Hotel Colee, Atlanta’s Autograph Collection hotel for the dapper, dashing and delightful, is delighted to reveal Buckhead’s newest cause for celebration, The Bubbly Bar, a brand new champagne-centric concept popping up in the hotel’s dazzling lobby. The Bubbly Bar features bright, seasonally relevant reinterpretations of classic champagne cocktails, concepted and curated by Atlanta mixologist Rori Robinson, owner, Bloom Bar Garnish Company, paired with a menu featuring confections from Buckhead’s award-winning Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Co.
“Hotel Colee is all about celebration so we wanted to give our guests, both Atlanta locals and travelers, something to celebrate,” Robinson said. “Nothing says good times like popping a bottle of bubbly and right now, maybe more than ever, as individuals and as a community we can all use an excuse to raise a glass. Standing in our reimagined, redesigned Lobby Bar, we realized this is the perfect place and time to launch a menu of sparkling cocktails.”
Perfect for happy hour with the girls, a romantic date night or post-shopping treat, the menu features an array of lively cocktails with botanical and fruit forward flavors inspired by spring, as well as a curated list of California sparklers and champagnes by the glass or the bottle. Current cocktail selections include two that feature Robinson’s Atlanta-made plant-based cocktail syrups—the Cherokee Rose Blossom (candied peach and coconut liqueur, Bloom Botanical Pineapple-Ginger Syrup and bubbles) and the Bisou Vert (Hayman’s Old Tom gin, Bloom Botanical Bar Co. Basil-Limeade Syrup, lemon, basil and bubbles)—as well as the Kir Colee (berry liqueur, pisco bubbles), 3 of Cups (Spawater vodka, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, lemon simple, bubbles) and Vesta Cocktail (St. Germain, cranberry, rosemary simple, bubbles).
“Located in the heart of Atlanta’s most prestigious shopping and lifestyle destination, Colee’s design draws inspiration from this location,” Robinson dais. “Colee’s newly reimagined lobby design remixes classics in a fresh way. Designer Andrew Alford pairs glowing, muted tones with furniture upholstered with rich, jewel-toned patterns that range from feather to floral to check and added pops of complexity with vivid, abstract rugs placed throughout—invoking a sense of occasion and celebration.”
Approaching the lobby as a stage for personal style, Alford implemented a design that complements any outfit, Robinson noted.
“The idea was to create a space rich with patterns ringed by quiet pastels, providing a variety of spots for guests to perch for a photo or sit back and take it all in. The offerings at The Bubbly Bar pay tribute to this with lively cocktails and sweet treats all provided by local Atlanta small businesses,” Robinson said.
Founder of Atlanta’s recently launched Bloom Bar Garnish Company, Robinson is a 15-year hospitality veteran in Atlanta and former bartender for Concentrics Restaurant Group as well as Painted Hospitality, putting in years of service at notable establishments such as Parish, TAP, The Spence and The Painted Pin. When the pandemic hit, Robinson stepped out from behind the bar and joined the board of directors of the A Sip of Paradise community garden, where bartenders can get outside and grow food, flowers and herbs. Now, with Bloom Bar Garnish Co., Robinson creates and retails a line of plant-based syrups, herbal teas and spice and sugar blends that are available online and, exclusively, in sparkling cocktails at Hotel Colee.
“Champagne is famed for its bright, clean taste; and of course, its bubbles. I wanted to create cocktails that highlight those aspects by using fresh fruit and herbs. These reinterpretations of drinks like the French 75, Kir Royale and Poinsettia cocktail invoke feelings of joy and celebration, which fits Hotel Colee’s vibe to a tee,” Robinson said.
Along with its playful list of champagne cocktails, The Bubbly Bar offers both savory and sweet bites including confections from Hotel Colee’s Buckhead neighbor and Atlanta’s bean to bar chocolate maker: Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Co. Guests can sample a rotating variety of their signature truffles or the Chocolate & Cheese plate, which pairs Cacao’s signature Salamede Ciioccolato, a riff on a traditional Italian treat made of bean-to-bar chocolate rolled with shortbread and amaretti cookies, with a selection of cheese. Named the best chocolate in America Food & Wine Magazine and Best Chocolate Shop in the World by Travel + Leisure, treats from Cacao are the perfect partner for champagne and cocktails at the Bubbly Bar.
Reflecting Atlanta’s energy, diversity and flourishing culture, Hotel Colee, the first in the Practice Hospitality portfolio, boasts an atmosphere that encourages guests to embrace their essence and feel their best. The Bubbly Bar is an extension of Autograph Collection’s mantra of being ‘exactly like nothing else,’ and will embrace the hotel’s ceaseless sense of occasion.
