How This Brussels Mixologist Shakes Up the Cocktail Scene in a Beer-Centric Town

Daniel Krispin didn’t intend to be a mixologist. When he arrived at his first job, at a neighborhood restaurant in the Brussels region more than a decade ago, he expected to be put in the kitchen — but there wasn’t room. Instead, he found himself behind the bar. For Daniel, now lead mixologist at The Poet at the Renaissance Brussels Hotel, it was a lucky break.

“Cooking is at the back of the operation, and you don’t really get to speak to the guests,” he says. “I really enjoyed working behind the bar. It’s the center of the restaurant; it’s one of the first things that guests experience when they walk in. That’s where it all started for me.”

Daniel, 33, clearly thrives on that human interaction — and on making customers feel at home. He can speak English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Hebrew and always tries to greet guests in their own language. It’s an approach that has taken him through roles at many of Brussels’ top hotels over the past decade, and one that informs his approach to making cocktails.

In an interview with Marriott Bonvoy Traveler edited for brevity and clarity, Daniel chats about the Brussels cocktail scene, how the city’s beer culture influences his menu and why mixology is “modern-day alchemy.”

The cocktail menu at The Poet is short and simple, but you’re famous for making bespoke drinks. How does that work?

I like to give my guests exactly what they want. I’ll ask the guest, “What do you like? What are you looking for in a cocktail? Are you looking for sour or sweet? What spirit would you like me to use?” and I can more or less tailor a cocktail to their liking.

I want them to feel as comfortable as if they were at home. I want them to feel happy, so when I see them again, they say, “Aha! Do you remember you made this cocktail for me? Well, I’m ready to try something new, and I brought some friends along.”

How would you describe the ambience at The Poet?

It’s cosmopolitan. We have guests from inside and outside the hotel, from around the world. I speak quite a few languages, so I can talk to each guest and welcome them in their native language. It’s a place where people can feel at home away from home.

Brussels is the capital of Belgium, a country known more for beer than cocktails. What’s the cocktail scene like?

In the last five years it has really bloomed. It’s grown exponentially: There are so many cocktail places that I could tell you off the top of my head! Before, you could only find a good cocktail in a hotel; now you can find just as good a cocktail in a local bar.

We also have an event, Brussels Cocktail Week, which takes place in September. We gather the best 50 bars in the whole of Brussels — including The Poet — and put them on the map, show their skill set and have a competition. Whoever wins is the bar of the year.

How does that Belgian brewing tradition affect you?

Any true mixologist treats all ingredients with equal respect; I find a beer just as important as the next cocktail that I’m going to make. I make some beer cocktails: One is called the Hoegardenjito, where we combine Hoegaarden, a citrusy witbier, with the base for a mojito. It’s a very summery drink.

I have to be honest, though, good beer deserves to remain good beer, and it would be such a shame to combine it with a good cocktail — you’re putting two masterful drinks together, and you might ruin the taste.

Are you inspired by the city? Do you like to include local products and ingredients in your cocktails?

There’s a lot that inspires me. When I have a drink somewhere else in Brussels, I ask questions that regular guests wouldn’t ask or they’d feel way too intimidated to ask. For example, I’ve made a cocktail for The Poet inspired by a gin from Antwerp, Buss 509.

I used it to create a cocktail with fresh passion fruit, passion fruit juice, a bit of egg white and some homemade syrup made with ginger, cinnamon and star anise. That’s what a mixologist does: He creates his or her own drinks. It’s so important to have ingredients that are Belgian made.

And what about food? Do you make cocktails to pair with food?

I add edible garnishes to my cocktails. The garnishes are a reflection of what’s already inside of the cocktail.

So, for example, I’ve done my own tangy tincture, which is dehydrated fruit with a little bit of syrup on top, or a little bit of ginger syrup, something to give it a little bit more texture.

You’ve made a huge variety of cocktails. Do you have a favorite?

What’s my favorite cocktail? Well, I like to also be a guest, and I like it when someone makes me a good cocktail. So that’s my first answer: that I like to go to certain bars that are really good for mixology, and it’s just the fact of having a good cocktail, a combination of different flavors combined into one, that makes it the best at that moment.

As for the cocktails I make, they all have that same level of respect. I don’t have a favorite cocktail because I love the possibilities: Mixology is modern-day alchemy.