Month: November 2013

More and more mezcals migrating our way

Only a few years ago the number of mezcals out in this country was minimal, and either hard to find or hard to drink (that is to say, they were craptacular). Now though there’s a verifiable monsoon of mezcal sweeping our shores with the latest addition being these mezcals from Casamexico.

NSW Good Pub Guide winners announced

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Pub Guide has announced the winners in their 2014 edition. We recently highlighted just how good the Woolwich Pier Hotel’s renovations were (and how tasty the new food offering is), so its good to see those efforts being rewarded, with the hotel taking out the best pub award this year.

Good times and late night drinkin’ eats? Well, Hello Sailor!

Not only has Hello Sailor been one of the more talked about Sydney bar openings of this year, it’s also lent its name to a verb (one that shouldn’t need much in the way of explanation). Indeed, thanks to Marco Faraone, Luke Redington and Mike Edkins it is now possible to go and get “sailor’d”.

In defence of the 80’s, not the 1880’s

There was a time when the mark of a cocktail bar was the line of fluro-coloured liqueur bottles sitting on the back bar. You can scoff, nowadays with your amari and small batch organic moonshine, but they’re there in old photos of the Bayswater Brasserie and in top bars around the country. It was a thing, man.

6 top tequilas put to the blind tasting test

With all the talk about mezcals these days, could it be that tequila has become mainstream? Has the zeitgeist moved on? Has tequila sold out?
We gathered together a panel of five bartenders to plough through a tasting of six tequilas to find out.

Bar de Halcyon brings proper pintxos to Perth

We’ve tracked the growth of tapas bars that do real, proper pintxos across a few states now, and Perth is getting in on the act with its first proper taste of the San Sebastian specialty, with Wolf Lane’s Bar de Halcyon.

Think Spirits take on Evan Williams bourbons

Think Spirits has had a cracking year in 2013, and they’re not done just yet. They’ve announced that they are taking on board the popular Evan Williams range of bourbons.

Can you break down barrels with your bare hands?

One of the most respected authorities on Irish whiskey worldwide and a craftsman in the purist form of the word, we sit down with Midleton Distillery’s Master Cooper, Ger Buckley, to discuss his deep-seated appreciation of wood, whiskey, and a job well done.