Press

The ‘common’ Margarita, piña colada and other classics have been dethroned in recent years by an elite generation of bartenders, who in large prestigious hotels and swanky bars offer their own blend unique cocktails. Case in point: bar/restaurant Batuar.

The Batuar, bar/restaurant of hotel Cotton House in the district of Eixample, offers an outstanding menu of cocktails, prepared by a team of experts. Behind the bar, Jonathan and Hiomar, both winners of prestigious international awards, create exquisite cocktails inspired by the amazing history of the hotel. Formerly, the  19th-century building housed the headquarters of the Cotton Textile Foundation “Fundación Textil Algodonera” and retains its former grandeur with elegant wooden floors, delicate wood paneling, a beautiful staircase, and the omnipresence of the white softness of cotton.

Batuar, named after the machine that was used to squeeze and to remove all impurities from the cotton, has a cocktail menu that is heavily influenced by the period of intense trade with the West Indies and America, and provides an aromatic journey into the colonial past of Cotton House. Caribbean rums, Pisco of Peru, passion fruit: all the ingredients are selected with great care, and each cocktail artfully decorated. “The hotel is a reference in terms of decoration and atmosphere: our cocktails must offer the same experience to our guests,” says Juan Escarabajal, Batuar’s manager.

With a basis of gin & tonic, the famous Gossypium, who bears the name of the cotton flower, requires two weeks of preparation to blend all the aromas that are part of it: Pisco, blue curacao, gin, lime and spices create a turquoise explosion of unique flavours. To complete the journey, the Batuar menu offers a selection of tapas and croquettes reinvented by the chef, such as the amazing foie gras lollipop wrapped in cotton gauze.