One half of the Swillhouse Group, Jason Scott (Shady Pines Saloon et al) is partnering with Jamie Webb (Cabiria, Peasant) in a new saloon-style music hall in Brisbane. “It’s called Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall,” said Webb. “We are a country music hall with free music and a democratic door policy.”
When Melbourne bar impresario, Vernon Chalker (Gin Palace, Bar Ampere) played boozy-matchmaker to bartender Shaun Byrne and respected winemaker Gilles Lapalus, the result was two beautiful new vermouths. We caught up with the gents to find out how they did it.
Looking for a bar? Well, don’t bother looking for the sign above a big, bold entry right on a main road. No siree, from what I can gather, those days are long gone. Bars in 2013 are secreted down laneways, up elevators, round corners, behind restaurants, or in basements. Sometimes you need a secret password.
Boring stuff, right? But wherever booze is there’s someone looking to make money from it, someone wanting to tax it, and someone looking to find ways they can sell more of it. Yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald carried a story about calls from the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia to change the way alcohol is taxed — which would see ciders attracting a higher tax rate than they do now.
For your chance to win a trip to Venice and to mix with the stars, have a crack at the 2013 Disaronno Global Cocktail Competition.
Well, it’s Easter — and with it comes a long weekend — and we figured…
A business degree and a bit of an economics crush on Adam Smith might be just be what helped Sean, last year’s Australian Bartender Rookie of the Year, have such a stellar 2012.
It’s a drink that takes a long time to make, so we thought we enlist a bartender who’s been around a long time too. Veteran bartender Cristiano Beretta (The Rook, Sydney) has made his fair share of Ramos Gin Fizzes through the years, so press play below and pay attention…
He’s a bartender, owns the Passenger D.C. and the Columbia Room (named in GQ’s top 25 bars), has written about drinking for The Atlantic, and bantered with President Obama. He’s also a genuinely nice guy behind the bar. Meet Derek Brown…
The much-anticipated opening of the Wild Rover, after a couple of setbacks, is finally here. Opening at the end of next week, the two-level bar from James Bradey and Warren Burns (owners of Grandma’s) will hold 120 people, with the same drinks and food across both levels — downstairs it’s expected will be a quieter affair, and upstairs, with a plan down the track to have live music, is expected to be a little more boisterous.
Yep, it’s American, so there is a bit of a yankee-centric feel about this website but if you’re interested in hunting down new and unique spirits, you’re sure to find something here.
The Zetter Townhouse, London, was nominated for two awards 2012’s Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, taking out the World’s Best New Cocktail Bar award. We met up with its Aussie ex-pat bar manager, Ben Clark for a couple of drinks when he was in Sydney recently.