Champion's Choice: Pierre de Chanterac, 2025 French Coffee In Good Spirits Winner
In the world of specialty coffee and mixology, precision is everything. Pierre de Chanterac, the 2025 Coffee in Good Spirits champion in France, knows it and this year, his meticulous attention to detail and expert use of APAX LAB mineral concentrates played a key role in his winning performance.
We sat down with Pierre to discuss his journey in Coffee in Good Spirits, the role of water and minerals in crafting exceptional cocktails, and how APAX LAB helped him refine his competition drinks.
Tell us more about Coffee in Good Spirits—what is it, and what draws you to this competition?
CiGS is a competition straddling mixology and specialty coffee, with three different trials. The preliminary round: each competitor is asked to produce two signature cocktails, one cold and one warm/hot for two judges in 10 minutes. The spirit bar: a sponsored alcohol is randomly selected, and after 6 minutes a cocktail should rise from it. The final: a signature drink and a mandatory Irish Coffee. Of course, each drink should include high quality specialty coffee, and is evaluated through the competitor ability to showcase its coffee quality and clarity within an outstanding cocktail. This competition demands bartender as much as barista skills, and is driven by excellence of both worlds. I have always been fascinated by cocktails and mixologist relentless quest for balance. To me competing is an opportunity, or a pretext, to immerse myself in a new area of expertise, and learn from the process and the people involved along the way. Before entering CiGS, I had no idea about the existence of specialty spirits, which are spirits produced from the field to the bottle with regards to varietal and post-harvest processing just like our specialty coffees. I discovered how to gradually build taste acuity with high abv spirits to better understand the nuances that reflect terroir and human choices. Finaly, I plunged into advanced mixology techniques that include enzymes, acids, clarification, fat washing and many more. Finally, exploring other areas of taste expertise and craftmanship is a great way to evolve as a coffee professional.
Water plays a huge role in brewing coffee, but how does it impact coffee when paired with spirits?
Spirits are made with water as well! Either within the distilled fruits, to macerate ingredients or to adjust the abv proof by reduction. Water minerality plays an important role in the expression of flavours, balance and tactile. To some extent, the minerals you can find in a whisky for instance tell a story about the local natural source used by the distillery and are part of what make this spirit unique. Now, combined with coffee, we can off course elevate our drinks using minerals to season our cocktails, just like mixologist already do with saline solution or bitters for instance. I believe this strategy can be applied to any cocktail, or drink.
How did you first hear about APAX LAB, and what made you choose our products to craft your competition water?
I have been following your journey for a very long time, as we share the same passion for coffee excellence and willingness to bring contribution to the coffee world. I believe that for us, and since the beginning of our paths, this is very much associated with scientific understanding of what’s going on in a cup of coffee. Quality in coffee has raised exponentially over the few past years thanks to unveiled mechanisms that we now have leverage on, and water quality is one of these keys. Going for APAX LAB was a pragmatic choice to balance my drinks, as it brought the greatest results.
In what ways did the mineral concentrates help elevate your cocktails and contribute to your win?
A great cocktail is all about balance. The five basic tastes, flavours, tactile sensations and temperature. Once all that is in order, playing with minerals to season a drink can help to reach even more layers of complexity and equilibrium.
Which APAX LAB profile is your favourite for crafting coffee-based cocktails—Tonik, Jamm, or Lylac? Why?
It depends on the cocktail flavour profile and basic taste highlight - same goes for coffees!
What coffee did you choose for your winning drink, and why was it the perfect fit for your recipe?
I used a washed Geisha from Finca Gascon, Guatemala, produced by Felipe Contreras. He is a young farmer committed to excellence and sustainability, playing with agroforestry, rich soils, excellent variety lineages and refined processes. I chose this coffee as it was the best tasting coffee on the table, showcasing a crisp, vibrant and sweet geisha profile. It was a great ingredient to contribute to the brightness and transparency of the drinks, and to vivify my spirits. This coffee behaved perfectly in expresso and filtrated ibrik, bringing distinct notes of apple, almond, but also citrus and florals. It delivered the most balanced expresso I had for a very long time.
For those new to crafting their own water for coffee and cocktails, what advice would you give them?
Make your favourite cocktail, then split it in three small glasses. Add a few drops of each APAX mineral per glass. Taste independently. Then craft blends with different ratios, showcasing your preferences. Observe the interactions. This is a fast and easy way to narrow down to a great recipe through a single drink.
Pierre’s journey highlights the evolving relationship between coffee, water, and spirits—and how small adjustments in mineral composition can create a huge impact on flavour balance and complexity. His win is proof that precision doesn’t stop at brewing; it extends to every element of the cup, glass, and experience.
Congratulations, Pierre! We can’t wait to see how you continue to push the boundaries of coffee and mixology.