{"id":25909,"date":"2025-11-13T08:48:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T06:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitterbooze.vfhost.gr\/?p=25909"},"modified":"2026-03-08T13:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T11:57:09","slug":"put-down-your-phone-grab-a-cocktail-alexandre-gabriel-on-alcohol-as-a-means-of-reconnection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/put-down-your-phone-grab-a-cocktail-alexandre-gabriel-on-alcohol-as-a-means-of-reconnection\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPut down your phone, grab a cocktail.\u201d Alexandre Gabriel on alcohol as a means of reconnection"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/strong> has, since founding Maison Ferrand<\/strong>, 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

The first thing you notice when talking to Alexandre Gabriel<\/strong> is that he doesn\u2019t see himself as a CEO. He speaks about his team like family. In fact, Maison Ferrand\u2019s<\/strong> headquarters are inside the historic Ch\u00e2teau de Bonbonnet<\/strong>, 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\u2026 at the office, greeting his coworkers. \u201cWe live together. This isn\u2019t a job, it\u2019s a community. I can\u2019t stand the corporate model. I need to be personally involved.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

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\u2019re compatible, does he officially welcome them, saying: \u201cWelcome to the team. I promise you\u2019ll never be bored.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His second great love is creation. \u201cI\u2019m naturally creative and hands-on. I can\u2019t do something just because it\u2019s commercially right.\u201d<\/em> Citadelle Gin, one of his first major bets and among the world\u2019s first premium gins, took four years of research before release. The same goes for the Navy Rum he presented at this year\u2019s Athens Bar Show<\/strong>. \u201cYou don\u2019t just say \u2018let\u2019s make a navy rum.\u2019 You say \u2018let\u2019s understand what navy rum is.\u2019\u201d<\/em> He emphasizes that ideas don\u2019t come from marketing agencies or market studies. \u201cI\u2019m the idea guy. I wake up and tell my team: \u2018what if we did this?\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

A good example is the \u201cHogo Monsta,\u201d<\/strong> a hyper-concentrated rum made exclusively for industry professionals. He showcased it during his seminar at ABS, and it\u2019s arriving in Greece in a few weeks \u2014I\u2019ll be trying to cover it as soon as I get my hands on it. \u201cIt\u2019s not for everyone. And I don\u2019t care. I want the best bartenders to have a tool no one else has.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His work method is clearly unorthodox. \u0391s he himself describes it: first comes love for the product, then the team\u2019s effort to sell it. \u201cMarketers say you should start with market research. I say: start with vision, then figure it out. Maybe people won\u2019t get it at first, but that\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/em> Until a few years ago, Maison Ferrand<\/strong> didn\u2019t even have a marketing department. \u201cInstead of spending that money on marketing, I preferred to buy 500 more barrels.\u201d <\/em>His mindset shifted when he met Ang\u00e9lique, a marketing expert who also happened to love rum. She convinced him that good storytelling could amplify their mission.<\/p>\n

But for Alexandre Gabriel<\/strong>, \u201cteam\u201d isn\u2019t just a concept. He\u2019s 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. \u201cWe build things together. We\u2019ve got our own construction team. We build stills, cellars \u2014if needed, even dog shelters.\u201d<\/em> Gabriel<\/strong> is involved in everything: from daily tastings of 60\u201380 barrels to vineyard work and quality checks at distilleries in Cognac, Barbados, and Jamaica.<\/p>\n

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\u2019 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. \u201cEvery day, something needs your attention. One day it\u2019s a frost in Cognac, another it\u2019s a hurricane in the Caribbean. That\u2019s the real life of a farmer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The recent hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica hard, severely damaging the historic Long Pond Distillery<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cKatrina was a Category 4 hurricane\u00a0 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\u2019re farmers. Destruction is part of our life.\u201d<\/em> Despite setbacks, they continue.<\/p>\n

\"\"

\u039f Alexander Gabriel \u03bc\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03c0\u03bf\u03b3\u03c1\u03ac\u03c6\u03c9\u03bd \u03c3\u03c4\u03bf Athens Bar Show 2025<\/p><\/div>\n

Another major step was renaming their most successful brand, \u201cPlantation<\/strong>,\u201d to \u201cPlanteray<\/strong>.\u201d 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: \u201cSales 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 \u2018plantation\u2019 means to some people, when they told me things you don\u2019t want to hear, I knew the name had to change. This isn\u2019t just a brand, it\u2019s a mission to spread love. If something about your brand hurts people, then it has to change.\u201d <\/em>The new name, he shared, was suggested by his son. It combines the idea of a plant and a ray of sunlight \u2014both vital to growing sugarcane.<\/p>\n

Among the latest innovations: Citadelle Zero, a non-alcoholic gin, born after five years of failed attempts. \u201cHydrodistillation is demanding, but I\u2019m confident we\u2019ve nailed it. I want people to enjoy a proper alcohol-free cocktail without resorting to sugary juices.\u201d<\/em> He also introduced a new Ferrand Dry Cura\u00e7ao \u2014this time rum-based rather than cognac-based\u2014 called Tropical Cura\u00e7ao, which debuted at Bar Convent Berlin.<\/p>\n

Alexandre Gabriel<\/strong> develops around twenty new rum expressions every year. That alone explains why he could never work in a large multinational. \u201cThey\u2019d fire me every day,\u201d<\/em> he jokes. But his team understands and embraces his passion. To him, these spirits aren\u2019t mere products. They\u2019re tools. Instruments. \u201cWe build the instruments. Bartenders are the musicians.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He sees bartenders as social workers. \u201cThey\u2019re part chef, part psychologist, part artist, part rock star. They can change someone\u2019s day. That matters. It\u2019s a noble mission.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\"\"\n

When I brought up studies showing a decline in alcohol consumption, he was skeptical: \u201cI think these are just statistical snapshots, not long-term trends or signs of a mindset shift.\u201d<\/em> He believes such studies reflect a broader climate of fear \u2014driven by the pandemic and global instability\u2014 that\u2019s led to social withdrawal and disconnection.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s why, he says, even in early human history, alcohol played a part in helping people bond. \u201cCavemen ate fermented fruit and had a good time together in a cave.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\"Alexander\n

For Alexandre Gabriel<\/strong>, drinking isn\u2019t an end, it\u2019s a vehicle for meaningful interaction. Throughout our conversation, he repeated one line: \u201cPut down your phone, grab a cocktail.\u201d<\/em> He truly believes bartenders have a role in helping society reconnect in real, human ways.<\/p>\n

Our conversation ended with a line that captures both his philosophy and his approach: \u201cWe\u2019re building stills for the next 100 years,\u201d<\/em> he told me. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/em> That\u2019s how he defines creation: with longevity, responsibility, and faith in the unknown audience of the future.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Alexandre Gabriel<\/strong>, for this de profundis confession.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2325],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-en"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSCF2058.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25909"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25910,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25909\/revisions\/25910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}