“In the state of Oaxaca, the smell of mezcal and mole negro fills the streets and, as night-time approaches, candles coat the cemetery like a blanket. In the surrounding areas the Muerteada takes hold with brass bands dancing their way up and down the hills of their neighbourhoods, stopping by households for mezcal and snacks.” – Hayley Dixon
Recipes
Drinks
“Gin has reached the most exciting period along what has been, by any standards, a highly tumultuous journey. Botanicals are now foraged, juniper origin and terroir is scrutinised and production processes are laid bare for the benefit of consumer transparency.” – Tristan Stephenson, ‘The Curious Bartender’s Gin Palace’
“Many classic cocktails, in fact, originally called for Hennessy before the Phylloxera bug in 1870 destroyed 80 per cent of French vineyards, and the supply of cognac, which saw all cognac-based cocktails be replaced by other spirits such as whiskey, rye or rum.”
In this cocktail showcase we share five banging recipes featuring tequila or mezcal from bars around the country – Hot Tamale, Barangaroo House, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang & Cantina OK!
“I found myself needing to dust off a book and dig deep to satisfy our spirited guests looking for more smooth sippers. The Savoy Cocktail Book had all the answers I needed and is a must for any bartender to have on their shelf.”
At our photoshoot last month Alissa Gabriel from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in Sydney mixed up one of their signature drinks, the Peppermint Slap. So grab a packet of butter menthols because this here recipe makes good use of them
We all love a sour, none more so than one made with Pisco. And today we have a couple more delicious pisco cocktails to sample this spring.
The folks at Speakeasy’s bars sure know how to wow their customers with a bit of bartending theatre and here Alissa Gabriel shows us her stuff with the Nitro Cosmo Sgroppino
Check out the taste of summer with these Bacardi Spiced summer twists from Melbourne’s Shay Chamberlain and Chelsea Catherine
We checked in with some of the country’s favourite rum specialists and here are five of their cocktail highlights.
The house grog (a proprietorial blend of unaged rum, aged rum, a dark Jamaican style rum and an overproof rum) is the key to emulating the classic tiki drinks of yesteryear such as the Mai Tai says Jacoby’s owner, Pasan Wijesena.
Chelsea Catherine’s Bacardi Spiced twist on the beach-time classic, Miami Vice, can be batched and taken to the park (or beach!) to be shared with friends.