Ilegal Mezcal is now available in Australia, bringing a small piece of Oaxaca to your bar for everyone to share. To drink Mezcal is to enter the ritual of Oaxaca. The two are inseparable and one leads inevitably to the other. Ilegal Mezcal is a hand crafted, small batch Mezcal and made with both pride and reverence to a culture.
“Rum has flavour, it has heritage, and it has quality,” says Dave Broom in his wide ranging work entitled (rather directly) Rum. That sonorous word one can’t help saying without a slight-smile. Rum, roll the ‘r’, has also been described in its early years as that ‘hot, hellish, and terrible liquor’. This was when rum was for slaves, indigenous peoples, the poor and the press-ganged and other more antisocial characters – your pirates, privateers, rebels and ye smugglers.
Monopolowa Dry Gin is a superbly smooth gin and would be a connoisseur’s delight. Produced in a traditional manner, this unique gin uses the highest quality, triple distilled rectified spirits that are obtained from special varieties of potatoes, and a special and unique blend of the finest and choicest traditional natural gin ingredients (including juniper berries, orange and lemon peels, coriander, anise, fennel and ginger).
The team at Avido began their journey in late 2010, with the aim of bring a ‘new style of culinary service’ to Paddington. The Italian or Spanish translation of Avido is ‘hungry, greedy or thirsty’, and the name is said to reflect their owners desire to offer a place where sharing great food, wine and conversation is easy and fun.
The successes for the Vessel ventures keep coming with their latest opening at the established late night spot – King Street Wharf. Vessel’s Italian phase is set to introduce contemporary Italian style dining to one of the CBD’s bustling financial districts.
During America’s prohibition years, clandestine tipplers got a serious taste for Canadian Club Whisky that was smuggled across the boarder in huge quantities by whisky runners. Now some 90 years on, some of Sydney’s small bars are harking back to these shady times by designing a Canadian Club cocktail and smuggling it into another participating bar so that they can take photos of themselves drinking their smuggled drink and posting stories about their ‘Smugglers Tale’.
With such a fantastic response to the voting for Bartender magazine’s Most Influential List it has certainly shown that Australia’s bartending fraternity is proud to get behind the people they think are doing a great job.
With more than 650 votes from trade professionals the results have revealed a good mix of bartenders, operators, brand managers and trainers, among others. Beginning in 2009 and running every second year this wonderful industry focused initiative really rewards those people who help make the bartending and hospitality industry a great place to be.
The last time the Strawberry Hills Hotel (est.1870) had a makeover was in 1921 when Sidney Warden transformed the Surry Hills icon into one hell of a hip watering hole decked out in the latest Art Deco style and catering to jazz aficionados. Ninety years down the track and the Strawberry Hills Hotel has emerged from an 18-month restoration costing six million dollars that is sure to set the historic public house up for another century of trading.
The team at Tamborine Mountain Distillery have done it again, producing a classy Eau De…
Canberra is hosting a small boom in new bars and restaurants lately, and the new Pelagic Bar & Dining is looking to focus on a seafood driven menu, a solid wine selection and most importantly classically driven cocktails. Head bartender Geoff Fewell is proud of the team and what they are bringing to Canberra’s drinking and dining scene.
Can a bar with no name have an identity? Well, the venue at this address certainly does and it is a sensational place to come and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, friendly service and good food and wine served by some of the welcoming staff, Giovanni, David and Zea.