Travel back in time near Saint-Germain-des-Près! At number 69 rue de l’Université stands the officers’ mess for Squadron 303: four friends united by their passion for spirits. Their speciality is potato vodka – the same as that produced by the legendary Polish air squadron that served in the Royal Air Force. These former advertising executives have chosen the motto “Optima in Historiae” [Latin for “Take the Best from History”] and are working to serve the most veteran of taste buds. Their creation is a slender hip flash-inspired bottle so beautiful that it was named Design of the Year at the British Glass Awards. This beverage can be admired just as much when safely ensconced in its bottle as when drunk. Slowly. The opposite of how it is produced. Hugues Cholez, Franck Botbol, Baptiste Massé and Alain Camagie used history as their creative foundation when coming up with their product. In designing Squadron 303 Vodka, these diehards’ master distiller had to apply the very restrictions to which the soldiers of the period would have been subject. This meant making alcohol using King Edward potatoes distilled once in small stills rather than being filtered. Whether drunk in its pure form, at ambient temperature or in a cocktail, the vodka offers something of a gustatory smack with a slightly brioche-like flavour reinterpreted like a gin or whisky. Seated comfortably in a captain’s chair and holding a Polish Heroes, we take in the incredible location in which we find ourselves. Items dating from the Second World War are all around in a blend of Victorian classicism and Art Deco modernism. It’s enough to convince you that you’re actually there. Discover without delay.
Mess Vodka Squadron 303 – 69 rue de l’Université, 75007 Paris
Photography: Valerio Geraci – Text: Caroline Balvay – Translation: TextMaster @thesocialitefamily
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