He arrived from a trip the night before and the traces of fatigue are reflected on his face. From what he says, he had a great time. She, “the drinks nerd,” was where she needed to be. First at the Atenas Bar Show, the most important in Europe, where he shared experience with colleagues from all over the world. Later, in Milan, where she participated in a talk with seven women organized by the platform The She Side Project. Finally, he was in Florence at the celebration of the Top 500 Best Bars in the world, where its Cochinchina bar was ranked 23rd.
“I am very hard-working and enthusiastic about life, about living new experiences, about taking cocktails everywhere. I try to have a good time and always be surrounded by people I like, friends, my daughter. All of that defines me,” she says. Ines de los Santossommelier, bartender, businesswoman and mother of Cora (12). Determined, entrepreneurial and strong woman, she owns the bars. Cochinchina (Armenia 1540, Palermo), Kona Corner (Sucre 696, Bajo Belgrano), Kotchi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Coast 7070 (Av. Costanera Rafael Obligado 7070).
In the beginning, in the nineties, he had a brief stay in New York. In addition, he worked in Puerto Miter, Mundo Bizarro, Gran Bar Danzón, Radio Set and Casa Cruz, in Buenos Aires.
Today he is one of the 25 most influential people in the beverage industry worldwide, according to Drinks International magazine.
News: Who named you the drink nerd?
Inés de los Santos: No idea. I’m kind of a nerd, I really like the world around drinks, the different products, the different producers, the differences in soils, climates, styles, the search for making something unique, different, irreplaceable. That’s the part that amuses me: the differences.
News: Actually, I wanted to be a cook.
Of the Saints: Yes, since I was little I really liked eating, going to restaurants and ordering what I didn’t know on the menu. Gastronomy is infinite, diverse, each place is unique. That amuses me, not only how the cooking is done, what the restaurant is like, what the lights are like, the service, what the glassware is like. I was always fascinated by that world. Later, when I started studying cooking and saw how stressful it is, and at that time they were kitchens that were half military, demanding and also a lot of abuse, I realized that that was not my world.
News: How did the cocktail bar arrive?
Of the Saints: I had to study something so I wouldn’t have to do a university degree. So, I decided on service and protocol. There was a subject there, cocktails, I didn’t know what it was, taught by Julio Celso Rey, double world champion, who came from the golden era of Argentine cocktails. There he opened the doors of paradise. The different, the different, the unique and what is not done and what is not achieved. I said, “Ah, this is my world.”
News: He started working in cocktails in the nineties. A man’s world at that time.
Of the Saints: It was a different world, most of the leadership positions were male, and in the few bars that existed, a woman’s place was that of the nice girl at the bar who made sales. For a long time I dedicated myself to being the secretary of the bartender next to me, because the clients asked me for the drink, but they wanted him to do it.
News: How did you earn your place and come to stand out in that environment?
Of the Saints: I studied a lot, I prepared a lot, I tried a lot, I traveled, I invested a lot in my training. I have many hours of bars, of studying the places, of understanding the industry. On the other hand, I was lucky to know how to wait, to understand where the world was going and when it passed in front of me, to be ready and prepared to get on that train. I also have to thank Pato Scheuer and Luis Morandi, owners of Danzón, who trusted me and took me on as bar manager without having the experience. She told me: “I want to see a woman behind this bar.” They also knew that I was a super worker, I came in at two in the afternoon and left at five in the morning every day. I couldn’t miss that opportunity. Then I started a career as a sommelier, I trained and then I opened the cocktail school at Danzón, which was another great challenge.
News: A good bartender must have?
Of the Saints: Hospitality. Understanding that, beyond the commercial mission of the business, we have the mission of trying to make someone’s life a little better. I have clients from 25 or 30 years ago.
News: The bartender must listen to everything. No? Maybe someone alone at the bar tells you about personal matters.
Of the Saints: Yes, the bartender has the characteristic of being a host, of being able to receive, empathy, patience. Find a way to listen and be interested in the other. It’s very nice, it’s another of the different things that this profession has.
News: Today he has four businesses. Let’s start with Cochinchina.
Of the Saints: It was born in 2021 with the purpose of creating a different bar, a place that makes you travel just by being there. It has almost 600 square meters and everything there was made by artisans. The effect it causes is: “Wow.” It has a Franco-Vietnamese inspiration in cuisine and cocktails. My partner is the Nueva Gastronomía company, with which we are also associated in Costa, Kona and Kotchi.
News: Kotchi?
Of the Saints: It is a vinyl bar with more informal Japanese cuisine and a very Japanese cocktail bar with Brazilian ingredients. Makoto, the Japanese chef, is also associated here.
News: Kona?
Of the Saints: It is a three-story corner, with traditional Japanese cuisine designed like the Japanese. The restaurant is downstairs, the bar is upstairs, and the terrace and karaoke are on the third floor. In this case Narda Lepes is associated.
News: Costa7070?
Of the Saints: It is a 1500 square meter place facing the river, on the Costanera. It is a restaurant, a bar and a disco. It’s all of that, everywhere and all the time. It is very inspired by the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean, in Ibiza, in Mykonos. They are like clubs where you leave the car and do everything together.
News: What is Cantieri Navali?
Of the Saints: It is a vermouth project that arose five years ago with Felipe Menéndez, owner of Casa Pirque, in Valle Azul. We both like classic Italian vermouth, Torino style, with the blend of spices, herbs and aromatic complexity. We made a first mother with the classic recipe and then two Patagonian vermouths. We chose desert Patagonia, the steppe for the vermouth bianco and the more humid Patagonia, the mountains and lakes for the rosso. It was looking for the ingredients that are in those areas and incorporating them into the mother recipe. This is how the first Cantieri Navali emerged.
News: You like classic drinks. In fact, he has the words “Old Fashioned” tattooed on his left arm. Why so much passion?
Of the Saints: It is a drink that I loved and caught my attention since I learned it. It is a way to drink American whiskey with bitters, sugar and a slice of orange. A very simple recipe that can be made in many ways and can also vary greatly due to the amount of whiskeys and bitters you can get. It’s wonderful because it’s so simple and so diverse at the same time. Today there is a whole generation of bartenders who do it the “old fashioned way”. So, I thought it was nice to have it tattooed.
News: How do you supervise everything?
Of the Saints: I try to create trustworthy teams and have clear objectives, to follow the guidelines and then trust that we can do well, but also know that we can make mistakes. The important thing is that we are aware of where we are going and have a daily review of what is useful or not. And make quick decisions when not and continue betting, when yes.
News: What is your way of leading?
Of the Saints: I try to decode who is good at what and to enhance those benefits and to configure a team that can be strengthened in its weaknesses. A team that gets along well, for me, is the most important thing.
News: Are you already thinking about the next project?
Of the Saints: No, at this moment we are going through a fairly strong crisis in gastronomy, at least in Argentina. Now we have to get smaller and take care of what we have and strengthen ourselves. It’s time to get inside and take care of the ranches.
