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Signature cocktail collection by Matthias Giroud in Air France’s Long-haul Business, Premium, Economy cabins

6 August 2026 · 0 comments

This summer, Air France is unveiling a new cocktail offer available on all its long-haul flights, designed for customers in all travel cabins.

The airline is continuing its collaboration with chef mixologist Matthias Giroud, who has created an exclusive cognac-based cocktail for the Business cabin, as well as a modern reinterpretation of the kir cassis for Premium and Economy cabins.

Both cocktails showcase high-quality, 100% French ingredients. This initiative allows Air France to celebrate the art of mixology and France’s renowned expertise.

Quintessence cocktail 

In the long-haul Business cabin, Matthias Giroud has designed Quintessence, an exclusive cocktail that embodies the elegance associated with this travel class. Available today, this new signature cocktail reinterprets the Boulevardier, a classic cocktail that originated in France in the 1920s.

It expertly blends iconic French cognac with red Vermouth, an Alpine bitter liqueur, and a hint of fig. Served with ice as an aperitif, or enjoyed without ice at the end of the meal, as a digestif, it offers a tasting experience that is both sweet and zesty.

In the Premium and Economy cabins, the chef mixologist has created L’instant Cassis, a modern twist on the iconic Kir Cassis, a legacy with more than a century of history and a symbol of the French aperitif tradition.

This cocktail is a subtle blend of Chardonnay white wine and Burgundy blackcurrant liqueur, enhanced with a hint of elderflower. Now available* on board and offered alongside other beverages during the main meal service, this cocktail is best appreciated with ice cubes for a floral, sweet and fruity tasting experience.

About Matthias Giroud

Matthias Giroud is a world-renowned French chef mixologist. He began his career at the age of 16, in Toulouse, at the Papagayo bar, and subsequently joined the Bar Fly Group in 1998. After four years of seasonal work in France and Europe, he returned to the Group where he was appointed head mixologist of the Buddha Bar, Barrio Latino, and Barlotti. In 2008, drawing on his extensive experience, he was named Global Executive Bar Chef of the Buddha Bar Group. He went on to develop numerous bar concepts around the globe and trained multicultural teams of bartenders in over 32 countries. Nicknamed L’Alchimiste by his peers for his creative talent.

Matthias Giroud cocktails Air France

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