Probably the best news to come out of the national capital lately is that another new bar has opened, Honky Tonks. What a relief from all the other political noise. Getting straight into it, the locals seem to be wrapped with their latest addition and the venue is giving them a raft of tipples to taste while taking in the creatively cool interior. The wine list is pretty strong with some good tastes of local and international juice and the food is sure to keep you filled while you work your way through the cocktails and beers.
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Australian Bartender magazine is proud to announce that Diageo’s Reserve has once again thrown its support behind what’s billed as Australia’s toughest bartending challenge with Ketel One vodka on board as the official sponsor of the Bartender of the Year Competition.
Maz Salt, Director of Melbourne’s Office of Public Works (behind Section 8, Baba and Southpaw) has unveiled plans for a new cocktail bar that should be serving up well-chilled drinks by the time this magazine arrives in your lap.
Ferdydurke, as the venue will be named, is located directly next to Section 8 on Tattersalls lane in Chinatown. At present Salt isn’t giving away a lot about his new venture though he is letting us know it will be an artistic driven venue
Many will insist a proper Caipiriñha should be made with limao casca fina, limon de pica, or what you’d probably better know as Mexican or key lime. This type of lime – endemic in the Americas – is touted to be smaller and more fragrant than the Tahitian lime found in Australia, but once doused in a couple of ounces of Cachaça it’s unlikely anyone will be the wiser for your substitution.
Working his way from Northern Ireland’s mean streets to operate one of the most awarded Hotels doing the rounds, Sean Muldoon has never shied away from adversity. After years of working for the ‘man’ Sean is set to launch The Dead Rabbit Community Tavern in New York City – the final realisation of his dream to own and operate his own venue. Head to 4bars.com.au to read the full, unedited interview and check out his new venue at thedeadrabbittavern.com
NILWA has a couple of Spey malts that are at opposite ends of the ageing spectrum, and they’re both a ready addition to a cocktail.
“Where at the bottom end of Melbourne’s CBD,” says Creative Director Michael Delaney Korabelnikova. Licensed for 1500 patrons, 365 days of the year and 24 hours a day, this is certainly one of the most ambitious venues that Melbourne has welcomed to the market in recent times.
The venue bring with it a number of different levels, and styles, with the street level acting as a pub, diner and disco and the other levels, well perhaps Delaney should explain. “On the middle level of the building we run SURVIVOR! a Saturday night mega rave dance party club. On the floor above that we run POOF DOOF, a Saturday night gay club for homos.” Thanks for clearing that up.
Fraser Campbell can be found tending bar at the Fitzroy hanut, The Alchemist. If he’s not there he might be refining his bottle opening technique, watching The Lost Boys or reading tips for the modern man in Man Up: Skills for the Modern Guy. If you catch him on his break, he’ll appreciate a pint of Negroni. If you get the chance too, then check out The Alchemist’s sweet website, it’s certainly worth a look.
Iron Bartender is back – and this time two of Melbourne’s top barkeeps will trade blows for the ultimate bragging rights
The dry shake – shaking a cocktail containing egg white without ice in order to properly emulsify the ingredients before adding ice and re-shaking – makes complete scientific sense, and any cook or chef worth his or her salt understands this. But very few bartenders understood this at the beginning of this century, and when Solomon brought this piece of methodology to my attention, I started to realise that the game was changing.
This time round $20,000 was raised for the Animal Welfare League (NSW) and Parched March founder, Amy Cooper, was thrilled at the outcome.”We’re thrilled to have doubled last year’s total,” Cooper said. “The support and enthusiasm we had from our participating bars this year was unprecedented. They created amazing drinks, put on exciting events and threw themselves into raising money for a very grateful Animal Welfare League NSW.”
Today’s young adult consumers are showing that they are eager to learn more about quality drink brands, cocktail culture and most importantly that they appreciate the variety of bars both big and small that exist in Sydney and elsewhere.
You just have to see the number of relatively new and successful consumer food and drink events taking place around the country to see that consumers want to drink and eat better and are prepared to pay a bit more to do so.