Simon McGoram

Editor of Australian Bartender Magazine. Bartending since 2001, Simon won NZ Bartender magazine Bartender of the Year in ‘06. Contributing editor for a year in NZ, he moved to Sydney where he worked at the Bayswater Brasserie. Now settled into office life, Simon finds that the immature sheep jokes are wearing thin.

Campari Australia Open For Business

Campari Australia are excited to announce their arrival in the Australian liquor scene. Campari’s national trade marketing manager, Liam Murphy, said: “This is a very exciting time for us all at Campari Australia.

Tommy’s Margarita

This month’s ‘How To’ is inspired by the modern classic: Tommy’s Margarita. The Tommy’s Margarita is a creation by Julio Bermejo considered by many as the world’s leading Tequila aficionado and Tequila ambassador to the US. This particular Margarita is one that he started serving in the 1980’s at his father’s restaurant the legendary Tommy’s Restaurant and World’s Best Tequila Bar in San Francisco.

Shady Pines Saloon

Now once in a while something special graces bar scene becoming an instant classic. Shady Pines Saloon might just be one of those places. Is it the cocktails? Is it the food? Is the über-chic design? Not on your Nelly!

WEBWATCH: Mixxit.com.au

The industrious Mixxit team have been hard at work over the summer months to pull together a cracking new website. www.mixxit.com.au is their online base of operations featuring the Marvellous Mixxit Mixer Machine – a spirit and flavour matching tool – the Three Dashes of Bitters e-newsletter containing hilarity and the latest industry news, updates on the Magnificent 7 competition, videos and all the information you need about Mixxit training sessions.

Chairman’s Reserve St. Lucia Rum

A relative newcomer in the Pure Spirits portfolio is Chairman’s Reserve St. Lucia rum. Colonised by France in 1660, St. Lucia earned the name of “Helen of the West Indies” both for its beauty and the fact that Great Britain and France went to war fourteen times for claims to the island. The island’s tropical microclimate and fertile volcanic soil create a preserved rainforest that bears the water used to conceive Chairman’s Reserve. This microclimate also influences maturation and provides the ideal conditions for transforming sugar cane into this award winning rum.

BLOG: 30 Bars in 30 Days; Simon’s Progress

One of the aspects of Sydney bar culture that we should really be celebrating is its growing diversity. Many attribute this to legislative changes like the new ‘small bar license’ and ‘Primary Service Authorities’. Personally I’d like to think that Sydney’s (and indeed Australia’s) drinkers are reaching a new stage of enlightenment. Drinkers are driving change by demanding a new breed of bar.

CLASSIC: The Hanky Panky

Before you get too excited about the racy name, keep in mind that in Edwardian England the term ‘hanky panky’ didn’t have the same libidinous connotations as it has today, but was rather used to describe black magic or an evil trick. The term comes from the Romani (Gypsy) term ‘hakk’ni panki’ meaning “the great trick” and is similarly linked to another familiar term ‘hocus pocus’.

Ravál, Sydney

Ravál located at the top of the stairs above Sydney’s historic Macquarie Hotel (or ‘The Mac’ as it is popularly known) is named after Barcelona’s infamous nightspot El Ravál; an area bordering La Rambla know for its cabaret, nightclubs, and more lascivious businesses of the night.

Eau-De-Vie, Sydney

Well it’s here and it’s making waves: Eau-De-Vie, the bar by the dynamic duo Sven and Amber Almenning, has already been subject to rave consumer reviews – and you thought it would just be an industry bar!

Bartender Magazine’s Top 5 Cocktails of 2010

With summer now in full swing the team here at 4bars.com.au and Bartender magazine are getting a mighty thirst on. Every month we get sent some cracking cocktail recipes and menus from all around the country, we get to sample fine potions on our travels and often drink superlative beverages compounded for the country’s top cocktail competitions.

Bloody Mondays at Tatler

Tatler are kicking off an all new hospo night this coming Monday (15 Feb) entitled ‘Bloody Mondays’. The evening sponsored by Patron will also see the return from bartending retirement of Mr. Lenny Opai of Bayswater Brasserie fame.