185 Darlinghurst Rd
Darlinghurst, Sydney
02 8084 6379
hinkydinks.com.au
Dan Knight (ex Cut Bar & Grill, & The Corner House) and Jeremy Shipley (ex Longrain & current Bacardi Brand Ambassador) have launched their much anticipated bar – Hinky Dinks.
Situated on the prime cocktail imbibing thoroughfare of Darlinghurst Road, the boys’ bar embodies the ‘enthusiastic spirit of 1950s cocktail culture; where the cocktail was a fashion accessory’. The retro-inspired venue is compact, but brimming with features and could have been more zany according to Shipley who said, “we had to pull the designer back a bit because she had ironing boards coming out of the walls!”
All in all however, both lads are stoked with the result, and highly credit the designers who helped bring their vision to reality. The crowd they’re pulling is more mature (late 20s and 30s), sophisticated and local. Grüner Veltliner is the biggest selling white wine according to Knight, “find me another bar that’s pouring Saun blanc down the sink,” he proudly states.
Veteran cocktailian Kass Hill is on hand to serve up cocktails, and the list is simple and enjoyable. ‘Hinky Dinks’? It’s the moniker of Michael Kenna, a post-WWII Chicago politician and bar owner who used to trade free drinks for votes during election time – apparently it worked quite a treat and he enjoyed a long term political career.