin gave us the run-through.
Global bar expert Nico de Soto opened Danico in 2016, but it wasn’t until 2023 that it found its niche by launching the Xplorer series.
Born in France, de Soto is behind Mace in New York, Kaido in Miami and the sadly short-lived Wacky Wombat in London. In the industry, de Soto is considered something of a jetsetter – his website boasts that he’s visited 111 countries and organised pop-ups in 56 of them – which is particularly impressive when you consider how often the average bartender travels for takeovers. It makes perfect sense that he would draw on this worldly expertise for his menus.
Peru is the fifth and final edition in the current collection, which opened in Indonesia before jetting to Mexico, Japan and India. As with the previous menus, Peru will run for six months before a new destination is revealed.
The short runtime of each menu itself is no mean feat – and something that will change in the second series. Gaudin thinks a 10-month run will give the team more breathing space to research and promote each menu – and more time for guests to make their way over.
Each menu is presented as an illustrated hardback book with a theme colour – Peru’s is a tasteful pastel red. Assembled alongside one another, the books display another illustration along their spines. While it’s pleasing to look at in the bar, the Danico team are also aware that the menu series will appeal to collectors. “We print 200 menus, and we use around 50 at a time,” Gaudin explains. “You have to change some – sometimes they get scratched. We sell 50 of them, and the rest sometimes ‘disappear’.”
He’s jovial about the thefts, but each menu costs around €65 (US$74) to create. The bar sells copies for just €30 (US$34), because the project is sponsored by spirits brands. “We don’t make money on this, it’s just to allow people to have something.”
Discovering Peru
Summarising an entire nation’s tastes and flavours in just one menu is certainly ambitious, and the team go deep in their research. Before creating each new menu, de Soto and two other team members head to the chosen destination for a research trip. Gaudin and bartender Elodie Martnon accompanied de Soto to Peru for 12 days – which seems relatively short for getting to grips with a whole country.
“It’s super intense,” explains Gaudin. “We wake up at 8am and finish at 2am. We want to go to the markets, to the fields. We need to take a car and go a bit further out [from the main cities]. We want to visit the bars, see what people do. When we come back, we feel like we really enjoyed the experience, because we discovered the most that we can.”
The 12-strong menu features some of Peru’s highlights, from the world-renowned (Machu Picchu) to local favourites (Chicha Morada and Inca Kola), including heritage mentions (Tupánanchiskama) and a bit of comedy too (Coco & the Lama – its name a reference to an anecdote involving Gaudin getting spat at by a llama).
Chicha Morada is a drink as ubiquitous in Peru as Coca-Cola is in Europe. The traditional drink has a base of purple corn, which is indigenous to the Andes Mountains. The Danico team source their corn directly from a farmer in Cusco. Pineapple, apple, cloves and cinnamon also feature, with the cocktail simply stirred and served over a large ice cube. Gaudin explains: “We wanted to keep it simple, because you can find this at fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, bars – everywhere.”
Inspired by Peru’s culinary traditions, Leche de Tigre starts with a ceviche distillate. Smoky fish, coriander, garlic, tomato, and onion are distilled with gin and coconut oil, then mixed with lime, agave and ají amarillo, a Peruvian pepper. Gaudin says: “We tried a few different fish – the first try was heavy. But we balanced it.” Despite the intense-sounding ingredients, the result is something like a savoury Margarita.
Peru’s food scene is the basis of another serve, the Domingo al Chifa, which celebrates Chinese-Peruvian cuisine, which is called Chifa. “It’s bigger than the Nikkei culture, which is the fusion of Japan and Peru,” explains Gaudin. “It is a huge culture over there – they go to the Chifa restaurants every Sunday.” The cocktail is what Gaudin describes as a ‘Peking duck Negroni’, with a base of duck fat-washed Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva Rum, sweet vermouth, Campari and hoisin sauce. A Chinese-influenced spice mix includes five spice, coriander, cardamom, fennel and Sichuan peppercorn, and the serve is finished with ‘Inca’ bitters, which are made with more Peruvian-leaning spices.
What the second season of the Xplorer series will bring is unknown, but it’s clear the Danico team will do their very best to authentically represent a nation in each glass. “We try to show the culture – a kind of potted snapshot of the country,” concludes Gaudin.
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