Tiger Paris, 75006

Tiger opened in December 2015 and embodies the latest development in the ever-evolving Paris craft cocktail scene.

We’ve seen a specialised whisky bar (Sherry Butt), we’ve seen rum (CopperBay), we’ve seen absinthe (Lulu White) and so it was hardly surprising to see Paris’ first dedicated gin bar.

There’s been a boom in small-scale gin production around the world in the last few years. People have finally caught on to how easy it is to make an aromatised, un-aged spirit – not like whisky, which you have to age in costly barrels for years, nor like vodka, which is still perceived as being cheap and nasty. Gin hits a sweet spot and it has not been by chance that we’ve seen such a rise in its popularity.

At Tiger, there are some clear Spanish influences; it was the Spanish, after all, not the English, who made gin-tonics trendy again. Drinks are, for example, for the most part, served in large balloon glasses.

What I find more rather surprising about the opening of the Tiger Bar is actually its location. Rather than the haut Marais (where you’ll find Candelaria, Mary Celeste and Little Red Door) or the Pigalle area (Glass, Dirty Dick, Lulu White, Entrée des Artistes), Tiger in a part of Saint Germain where I have long been going thirsty. It’s not that Rue Princesse is short of drinking spots, it’s just that I no longer am 18 years old and have very little desire to frequent rowdy pubs.

It’s for that reason all the more to see a carefully put together offering from professional bartenders who geek out on making their own shrubs, infusions and mixers. The team at Tiger make their own tonic water.

The cocktail menu divides into three parts – gin tonics, classic gin based cocktails, classic cocktails. The bar boasts what is possibly Paris’ largest range of gins – with everything from the commercial brands (Tanqueray, Hendricks, Bombay, Plymouth…) to the niche products (Monkey 47, Dodd’s.) The majority of cocktails are priced at the industry standard of 13 euros. As well as liquids, the (ever-changing) menu offers tasty Asian-inspired small plates to sate a hungry stomach.

For full disclosure, I worked for one of the partners of the Tiger several years ago. That’s the problem of having a small industry where everyone knows everyone else…

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