Mountain Mixologist: Bringing unique flavours to the Alps

Myles Knight arrived in the Alps in his first season, and never left. Starting out as a university bartender just to make a bit of extra money, under the tutelage of bartenders that instilled the love for good cocktails, this opened doors for him to start working in Méribel, and eventually starting The Mountain Mixologist to elevate the cocktail experience in the French Alps. It has been a continuous growth towards a luxury setting born out of his love for bringing new flavours to all those who desire unique experiences.

a uNIQUE start

Myles got his economics degree from the University of York in England, and he laughingly tells us that he is using his degree to the maximum of its potential. Spending 3 years during his university years working at a bar in the area, he considers himself lucky to have worked with enthusiastic bartenders who loved their craft and passed that on to him, and not just the basic side of mixing drinks to make a few extra bucks. 

So while his love for cocktails came first, prior to the Alps, he tells us it gave him his ‘in’ to the area. He spent his first season at Evolution Bar in Méribel where the owner wanted someone to come in and develop the menus and train the staff, and that’s where Myles came in. He developed the menus and his skills and love for creating new drinks in the comfort of the first place in the Alps that welcomed him.

NEW ADVENTURES

Over 4 years working at Evolution, the owner decided to open Copiña, and tasked Myles with heading it. The idea was to bring something that didn’t exist in the area to life; a high-end special cocktail experience that offered unusual flavours. Méribel had never seen something like this, where drinks were elevated to create an experience in a luxury setting. They created all the elements that brought the drinks together in-house, from the bitters, syrups, mixers, and the rest.

But after developing menus and creating a unique way to experience cocktails at Copiña, Myles wanted to take it to the next level. The Mountain Mixologist is his baby born out of the thought that if he were to have such a beautiful chalet, why would he want to leave and go to a bar? Shouldn’t the bar come to you? The first of its kind in the Méribel-Courchevel area, and the Alps in general, Myles tasked himself with the goal to create a mobile bar and have a high-end cocktail experience come to you in the luxury of your own home.

Having worked in various bars, he laments on the fact that when a client comes to you and describes flavours that they’d like,  you’re limited on what you have on hand. So, with the Mountain Mixologist, he wanted for everything to be personalised to his clients tastes. He usually starts with a little interview prior to his events, finding out what they like to eat, what their tastes are and get a grasp on what the client and the people he is serving prefer and from there, he designs the menu. So at every event, he creates at least 2-3 new cocktails based on the clients’ preferences. His goal is to be able to offer up flavours they’ve never tried before with ingredients that they normally wouldn’t think to try. 

Given that they cook everything themselves just like at Copiña, all their ingredients are seasonal according to the time of year, what’s available, what’s growing in the terroir. This means that his menus change weekly aside from just season to season, and that’s the exciting part about it for him. As a result, he has a dossier of over 300 personal cocktail recipes, that assure you’ll never run out of interesting things to try when you’re with him. While he started out in the alps he is now also in the South of France in Monaco, Provence, Saint Tropez, and Italy bringing the ethos of bringing excellent cocktails to create unforgettable memories in even more settings. 

The Alps according to Myles

As a local, Myles has shared his favourite spots with us. Obviously it’s all about food, as he considers himself to not only love drinks but the accompaniments, naturally. He jokes that his choice of Copiña in Courchevel is not just because he worked there but because it is genuinely delicious. With high-end tapas and fantastically-fresh produce, it’s a place he continues to return to, and not just because he writes the drinks menu. For first-timers to the area, Aux Petits Oignons is the perfect setting for typical French cuisine and to discover the local flavours. Last but definitely not least, there’s Le Farçon, a one-star Michelin French restaurant. Myles notes it as that place that even locals go to for special occasions, and that their wine selection is fantastic.

While food is important, apres-ski is part of the ethos in the Alps. His favourites include Méribel's iconic La Foulie Douce, Le Rond Point in Courchevel which boasts a more English take on the apres-ski, and Hôtel Courcheneige in Courchevel. A particularly special apres-ski event is the Ronnie Loves Music festival that happens at Le Rond Point in Méribel. Happening in March, it’s become a yearly institution of lovers of music, and one Myles considers to be his favourite.