De Vie, located in the Montorgueil quarter in Paris, has been named ‘Best new cocktail bar in the world’ during the Spirited Awards. Handling cocktails like a true culinary experience, De Vie is best known for its 5-step seasonal drinks tasting menu.
On 23 July 2026, the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation organised the 20th edition of its Spirited Awards. Since its start in 2007, the competition has been recognising beverage professionals, products, establishments, journalists, and media across every facet of the spirits and cocktail industry on a global scale. The categories include Bartender of the Year, Best Bar Team, and Best New Spirit or Cocktail Ingredient.
This year, the winner of the ‘Best New International Cocktail Bar’ category was De Vie. Located in the Montorgueil neighbourhood in Paris, the bar opened its doors in 2025 and has been gaining international attention ever since. For example, it came out 34th in Europe’s 50 Best Bars list in June 2026 and was named Cocktail Bar of the Year by Time Out in 2025.
De Vie is the brainchild of Alex Francis and Barney O’Kane, who have been active on the Parisian culinary scene for a while. In 2025, they opened their new three-story concept in Montorgueil, featuring a fine dining restaurant called Comptoir De Vie, a wine cellar called Cave De Vie, and an underground cocktail bar named Bar De Vie with room for just 11 people at a time.
“Bar & Comptoir De Vie is a multiple concept space, home to a hyper-seasonal tasting & seasonal à la carte menu utilising the best of French produce. The experience centres on our seasonal drinks menu that is available with & without alcohol, featuring a selection of cocktails and sustainably made specialty drinks such as fruit wines, digestifs, and aperitifs upcycling waste ingredients from the kitchen and bar,” De Vie explains on its website.
The cocktail bar stands out from the crowd thanks to its unusual approach to cocktails, which is reminiscent of local produce-oriented fine dining. The menu changes almost daily, drinks often centre around one particular fruit or vegetable, and local ingredients stand centre-stage.
De Vie’s principal feature is a 5-step seasonal drinks tasting menu over a 1h30 seating, which includes snacks. Additional a la carte dishes are available against a supplement. Each drink is served in a tasting portion to ensure consumption is both enjoyable and responsible. At the end of the tasting session, customers will have had the equivalent of 3 standard cocktails to drink, while an entirely non alcoholic option is also available.
For the so-called Omakase Tasting Menu, customers will have to pay €50 per person. Although the available drinks change on an (almost) daily basis, some of the featured options on De Vie’s sample menu include Beetroot (beetroot molasses eau de vie, wild raspberry eau de vie, and dry vermouth) and Fennel (fennel leaf cordial, clarified apple juice, and fermented fennel stem brine).
Bookings are open two months in advance, and a deposit of €30 per person is required to secure the seats. The amount will be subtracted from the final bill and is refundable, provided reservations are cancelled with no less than 48 hours’ notice.
