This might be drinks news related, but we decided to do a bit of investigating and ask some Aussie bartenders what they thought. The lads down at the High West Distillery (USA) have released their very own distillery crafted, and estate barrel aged, cocktail – the 36th Vote Barrelled Manhattan.
This new product featured in the December issue of Australian Bartender magazine. Magners Irish Cider…
Placing in this year’s Top 11 at the Bartender of the Year Competition (sponsored by Reserve), Jessica Arnott is showcasing some fantastic bartending talent. You’ll find her at Sydney’s Victoria Room, the British-Raj inspired cocktail temple, where she’ll turn out quality drinks and fine chat with regulation ease if you drop in on a Friday night.
Bear Hug is a true bottled infusion. 100% natural with no preservatives these infusions are ready to drink. Produced by master distillers and using premium products you can add a twist to your next cocktail creation by simply adding some Bear Hug vodka infusion to your drink.
“The Brix is based on the foundation of a contemporary French Bistro,” says co-owner Emma O’Mara, who is running the venue with Keir Vaughn. “We wanted to create a space that was a thoughtful and beautiful experience for people.”
The Brix offers an experience through the flavours and textures of the food they deliver, and the duo aim to showcase the quality and detail of the Brix in everything that they do. “We are about having a whole lot of fun and taking away an experience that you think about for some time after you leave,” explains O’Mara
The Riversdale Group is fast becoming one of the major multi-venue operators in NSW and with the backing of some key investors, including ad man John Singleton, they’re looking to keep growing.
Moscow recently experienced the bar show phenomenon with the Moscow Bar Show launching in September this year.
Organised by the PIR Group in co-operation with the British bar expert Andy Bishop the Russian bar community was able to experience the best of international bar culture. Nearly 6000 bar professionals visited the show and they were treated to a host of industry icons – many of whom have been regular fixtures at Sydney BarShow Week in years past and present.
Salvatore Calabrese (Salvatore’s at the Playboy Club, London) David Cordoba (Bacardi Global Brand Ambassador), Thomas Estes (European Tequila Ambassador), Joe Fee, Phil Bayly and Ian Burrell were all on hand to educate and stimulate what was an excited and enthusiastic Russian crowd.
The Sherry Cobbler, like many of the greatest potent potables, is an American invention. David Wondrich tells us in Imbibe! that a Victorian novelist by the name of Charles Reade in 1863 lists the Sherry Cobbler foremost in his list of American mixtures ahead of Gin Sling, Cocktail, Mint Julep, Brandy Smash, Sudden Death and Eye Openers. Wondrich adds: “If someone had waved Reade’s little list under the nose of the average drinking man in 1863 and made him choose one drink to stand the test of time, odds are heavy that he would’ve gone for the Sherry Cobbler”.
Combined Wines is a new product to the Australian market – Ripe Cider 100% crushed apple cider. Ripe Cider is concentrate free and made from 100% Australian Snowy Mountain apples – no imported ingredients.
Got a time machine? Me neither, but don’t let that stop you heading back to the post-war cocktail period by visiting Hinky Dinks, Sydney’s latest take on trendy tippling. Embodying the cocktail culture of the 1950s, when then a well stirred Cobbler was an essential accessory one’s image and a cocktail ‘hour’ wasn’t dependant on keeping an eye on the clock, Hinky Dinks is setting a new trend in ‘old fashioned’.
While Don Francisco Hajnal was in town recently for Sydney BarShow Week, we caught up with him for a chat about his role with Jose Cuervo Tequila. Having been involved with the magical spirit for many year, Hajnal had a lot to say – and we were happy to listen.
The term moonshine came about many years ago from the illegal production of spirits that was distilled at night in secret locations (to avoid the authorities). Distilled by the light of the moon the term ‘moonshine’ was soon born into popular culture.