Story by Cara Devine. Cara is our Melbourne-based drinks writer. She is the manager of Bomba in Melbourne and the face and talent behind the cocktailing youtube channel Behind the Bar. You can email her at behindthebarchannel@gmail.com
Botanik Kyneton, 24 Piper St, Kyneton
botanik.com.au
“I was lying in bed during lockdowns, getting sad at having to open and close venues, and I just thought – what if I opened something that combined all of my passions? I call it a department store,” says owner Melissa McFarlane. Don’t think Myer though. Instead of bright lights, sickly-sweet celebrity perfumes and sunglasses, Botanik Kyneton is a delight for the senses. McFarlane and her husband, Frank Moylan, are veteran hospitality operators – they previously ran the Royal George Hotel in this same building, the Farmers Arms in Daylesford and the Crimean in North Melbourne plus others interstate – but you can tell that Botanik is a real distillation of everything they love.
Botanik Kyneton is a delight for the senses. McFarlane and her husband, Frank Moylan, are veteran hospitality operators – they previously ran the Royal George Hotel in this same building, the Farmers Arms in Daylesford and the Crimean in North Melbourne plus others interstate – but you can tell that Botanik is a real distillation of everything they love.
The experience begins downstairs in the historic pub building in Kabinett, with beautifully styled furniture, homeware and plants. Some of the pieces are originals, some are upcycled, all will have you mentally rearranging your home in an effort to find a spot for them. It makes good use of the boxy maze of rooms that constitute an old-school country pub, with something exciting to find through every doorway. Head up the brightly painted staircase to Botanik and the real fun (for bartenders, at least) begins. A carefully curated selection of glassware and bar equipment would leave any reader of this magazine lusting; they stock the BarGeek brand, plus the kind of new and vintage glasses which soothe the soul with their marriage of elegance and ergonomics.
Then, there are the fragrances. The team has sourced from niche perfume houses, all of which have a botanical twist and are designed to transport you to a different place or time. Naomi Goodsir ‘Nuit de Bakelite’ genuinely makes you feel like you are sitting in a 1950s kitchen, and the Frapin ‘Speakeasy’ takes you straight into a film noir. McFarlane loves the interplay of smell and taste, and wants to intertwine the fragrance and cocktail list even more in the future. It’s a fun way to prepare your senses for the main event – the vermouth and amari.
Why this focus? “The uniqueness of each house is fascinating… There is always something new to discover. There is such beauty in the complex layers that come from the vast number of botanicals that go into one single formulation. European vermouth houses especially have refined their secret recipes over generations. Our bar team is fascinated by experimenting with the many layers and blending them into something new and unexpected or replacing components of classic cocktails that will add a new twist.”
They have the largest selection in Victoria, perhaps even Australia, available for purchase, and every single bottle can be opened for tasting before you commit – past the shelves of bottles you’ll find a large curved bar, which is what is missing from most ‘department stores’ in my opinion. “You can start your vermouth journey with tastings and flights at the bar. It is such a joy to introduce people to the wonderful world of aromatised wine.”
The cocktails lean heavily on vermouth and amari too, with a whole page of Negroni variations. The staff are knowledgeable and you are encouraged to try a cocktail and also each of the individual ingredients in it. Pretty in Pink is a favourite from my visit, with pink pepper gin, Orange Colombo aperitif and davidson plum bitters creating a fruity and approachable ‘gateway’ Negroni. The almost universal staff pick of the fortifieds was Cocchi Dopo Teatro Vermouth Amaro, a treat I hadn’t tried before and which I may now have to purchase a bottle of – rich and spicy yet citrus-y and bright, it embodies a warm Italian evening.
McFarlane and Moylan are smart operators. The multi-pronged approach of the business is beneficial for both staff and customers. For staff, “there is a lot of scope to learn about both hospitality and retail. Being a small business everyone can have a say – new ideas can be turned around and implemented quickly.”
“It also takes the pressure off the bar to make all the money. [We have] diversified streams of income. Most people who come through the building will spend money on either retail or have a drink. There is something for everyone and every mood you are in. New customers wander through the building and often have a drink at the bar and then continue to wander. Return customers might come back with a specific intention in mind and look for that piece of furniture they fell in love with or for a gift. Customers who are familiar with Botanik might go straight up to the bar but more often than not will wander through the building on their way out. Most people go on all the rides and appreciate that there is so much to do and discover in the building.”
The team’s keen eye for detail and the curation of all things beautiful make this a must visit in regional Victoria – thankfully their hours are bartender friendly as well as they are open 7 days, although they were one of the only businesses open when I visited on a Monday afternoon! For someone coming later in the week, how would McFarlane suggest they spend a day in Kyneton? “The perfect day in Kyneton would involve a visit to the Stockroom, a tasting at Musk Lane cellar door, which is an urban winery in Kyneton. Vintage shopping on Piper Street, of course, an aperitif at Botanik and dinner at the Spaghetti Bar.” If that doesn’t sound like the perfect day off I’m not sure what does.