Javier de las Muelas (Barcelona,1955), business and cocktailman, started his catering trade career in 1979, when he created the cocktail bar Gimlet, a famous space located at the carrer del Rec in Barcelona, which soon became a local landmark establishment.
The opening of Gimlet in carrer Santaló, the establishments Nick Havanna and Casa Fernandez came after, as well as the re-creation of the Montesquiu brewery and the legendary Dry Martini, opened in 1978 by its former -and current- maestro Pedro Carbonell.
The latter establishment was included in the world's top ten bars list according to Tyler Brûlé, journalist and publisher founder of the prestigious reviews Wallpaper and Monocle. Since 2002, the Dry Martini warehouse houses the clandestine restaurant Speakeasy, which pays homage to the underground bars in the times of the Dry Law, and represents the so-called by Javier de las Muelas 'ideas factory'.
Javier takes part in diverse pub and cocktail bars management meetings as lecturer, among which the Bar Show in London and the Barzone in Berlin can be highlighted, as well as his participations at the Hotel Cavalleri Hilton in Rome, the Four Seasons in Tokyo, Madrid Fusión or Bar Show Venuez in Amsterdam.
Javier regularly offers lectures and trainings for executives at IESE, ESADE, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the Instituto Superior de Marketing or the EINA art and design school, among others. His professional career has been widely covered by local and international media and collaborates regularly with El Periódico de Catalunya, La Vanguardia, El País, El Mundo, Telecinco, Antena 3, Cuatro, TVE, TV3, RNE, Catalunya Ràdio, Cadena Ser, COM Ràdio and COPE.
With the event of the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Dry Martini Bar, Javier de las Muelas carried out a long-time pursued initiative: the installation of a martini counter in his venue; thus, every customer that ordered a martini would receive a signed certificate. On June 30th 2010, the one million dry martini was served.
On May 2009 the book “Javier de las Muelas Cocktails & Drinks Book” was released. The 5th edition, revised and extended, has been published recently.
On October 4th 2010 the “Dry by Javier de las Muelas at the Gran Melià Fénix Madrid”, located at the Plaza Colon in downtown Madrid was opened. Based in the same concept as its Barcelona counterpart, stuck to its philosophy and offering the same quality and style.
In late March 2010, “The Academy” was opened in Barcelona: a multipurpose, adaptable space located beside the Dry Martini Bar, devoted to talent development with a 7 meter-long bar. At The Academy exclusive masterclasses and training workshops are taught and, apart from a learning place, the Dry Martini The Academy represents an innovative gastronomic proposal that combines the philosophy of the Dry Martini Bar along with the Speakeasy restaurant.
