Louis Fouquet

c. 1865–1905

Author of (arguably) the most significant French cocktail book as well as founder of Fouquet’s cafe, Paris

Louis Fouquet was known as the bartender/limonadier at the Criterion, near Gare St. Lazare, Paris, when he wrote his book Bariana. Bariana, (arguably) the first significant French cocktail book, details distinctly French mixed drinks alongside American and English ones. Later, Fouquet opened his own place named Criterion-Fouquet’s Bar, on 99 Georges V (on the Champs-Élysées). This café eventually became known as “Fouquet’s”, and it remains to this day a popular Parisian establishment, although it is no longer an American-style bar. Fouquet died in 1905 of Typhoid.