The bar that has been making the best cocktails in the world for 10 years in Barcelona's Born district

BarcelonaThe Paradiso cocktail bar in Barcelona (c. Rere Palau, 4), the fourth best in the world according to the latest English ranking 50th Best BarsParadiso is celebrating its birthday: 10 years ago, the iconic white door opened for the first time, leading to a meticulously designed space. With a wooden ceiling that evokes the undulating ribs of a whale, and walls patterned in green with flowers, matching the waiters' uniforms, Paradiso quickly became thespeakeasy A renowned (hidden bar) in Barcelona. It all started in December 2015 and, two years later, it became the best in the world. Then the queues to get in became a constant sight in the nights in the Ciutat Comtal neighborhood.

"I had come in seventh in the 2014 World Class Cocktail Competition when I met Enric Rebordosa and Lito Baldovinos," recalls Giacomo Giannotti, adding that the cocktail bar and the Confiteria group started almost simultaneously. When Giacomo was offered the opportunity to open his own cocktail bar with them, with Enric and Lito, the Italian couldn't believe it; it was a dream he and his partner, Margarita Sáder (the creator of the uniforms), had shared, but the high cost of renting premises had dampened their enthusiasm. "I remember we arranged to meet to see a possible space, and they told me to meet them in front of my house. And I thought to myself, 'How do they know where I live?'" And no, they didn't know where Giacomo lived, but the space they wanted to rent was right below his house, and that's where the bar is located today. "I was 25 years old, and my father, who is 80, came to see the place because the project that was starting was a big one," says Giacomo. A year after the renovations, in which they remodeled the entire space, they opened it.

It was late December 2015 when they served their first cocktails. "I bought the refrigerator door from a bar in Badalona that had closed down and put all the furniture, including the refrigerator, up for sale," the bartender explains. Once through the door, we sat at the bar, under the wooden ribs, and ordered three of the most talked-about cocktails, inspired by the human brain, which are presented in the shape of a face. The brain-shaped lid opens to reveal the cocktail and a raspberry ice cream.

The cocktail is striking, surprising, both for the tableware and the way it's eaten: the ice cream is scooped out with a spoon, and then sipped. "Furthermore, in the age of artificial intelligence, it has a hidden meaning; the best computer is inside our heads." Hence the name Enigma.

The Great Gatsby cocktail

The second cocktail is the Great Gatsby, made with Macallan 12-year-old whisky, amaro, white truffle honey, lavender bitters, and smoked with vanilla tobacco and chocolate. The cocktail is served with a plate of semi-cured cheese drizzled with truffle honey. "You eat the cheese, and then you taste the cocktail, and it has the same flavor." This cocktail has been on the menu since the beginning at Paradiso. "To create it, I was inspired by the travels of the American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, who began writing the book The Great Gatsby "It originated in the US during Prohibition, and ended up in Provence," he explains. That's why the cocktail includes a sprig of lavender, to evoke Provence.

The third cocktail, probably the most spectacular, is The Cloud, served with a cloud that seems to take off, "which pastry chef Jordi Roca later adapted, creating his own version after we did." The idea is that a white cloud floats down the bar until it lands on top of the cocktail glass, "which is very refreshing and has also become a classic." This cocktail was created for the 2021 and 2022 menu (as Giacomo calls his creations), and it's made with hibiscus-infused mezcal, flax seeds, vodka, amaro, dry vermouth, birch syrup, soda water, and the coffee cloud, which falls. Each cocktail costs between 18 and 20 euros.

Ten years after its inception, Giacomo believes that cocktail culture in Barcelona is no longer perceived as elitist. "We made a documentary to explain how we started, and we realized that we were three guys, three young men, who perhaps were visionaries, but above all, we were very determined, because we had an idea and we made it happen," he says. In Barcelona in 2015, "there wasn't a place like Paradiso; the cocktail bars that existed were classic and rather elitist."

In the early days of opening, people would order the classic cocktails, like the Negroni. "And I'd tell them, 'What if you try another one? It might remind you of a Negroni, but isn't it exactly the same?'" And that's how Giacomo introduced and popularized his creations, because on his initial menu of 24 cocktails, every classic had a modern version, created by him, and created by him. "The best reward was when they tried my version and said, 'I liked it, make me another one just like it.'"

And if Paradiso's cocktails are world-renowned, so is its smoked pastrami sandwich, because you can also eat at a cocktail bar. "We have a menu of ten or twelve options, such as a cheese fondue, gildas (anchovy, olive, and pepper skewers), an anchovy with smoked butter, sourdough bread with smoked butter. For me, it has always been important that we have food," says the bartender, who also explains that within thespeakeasy Paradiso is another one. It's at the back, in a room with tables and high stools, accessed through a very special door (which can't be revealed to avoid spoiling its charm; you have to see it for yourself), and it can be reserved. It's called the Macallan room, named after one of the brands of collaborators they've worked with since the beginning.

Finally, the Italian, happy to be celebrating his birthday, tells the story behind the cocktail bar's name. He's revealed it on more than one occasion, but now that his father has returned to Barcelona to visit him, Giacomo recalls it: "Paradiso is the name of my parents' ice cream shop, Giorgio Giannotti and Franca Lugherà, which they have in Carrara (Tuscany), where I started working and where I first got my first ice cream." Back in 2015, when Enric, Lito, and he were looking for a name for the cocktail bar, they thought Paradiso was the perfect choice. There had to be one in Barcelona, ​​too.