{"id":125231,"date":"2024-03-11T15:18:59","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T14:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/archives\/125231"},"modified":"2025-07-14T10:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T08:07:59","slug":"a-conversation-with-remy-savage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/2024\/03\/11\/a-conversation-with-remy-savage\/","title":{"rendered":"The art of the cocktail: A conversation with R\u00e9my Savage and Richard Gillam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 20 February 2024, Luxembourg welcomed a true great of the international bartending scene: R\u00e9my Savage, a legend behind the bar counter, a pioneer of mixology and an innovator in bar design.<\/strong> With his pioneering bars in cities such as London (A Bar With Shapes For a Name), Paris (Le Bar Nouveau) and Lyon (L’Abstract), the French native has set new standards worldwide and is currently one of the most influential personalities in the international cocktail and bar scene.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since 2021, Caves Wengler has been committed to radically transforming the standard of the cocktail and spirits scene in Luxembourg with the “Symposium” initiative. The goal? To create a vibrant community that prioritises knowledge sharing, mutual promotion and ongoing education. A wide range of activities – from workshops to guest bartender sessions and masterclasses with world-renowned experts – provide the breeding ground for innovation and individual development. The symposium defines itself as far more than a mere meeting place; it is a platform that brings together bartenders, guests and all those who yearn for a deeper sense of purpose in order to discover new frontiers together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had the pleasure of experiencing an inspiring encounter with R\u00e9my Savage and Richard Gillam, the creative mind behind “Symposium” from Wengler, at Paname. The conversation not only centred on the event, but also on art, philosophy and what makes a good drink!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How did the collaboration between “Symposium” and R\u00e9my Savage come about? What do you hope to gain from this project?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Richard:<\/strong> I was specifically looking for talent that I could invite to Luxembourg and asked our local bartenders about it. R\u00e9my’s name quickly came up, as he is currently regarded as the “golden boy” of the scene. That’s why we invited him for a guest shift at Paname. Guest shifts like this are fantastic for both the customers and the bar, but the bartenders often don’t benefit directly from them as they are usually on duty themselves at these times. For this reason, we organise a workshop the following day with six bartenders from Luxembourg, who work with R\u00e9my and his team to refine some drinks. We have set up a small laboratory especially for this purpose.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my: <\/strong>It was precisely this “educational aspect” that particularly attracted me to the event. As the creative mind behind the bar, everybody knows the challenge: you develop a new drink and finalise about 90% of it. However, you often need someone else’s impulse or insight for the last missing 10%. This is where my team and I come in. We want to give participants the unique opportunity to fully realise their ideas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard<\/strong>: When designing the workshop, we naturally wanted to make sure it matched R\u00e9my’s style. We took inspiration from the famous, colourful Nana statue by Niki de Saint Phalle that can be found in the centre of the city and challenged the participants to create a cocktail inspired by both this statue and R\u00e9my’s approach. However, the drink was not meant to be finalised; rather, the aim was to develop a solid basic idea, which would then be brought to perfection with the help of R\u00e9my and his team. An important aspect of this is that the end result is a drink that can be added to the menu and offered on a daily basis at the local bars.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my, your bars are all centred around specific art movements of early modernism. What fascinates you about this subject matter?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my<\/strong>: Actually, my background is in philosophy, and I’ve always been fascinated by the question: Why do people create art? Why are there works of art in certain eras that are similar or address the same themes, even if the artists were not in direct contact with each other? In my opinion, people in the same era experience similar issues and look for solutions, although with different approaches and media. In modernism, for example, questions were raised that are still relevant today. Art Nouveau, for example, set itself up as an aesthetic counterpart to the Industrial Revolution. Bauhaus architecture, on the other hand, sought new solutions for living in ever-growing cities. Today, in the age of the digital revolution, we can understand these contemporary issues in a similar way.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an international player and creative mind, you certainly have further plans. Which art movement and city do you plan to create a themed bar in next?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my<\/strong>: Well I have to tell my mother, I’m an international player! (laughs). Well, I really want to make a bar in the style of futurism. Of course, you can’t do it just anywhere, it has to be in Milan! Fortunately, we have found suitable opportunities there, so we will soon be able to realise this idea. It’s always crucial that the art movement matches the city. In London, for example, we have dedicated a bar to Bauhaus. Strictly speaking, Bauhaus was not a movement, but a school, but a little creative freedom is allowed. The Bauhaus concept in London makes sense, as many Bauhaus artists fled to London during the Third Reich. Therefore, buildings and influences of the school can still be found there. For Paris, the choice of Art Nouveau was an obvious one.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how do you draw the line between these philosophical considerations and the “cocktail bar” concept?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my<\/strong>: You usually go to a cocktail bar to have a good time. It’s a small, affordable luxury that offers a little escapism from everyday life. Art Nouveau also pursued a similar idea: in art, an attempt was made to depict a romanticised form of nature that offered an escape from the aesthetically unsatisfying urban reality of the industrial age. I realise this central idea on a conceptual level both through the interior of the bar and through the cocktails themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main aims of the “Symposium” is to share your knowledge and experience with young, aspiring bartenders in this country. What are the core values you want to convey?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my:<\/strong> That’s a good question, because normally I would say that you should allow yourself to be creative. On the other hand, it’s also important to have some discipline. But I think the most important thing is not to overcomplicate things. A lot of younger bartenders think that if you use complicated techniques and exotic ingredients, it automatically makes you look like a good bartender. I think it does the exact opposite. It makes you look rather novice. Complex drinks may look cool, but they don’t usually taste good.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard<\/strong>: I completely agree. As a judge at numerous cocktail competitions, I’ve judged a lot of drinks and do you know what the rarest thing on the table was?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my<\/strong>: A good drink?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard<\/strong>: Exactly, a tasty drink! I’ve seen hundreds of drinks – creative, interesting, visually appealing – but only a fraction of them have tasted really good. That’s why I always give two pieces of advice: Firstly, make sure you can actually make the drink. And secondly, make sure it tastes good! If your drink isn’t at least as good as a fresh Raspberry Caipirinha, why bother to make it in the first place?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I’m curious to see how you’ll answer my mandatory final question. What are your favourite drinks at the moment?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my:<\/strong> As I said, I’m a simple guy: I like gin and tonics, I like martinis and generally anything with cognac. For example, there’s a drink that I’ll be offering tonight, which originates from my bar in Paris and is called “Le Finaleau”. It consists of cognac, verjus and sparkling water. Super simple, my mother could mix it, but really delicious. It’s always the first thing I drink when I come back to Paris.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard<\/strong>: I think pisco sours are really exciting right now, as a kind of modern twist on the classic sours. Otherwise, I’m always in favour of mixing classic cocktails with local spirits. Let’s take the gin and tonic: gin is actually a schnapps made from juniper berries, so it’s a kind of fruit brandy. Here in Luxembourg, we have lots of great fruit brandies: Quetsch, Kirsch, Framboise … For example, I like Kirsch with tonic much better than gin with tonic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u00e9my:<\/strong> Gross! (laughs)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, as we all know, there’s no accounting for taste. We hope you enjoy the Guestshift and good luck with the workshop tomorrow morning!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Images: Kachen & WENGLER<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 20 February 2024, Luxembourg welcomed a true great of the international bartending scene: R\u00e9my Savage, a legend behind the bar counter, a pioneer of mixology and an innovator in bar design. With his pioneering bars in cities such as London (A Bar With Shapes For a Name), Paris (Le Bar Nouveau) and Lyon (L’Abstract), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":104251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4544],"tags":[4009],"class_list":{"0":"post-125231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-portraits","8":"tag-food-news","9":"pmpro-has-access"},"featured_media_global":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanguards.eu\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}