Monbazillac Martini, Neuage de Champagne, and Dom Tiki Tom

Inspired by painters, plays, and many other art forms, Buddha-Bar Manila’s Executive Bar Manager Mathias Giroud showcased his artistic ingenuity through cocktail mixing. “Normally you just get one cocktail, one garnish, but in cocktail painting the idea is to surprise the person like a painter,” says Giroud.

Using a tray as canvas, Giroud’s cocktail painting consists of three cocktail drinks. First, he mixed each drink one at a time and placed them on the tray. Afterwards, he added some raw ingredients of the cocktails as garnish. And with a brush, applied cocktail mix onto the garnishes.

Giroud’s presentation in the Cocktail Festival consists of three drinks: the Monbazillac Martini with fresh grapes and vodka mix, the Neuage de Champagne, which is a flower liqueur added with champagne foam, and the Dom Tiki Tom that is rhum with dry grass, almond, and vanilla. Surely, Giroud’s masterpiece is a soothing prelude to the much-anticipated summer season in the country.

Buddha-Bar Manila held the four-day Cocktail Festival to showcase newly born and formulated drinks of 2014, flair tending, and cocktail painting. Affectionately called  “The Alchemist,” Giroud was one of the founders of Buddha-Bar and created its signature drinks throughout the years. He has travelled around the world promoting cocktail artistry, and derives his experiences in various countries from his inspiration. “Before I come, yes, I think about the place I’m going to before doing a cocktail painting. Some ingredients may not be available in that country, so I have to cook them in my kitchen in France and pack them in my suitcase,” said Giroud.

Mathias Giroud

The French mixology expert values the importance of the exchange of information between cultures. When he goes to a certain country, not only teaches but also learns from his bar team. “If I didn’t have enough link with my bar team, I might have lost my inspiration.”

Giroud believes that marrying mixology and art is the best thing that has happened in the bar industry. “Tonight we do not have a bartender, but we have an artender. This is the beginning and I hope that the country pushes the bar industry one step further.”

Buddha-Bar Manila, Picar Place, Kalayaan Avenue, Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City, +632.856.7822