Double Bay is riding a bit of a wave at the moment, with the old Bollywood restaurant site now under the direction of a new team of talent. Andy Becher (co-owner Roxbury Hotel, Sydney), Daimon Downey (of Sneaky Sound Systems), and Charlie Hinckfuss are all involved and are set to launch the new – at print, yet to be named – venue in mid-January. The team is excited about their new bar and entertainment offering and what it will bring to the local area which has been off the radar for a while as a destination night spot.
Tag: Sydney
When David Spanton put the call out through social media to see who might want to take part he was swamped, and in the end a lucky group got to join him on Zeta’s balcony to enjoy some fine cigars and some terrific spirits. Those lucky attendees were; David Spanton (Editor and Publisher Australian Bartender magazine), (Sam Bygrave (Cohibar, Sydney), Collin Perillo (Zeta, Sydney), John Toubia (Grasshopper, Sydney), Charlie Lehmann (Zeta, Sydney) and Samuel Spurr (cigar writer for Inlumino Cigar News Australia). The spirits on offer were top notch, and some interesting matches were found over the afternoon’s course.
Mikee Collins, veteran hospitality identity, owner and managing director of Alira Moorish Food and Wine Bar, (Sydney) and friend to many suffered a terrible accident late last month when he fell from an eighth-floor balcony.
His condition continues to be critical but stable and while he will be in intensive care for quite a few more weeks followed by many months of hospitalisation and rehabilitation, we are hopeful for a positive outcome.
This might be drinks news related, but we decided to do a bit of investigating and ask some Aussie bartenders what they thought. The lads down at the High West Distillery (USA) have released their very own distillery crafted, and estate barrel aged, cocktail – the 36th Vote Barrelled Manhattan.
Andy Penney (ex-Flinders and Duke, Sydney) is now licensee and General Manager of 21 – tha latest Kings Cross nightspot that’s mixing up what the strip has to offer. “Tha name comes from the old days when this place was a notorious gambling den called The Kellet Club,” Penney stated.
The latest offering from the never ending roll-out that is the Merivale group – and it’s hitting the right chord yet again. Justin Hemmes and Merivale chef Dan Hong travelled to Los Angeles visiting over 40 different venues for inspiration before coming back and setting up El Loco within a matter of weeks.
This month’s Cocktail Experiment turned out to be such a massive hit we had to redesign the magazine section to fit in everyone that wanted to participate! When it comes to Tequila, there’s certainly a buzz in the air at the moment with bartenders and consumers alike demanding more and more of the icon category.
James Bradey (Grandma’s, Sydney) was keen to host this month’s event and welcomed the Sydney bar teams from Pocket and Stitch to his new haunt for an all out session on Vodka.
Last night saw the culmination of Reserve’s year long World Class program on Australian shores. And taking out top honours after three long days of fierce competition was Tim Philips from ivy’s Level 6 in Sydney. Runners-up in this epic bartending battle were Phil Gandevia of Sydney’s Eau De Vie and and Marco Nunes from Brisbane’s Canvas.
Some bars go to extraordinary lengths to produce bespoke ingredients for their drinks list and cocktail hungry clientele. Few, however, go to the lengths of Neutral Bay’s White Hart – a bar that makes its own mead, tonic, ginger beer, and cider amongst others house made goodies.
So who do you think should take out the prize for the Appleton Estate Rum God Tiki Mug Competition in 2011?
The finalists have been chosen, the duel has begun and now it’s down to you – the voting industry – to decide who takes bragging rights and a seriously cool prize as well as having their tiki mug designed and distributed to bars Australia wide.
As with any yarn involving the demon drink, an accurate account of Punch’s early life has long been washed away by the high tides of merriment and low tides of memory loss paired with the debilitating affects of hard living. Despite it’s sketchy past, interest in the lost art of Punch making is returning to bars the world over. Coupled with and authoritative work on the subject by drinks historian David Wondrich and you mightn’t be wrong in assuming that Punch is seeing a full blown comeback.