What makes a great blended whisky? What’s the process involved, and is it a craft, art or science? We asked an expert – the knowledgeable Colin Scott from Chivas Regal – to find out more about blended whisky.
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Mixxit Chronicles – winners of On Premise Training Program of the Year at last year’s Australian Bartender Bar Awards — is set to launch at the iconic 1806 next week 30th April & 1st May at 1pm, with a session titled “Scotch & Irish Whisky – un-Censored”! Led by Jason Crawley and Dylan Howarth, the lads are promising a fresh look compared with last year’s program, and best of all — it’s uncensored.
Campari’s National Brand Ambassador, Oliver Stuart, says that often the information that bartenders find most interesting during training sessions is the tidbits that come up in the course of presentations, often as an aside. And it’s this avenue he hopes their recently launched blog, The Cocktail Studio will go down. The blog has already had great feedback from bartenders, becoming the kind of place where bartenders can come and share ideas, recipes, stories — and these little gems of trivia.
Over the course of two nights in Sydney last week, two international luminaries from the Moet-Hennessy stable – Belvedere’s Claire Smith and Glenmorangie’s Dr Bill Lumsden — put on a show for Australian audiences.
It’s a liqueur that has been around for some time and its longevity is due to its popularity: it’s the bottle that bartenders reach for when they need to add a whack of watermelon to freshen up their drinks.
Ron Cooper, the founder of Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, has kick-started his agave educational tour of Australia and last night Sydney bartenders were lucky enough to catch up with Ron on his first ever trip down under. Eight expressions of Del Maguey were sampled including the Tobala which is distilled from only wild maguey from the highest altitude canyons along with the Pechuga that involves suspending a chicken breast (yes, folks) in the atmosphere of the still!
Kansei Beverages are bringing to Australia these organic artisan-made tequilas from 3R Tequila. Both the aged varieties, a Reposado and an Anejo, are aged a little longer than the average — their Repo is aged for 10 months, the Anejo for two years.
Reading through the pages of most cocktail books written before the second world war can get to be a pretty dull read pretty quickly — particularly if there isn’t a well-stocked bar at one’s disposal or the hour is unsociably early. Yet Charles H. Baker Jr’s prose stands apart from the pack.
The world of rum is a diverse one. And, thanks to there being no unifying authority, the types of products that are called rum vary widely in their flavour profiles. There are, loosely speaking, a few different styles of rum that drinkers can identify. They’re based on old geographical and cultural roots and it is remarkable how these styles have come down the ages.
The April issue of Australian Bartender has gone live in the App Store. It’s a cracking issue — we’ve taken an old school approach to the drinks with old-fashioned illustrations, a How To on shrub and a masterclass in punch. We’ve also debuted our new Blind Tastings section — this month our panel sniffed, sipped and scored 28 of the country’s best craft beers.
Cushdy 279a Hindley Street, Adelaide 0413 721 708 cushdy.com.au For a blind tasting based on…
It’s never been so good to be a bartender. Just look at the endless supply of competitions to enter with mind-blowing prizes, and the fantastic array of drinks brands that now are available. But be careful of the subversive sell…