Tag: Vernon Chalker

Dry Martini recipe: a brief introduction to this king of cocktails

The Dry Martini recipe is an essential spec to know. It’s the drink that made Hemingway’s protagonist feel “civilised,” in A Farewell To Arms: “The sandwiches came and I ate three and drank a couple more martinis. I had never tasted anything so cool and clean,” he writes.

Australian Made: Maidenii

When Melbourne bar impresario, Vernon Chalker (Gin Palace, Bar Ampere) played boozy-matchmaker to bartender Shaun Byrne and respected winemaker Gilles Lapalus, the result was two beautiful new vermouths. We caught up with the gents to find out how they did it.

Open your own bar!

Every bartender worth his tips has at some point thought about opening their own bar – be it a cocktail bar, dive bar or gin joint, the urge to open something you can call your own is often what keeps us going through all the late nights, double shifts and vomiting drunks (the tequila helps, too).

Bar Awards: The Form Guide

It’s that time of year when hospitality’s best and brightest take the stage and get…

Bar Ampère

Danger. Madness. Vernon Chalker’s newest Melbourne destination – Bar Ampere – is finally up and running. It’s been a while in the making, but good things come to those that…you know the word. Bar Ampere, which stands above an antiquated electrical substation, serves as a monument to the French physicist Andre-Marie Ampere.

Bar Ampere is Chalker’s realisation of a futurist dream and in testament to his vision the staff reject all traditional notions of consumption. Splayds (those things that look like a fork, knife and spoon in one) are the tool of choice for diners – a move which Chalker says ‘allows guests one hand free to engage in more animated table talk’.

2nd to 9th Place Most Influential List Interviews

The Most Influential List is a celebrated biennial industry initiative launched by Australian Bartender magazine in 2009 that aims to showcase the home-grown talent that makes the Australian bar scene what it is today – a thriving and developing culture, full of creative and passionate people that work hard for you.

Bartender Magazine’s Most Influential List Top 10!

The Top 10 for the Bartender Magazine Most Influential List was announced last night at a sensational celebration held at one of Sydney’s newest and trendiest venues – The Norfolk Hotel in Surry Hills. The pub was packed out with a huge range of industry personalities for the highly anticipated announcement.