Crafting Exceptional Cocktails with Bartender Adam Fournier

Photos by Glee Digital Media

Adam Fournier brings over 15 years of experience to the hospitality industry, having worked at renowned Los Angeles venues like Areal, The Chestnut Club, and The NoMad LA.

His expertise in rare spirits helped shape the bourbon boom in LA, where he curated over 30 single barrels. Fournier has competed in prestigious events such as Heaven Hill’s Bartender of the Year and the Remy Martin Sidecar Competition and was named Diageo World Class US Bartender of the Year in 2021, placing in the Global Top 5. He is also an advocate for mindful drinking and believes that non-alcoholic drinks should be just as creative and delicious as traditional cocktails. Beyond his work at Spago, he shares his insights into cocktail culture through writing and presenting.

At Spago Beverly Hills, Fournier offers an iconic and ever-evolving experience. He describes the restaurant as “the birthplace of Californian fusion cuisine,” and says that this spirit of innovation “inhabits the menu and the guest experience every day.” Fournier emphasizes that while the food and drinks are exceptional, it’s the staff’s personality and attention to detail that elevate the experience. “Once you walk through the doors, you are going to have a world-class dining experience, but more than that, you are going to have a world-class hospitality experience.”

The cocktail menu at Spago is inspired by the kitchen and the restaurant’s award-winning wine program. It is structured around a tasting wheel, allowing guests to select drinks based on their body intensity. Fournier also created a Spirit-Free menu “as thoughtful and deep as the main cocktail menu” to ensure that non-drinkers have the same experience.

“Anyone who is choosing to not imbibe feels as a part of the experience as every other guest.”

Popular cocktails on the menu include the Amalfi Gimlet, which features gin or vodka, Meyer lemon, and an “Amalfi Air” that evokes the Mediterranean breeze, and the Banana Dance, a personal favorite of Fournier’s that is essentially a low-ABV Manhattan-style drink with banana-infused sherry and Irish whiskey. The star of the show, however, is the Walrus & The Carpenter martini. “At its core, it’s a seaside martini themed around the whimsy of the Lewis Carol poem of the same name about a Walrus & a Carpenter who lead a family of oysters down the beach to consume them only to be sad when they’re finished as there are no more oysters to eat.

It combines Ford’s London Dry Gin with a house blend of four different vermouths, quinquina, and sherry. This vermouth blend has been infused with oyster shell and sea beans. The drink is seasoned with sea salt and mignonette, served sidecar style to maintain that perfect chill and garnished with a whole oyster on the side. The whole setup is on a tray with the artwork and final stanzas of the poem so as each component is removed the guest can feel that longing for just one more oyster, for just one more sip of martini.”

When it comes to creating a successful bar program, Fournier believes in focusing on both the details and guest preferences. “If you’re building a program just for yourself, the only person sitting at your bar will be yourself,” he says. He encourages bartenders to be curious, learn from others, and perfect their techniques, whether using a jigger or free-pouring. However, flavor is King.

“All the technique, all the stories, all the technology in the world won’t matter if the drink doesn’t taste good. Not every drink needs to be a mass crowd-pleaser, but it better please the crowd that likes that style of drink.”