Ten years, 30 cocktails and one menu built on memory. To mark its first decade, Danico, one of Paris’ defining cocktail destinations, has launched Best Of, a retrospective celebrating the drinks that shaped the bar between 2016 and 2026. The concept is deceptively simple: each year is represented by three cocktails drawn from the menu of that period. Some return only briefly. Others disappear even sooner.
A handful are released in strictly limited quantities. For Christ’s Sake is capped at 112 serves, St Germain Des Prés at 98 and Ghost in the Shell at just 52. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. According to founder and owner Nico de Soto, exclusivity wasn’t the point.
30 Cocktails, Three Months: An Impossible Brief
“The drinks at Danico require an extraordinary amount of preparation,” De Soto says. “It’s almost a monumental undertaking. And the bar itself is tiny.” The logistical challenge quickly became obvious. “It simply wasn’t possible to keep the mise en place for thirty cocktails in storage for three months. Everything is prepared from the outset, and once a batch runs out, that’s the end of it. I’m sorry, but there wasn’t another solution. We wanted guests to have the chance to revisit drinks they loved — or discover them for the first time. It isn’t a marketing tactic. It’s simply how the project had to work.”
A Best Of Without the “Best”
Despite its title, Best Of is not a ranking of Danico’s greatest cocktails. The team first agreed that every year of the bar’s history would be represented by three drinks from that specific menu. Only then did they begin selecting favourites.
“We didn’t set out to choose the thirty best cocktails of the decade,” De Soto explains. “Instead, we looked at each year individually and picked the three drinks we felt best represented that moment, even if that meant certain styles appeared more than once.”
The result is a collection shaped by three criteria: the cocktails guests loved, the drinks the team remains most attached to and the creations they believe have stood the test of time. “Some of these cocktails will never return after this. This is their last encore.”
Why Milk Punch Became the Common Thread
Given De Soto’s career, it is hardly surprising that Milk Punch runs throughout the anniversary menu. Clarified or not, the style appears repeatedly, from Kota Ternate and Fat Duck to Sweet Banane, Moussaka and Karkotoa.
“I discovered Milk Punch in New York in 2010,” he says. “Then I made one for the very first menu at Experimental Cocktail Club Chinatown in London. Since then I’ve never stopped. I’ve made countless versions, written about it and, I suppose, become one of the people associated with bringing it back.” Today clarified Milk Punch is found on cocktail menus around the world. Fifteen years ago, that was far from the case.
“Between 2010 and 2014 only a handful of us were really working with it. It’s an extraordinary drink: you can prepare it in large batches, it keeps beautifully, it’s incredibly versatile for service, it’s complex and, above all, it’s something we genuinely love.”
The People Behind the Menu
Although many of the cocktails bear De Soto’s signature, Best Of is far from a solo project. “At Mace in New York I create every drink myself because that’s how I enjoy working there, and I don’t expect my team to do something they may not want to do. Danico is completely different. Here everyone wants to create cocktails — and they’re all exceptionally talented.”
Because the bar has evolved over ten years, many of the earlier menus naturally feature more of De Soto’s recipes. Today, however, every new menu is developed collectively.
“We discuss ideas together and everyone presents their own concepts. We taste everything as a team. The first tasting tells us whether a drink works or whether it needs further development. Then come a second tasting and a third. The essential requirement is that every cocktail reflects our style and achieves the right balance. My team’s contribution is fundamental. I’m incredibly proud of them.”
2016–2020: The Early Years
The journey begins with 2016–17, represented by Kota Ternate, a Piña Colada-inspired Milk Punch combining rum, pineapple, coconut spice blend, lime and milk; L’Alligator C’Est Vert, made with absinthe, coconut milk, pandan, nutmeg and egg; and St Germain Des Prés, featuring gin, herbal liqueur, cucumber, bitters and egg white, limited to 98 serves.
The 2017–18 selection includes Prends L’Oseille, combining rum, aquavit, sorrel, green cardamom, yoghurt, lime and absinthe; What’s Up Doc?, built around tequila, horseradish, carrot, black pepper and soda; and Les Molettes de François, layered with tequila, mezcal, avocado, corn, mole, lime and smoked salt.
From 2018–19 come the limited-edition Ghost in the Shell, Fat Duck, a smoked Milk Punch with Scotch whisky, Calvados, caramelised apple, lemon and milk, and Rødgrød med Fløde, built on aquavit, berries, Swedish aromatic tea, spices, lemon and milk.
The 2019–20 menu rounds out the first chapter with Sweet Banane, PBJ and Milky Whey, showcasing the increasingly playful direction of Danico’s cocktail programme.
2020–2023: New Ideas Take Shape
The 2020–21 menu features You Son of a Peach, Fat Beet and the limited-release For Christ’s Sake, capped at 112 serves. For 2021–22, the spotlight falls on Asparagus, Jesus Marie Joseph and Mirror Selfie, the first cocktail created by bar manager Corentin “Coco” Gaudin, combining gin, sweet vermouth, grapefruit, sakura tea and bergamot perfume.
De Soto describes 2022–23 as the weakest vintage of the decade, though it still produced memorable drinks such as Moussaka, Café Moutarde Banane — an inventive take on the Espresso Martini — and CameronNori, built around sake, nori-infused acid solution, coconut syrup and egg white.
From Milk Punch to House Negronis
The 2023–24 menu includes Karkotoa, which De Soto calls “the best Milk Punch I’ve ever tasted.” The drink combines peanut distillate, rum, palm sugar, mango, pineapple, cucumber, sweet potato, lime and soy milk. It is joined by Nasi Goreng and Elotes, both inspired by savoury culinary references.
For 2024–25, Danico revisits its signature House Negroni, made with gin, sweet vermouth, bitter, umeshu and sakura, alongside Sado Miso and KR Market.
The final chapter, 2025–26, closes with Chicha Morada, Leche de Tigre and Torito de Pucará, a bourbon-based cocktail finished with cacao, blackcurrant, yacón syrup, orange bitters and lucuma, available in just 82 serves.
Every Bartender Has One Cocktail They’d Rather Forget
For all the acclaim Danico has earned over the past decade, De Soto readily admits there was one drink he wishes had never made the menu. Its name was Nosferatu. “After ten years of menus, there are cocktails you love, others you still appreciate, and then there’s one you simply can’t believe ever made it onto the list.”
His recollection is deliberately hazy. “I think it was three or four years ago. It was somewhere in the Dry Martini family and I called it Nosferatu. It contained some spirit and fake blood. Let’s just say it wasn’t my finest work—and there was no chance it would make the anniversary menu.” He laughs before offering what may be the simplest lesson of all.
Images courtesy Danico
