Zero-waste bartending. Closed loop. Is all this sustainable bar stuff nothing but empty marketing terms, or is there something more to it? During Sydney Bar Week this year at The Business of Bars Conference that was the topic, when a panel comprised of Sam Egerton (Merivale), Toby Kline (Adelaide Hills Distillery) and Luke Whearty (Operation Dagger) were quizzed by Australian Bartender publisher David Spanton.
It’s the time of year we like to look back and take a broader view of the year that was, and take stock of 2017’s biggest stories on australianbartender.com.au.
The Global Drinks Forum was held the day before Bar Convent Berlin began, and it gathered a few dozen drinks industry heavyweights (and us) to discuss marketing, strategy, and insights for the global drinks business. It’s the kind of thing we’d usually move away from very quickly in the opposite direction, too afraid of a torrent of ‘touchpoints’. But this one, well, it was different. We wanted to work out just what we could take from it that would be of use to bartenders and bar owners.
Tonight at PS40 in Sydney sees Michael Callahan, creative director at Employees Only Singapore go head to head with Celia Schoonraad of the acclaimed Singapore bar, 28 Hong Kong Street.
Justinn De Beer began his career in his native South Africa, before travelling abroad and ending up working in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley for seven years, with two and a half years in the CBD leading the opening crew of Brooklyn Standard.
Above Board was named New Bar of the Year at the 2017 Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards. They’ve just clocked up a year of trade, so we thought the time would be right to check in and see how year number one has been.
When Maurice Terzini’s Bondi Beach Public Bar opens next, you can expect Spritzes, pre-batched Negroni’s, Old Fashioned’s, and a White Mike Russian when you’re at the bar.
Whereas once bartending wasn’t a ‘real job’, nowadays bartenders are looking at how they can extend their careers for another 10, 20, or 30 years. What’s one of those ways? Here’s how to start a liquor brand.
At Brooklyn Standard, the bartenders are always having a good time, the drinks are on point, and the atmosphere, well — it’s a party. We sat down with their general manager Harlen Pointing, and here’s what he had to say.
He’s using whey that is a by-product from the kitchen, and is making a syrup from crackers and sugar. “The flavour profile just fit really well in a milk punch and using cognac was a natural fit,” he tells us.
In this issue, we’ve got interviews with each of the Top 10 of the 2017 Most Influential List sponsored by Angostura aromatic bitters,and look at how a couple of bartenders have made the leap from behind the stick to brand owner — and how you can do it, too.