Experimental Cocktail Club - American Drinks by Way of Paris - NYTimes.com ROMÉE de GORIAINOFF, one of the French partners in the Experimental Cocktail Club Lower East Side, which opened last week, has more in common with the stars of New York's cocktail culture than just a taste for well-made drinks. Like some of his new peers, he is also a fugitive from the banking business. But it was American-style cocktails that inspired the group (which includes Pierre-Charles Cros, who studied economics, and Olivier Bon, who studied fashion) to open their first bar and lounge in Paris five years ago under the same name. "We saw so much diversity in drinking in New York, it was fascinating," Mr. de Goriainoff said. There was no cocktail culture in France, and what people were drinking was bad quality. None of us had real professional experience before we started the E.C.C. We did our first professional experience by creating our own jobs, and in that respect we are very American-spirited. The Parisian original, furnished with vintage odds and ends, has no more than 25 seats, and bartenders who would look at home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with their caps and suspenders. They mix drinks like the Memphis sour, made with Rittenhouse rye, red wine, lemon, bitters and paprika. The group owns three cocktail lounges and a wine bar in Paris - all with different names because "the French don't like chains," as Mr. de Goriainoff put it. There is also an Experimental Cocktail Club Chinatown, in London. For New York, the partners have decorated a larger space in a mix of retro styles, with a pressed tin ceiling. "We thought this look would reflect the history of this neighborhood," Mr. Cros said. The menu lists 14 cocktails made by Nicolas de Soto, most of which are extremely complex, like the Curious Prescription, made with reposado tequila, pear eau de vie, manzanilla sherry, lime juice, habanero bitters and homemade salted caramel mezcal syrup. But the partners do not want the cocktail menu published. "It should be a surprise to the customers who come in," Mr. de Goriainoff said. There are several Champagnes by the bottle and one beer. Some tidbits, like Scotch eggs and plates of cured meats and cheeses, are provided by the nearby Fat Radish restaurant, which has an English bent. Still, the partners are so focused on this side of the Atlantic that they have opened an American-style steakhouse, the Beef Club, in a former butcher shop in central Paris. Mac and cheese, a burger and Caesar salad share the menu with côte de boeuf and rump steak. Experimental Cocktail Club Lower East Side, 191 Chrystie Street (Rivington Street). No phone. For reservations: madameandmonsieur@experimentalcocktailclubny.com. The bar is open daily from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.