“Put down your phone, grab a cocktail.” Alexandre Gabriel on alcohol as a means of reconnection
Γιαννης Κοροβεσης•Articles
Distiller, researcher, entrepreneur, and brand ambassador for the spirits he has produced for over four decades. A pioneer and visionary. A man who has immersed himself deeply in the history and culture of distillation and drinks production, leaving his mark across the two continents that defined it from the beginning: Europe and America. With boundless creativity, passion, and an obsession with detail, Alexandre Gabriel has, since founding Maison Ferrand, become synonymous with both quality and broad appeal, whether crafting cognac, rum, gin, or experimenting with creations that broke conventions and reinvented entire categories. I met him during Athens Bar Show 2025 for a conversation that was both enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable. We talked about everything: his philosophy, his team, the bold decision to rename his most successful brand, innovation, risk, doubt, and the joy of creation.
The first thing you notice when talking to Alexandre Gabriel is that he doesn’t see himself as a CEO. He speaks about his team like family. In fact, Maison Ferrand’s headquarters are inside the historic Château de Bonbonnet, an 18th-century estate that also happens to be his home. As he told me: he wakes up, opens the bedroom door, and finds himself… at the office, greeting his coworkers. “We live together. This isn’t a job, it’s a community. I can’t stand the corporate model. I need to be personally involved.”
He also likens his team to a rock band. While he may act as the lyricist or producer, they all share a common vision, except instead of music, they make spirits. He takes his time when hiring new members. Only after two full years of meaningful collaboration, once both sides are sure they’re compatible, does he officially welcome them, saying: “Welcome to the team. I promise you’ll never be bored.”
His second great love is creation. “I’m naturally creative and hands-on. I can’t do something just because it’s commercially right.” Citadelle Gin, one of his first major bets and among the world’s first premium gins, took four years of research before release. The same goes for the Navy Rum he presented at this year’s Athens Bar Show. “You don’t just say ‘let’s make a navy rum.’ You say ‘let’s understand what navy rum is.’” He emphasizes that ideas don’t come from marketing agencies or market studies. “I’m the idea guy. I wake up and tell my team: ‘what if we did this?’”
A good example is the “Hogo Monsta,” a hyper-concentrated rum made exclusively for industry professionals. He showcased it during his seminar at ABS, and it’s arriving in Greece in a few weeks —I’ll be trying to cover it as soon as I get my hands on it. “It’s not for everyone. And I don’t care. I want the best bartenders to have a tool no one else has.”
His work method is clearly unorthodox. Αs he himself describes it: first comes love for the product, then the team’s effort to sell it. “Marketers say you should start with market research. I say: start with vision, then figure it out. Maybe people won’t get it at first, but that’s okay.” Until a few years ago, Maison Ferrand didn’t even have a marketing department. “Instead of spending that money on marketing, I preferred to buy 500 more barrels.” His mindset shifted when he met Angélique, a marketing expert who also happened to love rum. She convinced him that good storytelling could amplify their mission.
But for Alexandre Gabriel, “team” isn’t just a concept. He’s invested years in supporting and developing his people. One colleague asked if they could build a gym so he could train in weightlifting. He ended up becoming a national champion in France in his category. Another employee, passionate about dogs, wanted to create a zero-energy shelter. “We build things together. We’ve got our own construction team. We build stills, cellars —if needed, even dog shelters.” Gabriel is involved in everything: from daily tastings of 60–80 barrels to vineyard work and quality checks at distilleries in Cognac, Barbados, and Jamaica.
His daily life seems exhausting, but he describes it with joy. He stays up late researching for his third book and wakes up groggy, just like when he was a kid on his grandparents’ farm. His day covers every stage of production: from choosing which tanks to run to deciding which batch to bottle and what goes into which barrel. “Every day, something needs your attention. One day it’s a frost in Cognac, another it’s a hurricane in the Caribbean. That’s the real life of a farmer.”
The recent hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica hard, severely damaging the historic Long Pond Distillery. “Katrina was a Category 4 hurricane and caused damage everyone remembers. This was Category 5, the highest level. Part of the roof was ripped off. Thankfully the stills and tanks held. We’re farmers. Destruction is part of our life.” Despite setbacks, they continue.
Ο Alexander Gabriel με τον υπογράφων στο Athens Bar Show 2025
Another major step was renaming their most successful brand, “Plantation,” to “Planteray.” Although commercially risky, the decision was made because of the historical connotations of the original name. When I asked if he thought the change hurt or helped the brand, he answered: “Sales were never a problem, but it took me a year to convince our bankers. Was I scared? Of course and so was my team. But when my partners in Barbados explained what the word ‘plantation’ means to some people, when they told me things you don’t want to hear, I knew the name had to change. This isn’t just a brand, it’s a mission to spread love. If something about your brand hurts people, then it has to change.” The new name, he shared, was suggested by his son. It combines the idea of a plant and a ray of sunlight —both vital to growing sugarcane.
Among the latest innovations: Citadelle Zero, a non-alcoholic gin, born after five years of failed attempts. “Hydrodistillation is demanding, but I’m confident we’ve nailed it. I want people to enjoy a proper alcohol-free cocktail without resorting to sugary juices.” He also introduced a new Ferrand Dry Curaçao —this time rum-based rather than cognac-based— called Tropical Curaçao, which debuted at Bar Convent Berlin.
Alexandre Gabriel develops around twenty new rum expressions every year. That alone explains why he could never work in a large multinational. “They’d fire me every day,” he jokes. But his team understands and embraces his passion. To him, these spirits aren’t mere products. They’re tools. Instruments. “We build the instruments. Bartenders are the musicians.”
He sees bartenders as social workers. “They’re part chef, part psychologist, part artist, part rock star. They can change someone’s day. That matters. It’s a noble mission.”
When I brought up studies showing a decline in alcohol consumption, he was skeptical: “I think these are just statistical snapshots, not long-term trends or signs of a mindset shift.” He believes such studies reflect a broader climate of fear —driven by the pandemic and global instability— that’s led to social withdrawal and disconnection.
He even cites statistics showing a rise in loneliness and a drop in sexual activity among younger generations, highlighting a deepening interpersonal crisis. But when people lose their social lives, he argues, when they end up alone, they begin to die inside. That’s why, he says, even in early human history, alcohol played a part in helping people bond. “Cavemen ate fermented fruit and had a good time together in a cave.”
For Alexandre Gabriel, drinking isn’t an end, it’s a vehicle for meaningful interaction. Throughout our conversation, he repeated one line: “Put down your phone, grab a cocktail.” He truly believes bartenders have a role in helping society reconnect in real, human ways.
Our conversation ended with a line that captures both his philosophy and his approach: “We’re building stills for the next 100 years,” he told me. “I want the person who repairs them one day to feel respect, just as we do when we repair a piece of old stonework. Even if our names are forgotten.” That’s how he defines creation: with longevity, responsibility, and faith in the unknown audience of the future.
Thank you, Alexandre Gabriel, for this de profundis confession.
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