There was a time – not that long ago – when bars were filled with the sound of whirring metal blades blitzing ice and fruit and booze; a time when the cocktail glasses were large, the drinks coloured bright, and the bartender was the boss of the blender.
It is the lone brand to come from the ‘whiskey bonding’ era in Ireland and will be more readily available in the coming months. A single pot still Irish whiskey, it is comprised of pot still whiskeys aged between 7 and 10 years.
Back in our June issue we brought you the news that this bar from Chris Denman (who placed 2nd to Jason Williams in the Bartender Magazine 2010 Bartender of the Year competition) and partner Stevie Wright would be coming. Its been open a few months now, and things are going well.
The fine folk at Motel in Wellington have been making bitters for their own bar, then they started handing them around their friends’ bars, now they’re smuggling (OK, importing) them here, said bitterer Tom Egerton.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that innovative Sydney publican, James Miller (Drink & Dine Group) has passed away.
He was a central part of the team that brought innovation to Sydney’s pub landscape, with each of their venues — The Norfolk Hotel, The Carrington, The Abercombie, and most recently, Santa Barbara — enjoying great successes and revitalising the local drinking scene.
Tequila. I love it. You love it. Heck, even punters are coming around to its agave spirit goodness be it sipped neat or quaffed in mixed drinks. But for a long time tequila has been viewed as a bit of a one trick pony when it comes to cocktails.
You know what you need more of in your life? Utah whiskey.
Living in today’s fast-paced, online world when something is trendy it spreads like the plague. Take the fashion industry, for example, one day an outfit is on the catwalk, it’s copied and sold everywhere, and a few weeks later everyone is wearing it.
The team behind Lily Blacks (nominated for Best Bartender’s Bar at Bartender’s Australian Bar Awards) are wowing Melbourne boozehounds with new bar, Mr. Wow’s Emporium. Exposed brick walls and long wooden tables and a curved bar house a wowing drinks program.
Andy Griffiths, one time bar manager at Melbourne’s award winning Cookie, has finally given us the inside word on what he has been up to since giving up his post last year. Griffiths has been busy planning the bar for Mesa Verde a new venue opening in Melbourne next month.
The Perth bar scene is alive and well it seems, with a bit of musical bartender chairs being played. It appears that Luxe bar is ground zero for a lot of this too. Not only is owner Andy Freeman setting up a new bar, called The Varnish (as we reported in October’s Bartender) but other Luxe alumni are making moves too.
You have six packs of cream charges, a cream canister, a load of fresh berries and all sorts of party supplies like balloons and cocktail parasols. You make a note to ignore the knowing looks you get from the barely post-pubescent checkout guy.