Venue & Details

Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild

11 rue Berryer – 75008 Paris

View on a map

The eighth edition of Whisky Live Paris will be held in a former private residence, the recently restored Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, located in the eighth district of Paris, not far from the Arc de Triomphe.

Classified as a historical monument, the building is home to some of the finest neo-classical architecture and has, for over two hundred years now, been the perfect expression of the idyllic French life-style. However, the residence is no outmoded product of the past as the recent restoration work made a contemporary approach possible also: a specially designed space with over 500 square metres of floor space and a ceiling some eight metres high was created from scratch in the basement, specifically with modern events in mind.

A unique product path

Whisky Live Paris 2011 will be playing on the different contrasts in evidence in the residence, and is putting in place a unique path through the various interior and exterior spaces, in total over 2000 square metres:

• courtyard
• historic main building
• contemporary spaces
• gardens

1. The historic main building: Whisky & tradition

Whisky will be the guest of honour in the listed parts of the building on the ground and first floors. The many rooms looking out onto the gardens is where the big players with multiple brands will be situated, as it will be easier to interact with the public on a personal and almost intimate level. On the first floor, all the other whisky brands will be grouped together by theme.

A private garden, itself leading out onto the park, helps to ensure that this first-class tasting area will remain light and airy.

2. The contemporary space: Fine Spirits and mixology

Rum & cognac

In order to make the most of these two brown spirits, they will have their own space in the specially conceived Grand Salon space downstairs in the basement. A specific approach will make it possible to concentrate entirely on the tasting aspect. This area will be the occasion to re-discover the classic and convivial tasting-approach usually thought of as belonging to whisky, and in much more contemporary surroundings.

An « armagnatèque » and a « calvadothèque » situated in the centre of the Rum & Cognac area will hold some over fifty years of vintages.

The Spirithèque

Tequila, gin, vodka, creams and liqueurs, Japanese spirits, cocktail bitters, specialities and mixology will also all be on show in the Grand Salon. The considerable size of the area allows for a strong presentation of the principal families of fine spirits. Each and every one will have its own tasting area, with the different expressions offered in their natural state and explained by a duo of male and female experts. In parallel, one major name from each family of spirits will be made available for tasting according to a specific type of consumption.

At the heart of the Spirithèque, a spacious bar, composed of six mobile bars, will be the place for some of the biggest names in parisian hotels and bars and celebrities from the world of bartending to suggest some cocktails of their own creation. This bar is intended to evolve throughout the day, with the help of an audio-visual animation system.

So that browsing through Spirithèque is as easy as possible, and the individuals brands all as visible as possible, a Spirit Book will contain them all, along with ideas for cocktails and types of consumption, and will be handed out to all aprticipants.

The VIP/Press area

At the very centre of the historic building, there will a special area created specifically for VIPs and members of the press. Three main themes will help to inspire this intimate space and crown the experience that is Whisky Live Paris 2011:

• Exceptional tastings

La Maison du Whisky will be showing our very own collector’s items from the LMDW 2012 collection. By extension, LMDW Fine Spirits will be present with some of the most unusual and most exceptional spirits brought to Paris from the four corners of the world.

• Expert encounters

The chance to meet with the many expert duos – master blenders, master distillers, journalists, and specialists – will be made available on both Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th.

• Gourmet creations

For the epicureans, a special tasting area, exceptionally rich in flavours has been prepared: Jacques Genin with his chocolate, La Maison des Trois Thés with their tea, and Café Lomi with their coffee will all be present.