13 minute read
Best Australian Outdoor Venues
DRINKS TRADE’S BEST OUTDOOR VENUES
WITH THE PANDEMIC CHANGING THE FACE OF HOSPITALITY AND SUMMER FAST APPROACHING, OUTDOOR SPACE IS THE NEW BLACK. A SEAT OUTDOORS IN THE COVID AEROSOL-TRANSMISSION- PROTECTING FRESH AIR IS JUST WHAT THE LOCKDOWNWEARY, PANDEMIC-FEARING PUNTER MUST HAVE, OR AS AN OPTION AT THE VERY LEAST, PARTICULARLY ON A DAY WHEN CASES ARE HEATING UP. AGAIN. OUR EDITING TEAM HAS DELIGHTED IN COLLATING OUR PLEIN-AIR FAVOURITES. DISCOVER GREAT AUSTRALIAN BEER GARDENS, ROOFTOP BARS, AND OUTDOOR DINING VENUES. WE TIP WILL BE MAKING A ROARING TRADE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. MARK OUR WORDS, THESE JOINTS WILL BE SCANNING QR CODES AND VETTING VACCINATION TESTS BEFORE YOU CAN SAY CAPACITY LIMIT. BOOK QUICK!
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SYDNEY
1OPERA BAR What an institution! Where else in the world can you sit back with a cocktail in the open air with the harbour mist on your face and gaze at that view from the iconic steps of Sydney’s most significant landmark after the bridge. Some nights even have outdoor live music. 2 SYDNEY CROWN –TERRACE BAR AT CIRQ BAR AND LOUNGE Editor Pick Talking about views, this one is incomparable. It takes in the beauty of Sydney and its magical harbour from 26 stories high. On a windy day, not so great, but when it’s good, it’s perfect. The outdoor terrace also vibes with cool DJs and live music at the Sunday Sessions.
MELBOURNE
1SIGLO BAR Upstairs on the terrace from Melbourne hospo institution The European and Supper Club, Siglo channels nights in Paris overlooking the spire and stained glass of the stunning St Patrick’s Cathedral, the floodlit columns of Parliament House and the domes of the Princess
Theatre. Here is where you can grab a memorable cocktail and even choose a Cuban cigar. It’s an outdoor space from another era.
3WATSON’S BAY BOUTIQUE HOTEL Fever-Tree Sponsor Pick Settle in the shade of the nautical-themed umbrellas and linger all afternoon, sip a coldie or Spritz and admire the sunset, the yachts, the water. (Winner of Best Outdoor Experience at the AHA (NSW) Awards) 2 FITZROY BEER GARDENS Fever-Tree Sponsor Pick Melbourne's north is awash with great beer gardens, but this one is not only a leafy oasis, but it specialises in unique cocktails that focus on native bush ingredients. Jugs of concoctions and big communal tables make this place worth the visit.
THE COMMONS
Editor Pick One of Melbourne’s newest ‘it’ places, The Commons, is the brainchild of talented caterer’s The Big Group and is the old Belgian Beer Café space on St Kilda Road reimagined. It celebrates the outdoors with four areas, The Conservatory, The Kitchen Garden, The Beer Garden and The Garden Café, all under the banner of The Ormond Collective. The ultimate outdoor venue is exploding with colour, good vibes, and excellent hospitality in signature Big Group style.
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BRISBANE
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SANDSTONE POINT HOTEL
Editor Pick This beautiful award-winning hotel with 300 metres of water frontage overlooking Bribie Island and Pumicestone Passage has been named Australian Best Hotel and Queensland's Best Outdoor Entertainment venue, and we can see why. This year it was the winner of the Best Outdoor Experience AHA (QLD).
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HOWARD SMITH WHARVES
Fever-Tree Sponsor Pick Situated on the Brisbane river, this site is the ultimate outdoor experience. It’s an entertainment and lifestyle precinct with 80% allocated to a community playground where visitors can eat and drink in the warm Brisbane sunshine. There are multiple eating and drinking establishments here. It’s a smorgasbord of choice. Take your pick.
ADELAIDE
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MOSELEY BEACH CLUB
Fever-Tree Sponsor Pick Taking its inspiration from the fashionable beach clubs on the Mediterranean in Europe, the Moseley Beach Club is a seasonal venue that takes advantage of the warmer months. Set up on the Glenelg foreshore from November 26 to March 27, 2022, it is a popular Adelaide summer hang, so bags the best booth, day bed or luxe lounge and grab a sundowner or two.
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2KW
Editor Pick Views, Mediterranean-style cabanas, an impressive beer list and fabulous cocktails, what’s not to love at 2KW. Located on the eighth-floor on the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, 2KW has a stunning view of the CBD and Adelaide Oval; if this is how Adelaide do rooftop bars, we are there.
WHATEVER YOUR GIN WE’VE GOT JUST THE Tonic.
PERTH
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MARKET GROUNDS
Fever-Tree Sponsor Pick Market Grounds is an award-winning inner-city pub, paying homage to its historical roots as a marketplace. There is a great outdoor space where you can sip cocktails in an urban environment and listen to Perth’s best DJs.
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STABLES BAR
A charming urban oasis housed in Perth’s original horse stables off bustling Hay Street, the Stables Bar's iron gates and cobblestone path immediately transport from stressful city vibe to relaxing conviviality.
DARWIN
GAP VIEW HOTEL
This Darwin institution goes beyond the basic beer garden and elevates it to a pool garden. Kids and families can order lunch, sit outside and take a dip. That’s just what you need on a hot summer’s day in the Top End. (Winner of the Best Outdoor Experience AHA (NT) Awards
HOBART
CASCADE BREWERY BAR
Editor Pick The Cascade Brewery is the oldest operating brewery in Australia, so technically, the glorious grounds are Australia’s oldest beer garden. Seven days a week, punters can gaze upon the beauty of the historic brewery and relax in its beautifully manicured garden, sipping one of Australia’s iconic brews fresh from the tap.
WHEN PACKAGING IS AN ITALIAN MATTER
Vetroelite Glass Culture, a Tricorbraun company is an Italian specialist producer of high-end glass bottles for spirits, perfumes, food and wine and brings creative flair and quality we can expect from a country that highly values the aesthetics of design and beauty.
Like a tailor that crafts a suit to perfectly fit, Vetroelite meet the unique needs of their spirit and wine customers by providing distinctive glass packaging to reflect the customer’s brand philosophy while positively enhancing product image and shelf presence. Think of them as a material interpreter of brand identity.
Along with quality products, Vetroelite prides itself first and foremost on its superior brand of customer service. It offers personalized consulting in order to deliver the best possible glassware to meet the customer’s requirements. This is not just a glassware supplier but a partner in your business. The company delivers manageable MOQs, speed of delivery and 360° pre- and post-sales service from concept to production.
Specialists in spirits and wine glassware, their innovation and design concepts are leading the world. If it is unique and distinctive packaging you are after for your new spirit or wine, Vetroelite has the experience and reputation to deliver a first-class result. It creates by intercepting trends and interpreting them in its own way to produce a wide, deep and varied offering of quality, refined, innovative and designer products. Vetroelite offers the complete service with a collection of closures, designed for different markets and the decoration service with different techniques and facets; elements that complete the product, that enrich it and make it unique: a full emanation of creative thinking.
“Vetroelite is today the result of intuition, but even more so, it is a story made of small and great achievements. It is a company since 1994 that has been looking for innovative approaches in the world of glass packaging, tracing new creative and productive paths.
“A path in balance between different elements such as tradition and innovation, reality and creativity, conformity and differentiation. A path that leads us to an extraordinary result: a product that always differs, expressing its uniqueness. Its authenticity. We always try to go beyond traditional aesthetic canons to write new ones. Because it is only by crossing the boundaries of the known that we can take back our true essence - Daniele Feletto, Chairman and Commercial Director.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT WITH VETROELITE TODAY FOR A DEDICATED DIGITAL APPOINTMENT
https://www.vetroelite.com/en/contact-us.html
MARS KOMAGATAKE SINGLE MALT AND VOYAGER ESTATE COLLABORATE
Yukino Ochiai, Director of Déjà vu Sake Co, has this month brought the Mars Komagatake Single Malt “Wine Cask Finish” Whisky to the Australian market. A limited edition of just 950 bottles were produced and 266 made available to the Australian markets. The remainder were kept for the Japanese market exclusively.
The whisky is a collaboration between the Mars Shinshu Distillery in the Nagano Prefecture and Voyager Estate in Western Australia. It’s a single malt that is matured in bourbon barrels for over three years and then aged for 11 months in French Troncais oak – previously used to age Voyager Estates’s flagship red wine, the ‘MJW’ Cabernet Sauvignon.
Other limited-edition whiskies from this distillery are selling for between $240 and $350.
HOTEL STARLINO RANGE
Three products in the Hotel Starlino range are starting to make inroads in the Australian market – with products well positioned to benefit from the continued interest in the ‘Spritz’ and the consumers’ willingness to seek out new products with authenticity and trade up. Hotel Starlino is a rage of Italian Aperitifs crafted in Turin, the birthplace of modern Vermouth. The distillery has been producing vermouths for over 100 years. There are three sessionable aperitif products: a Rosé Aperitivo, Orange Aperitivo and Rosso Vermouth. Karel "Papi" Reyes, Hotel Starlino Australian Ambassador told Drinks Trade: “ we are seeing a renewed interest in vermouths and aperitifs globally, and Hotel Starlino has crafted the ‘next generation’ which are bright, modern and fresh and evoke the relaxed Italian elegance of aperitivo hour.”
WOODSTOCK’S 2019 MONTEPULCIANO HINTS AT DEVELOPMENTS BEHIND THE SCENES.
Named in honour of the nature of the intriguing Italian varietal Montepulciano, Woodstock’s ‘Naughty Monte’ 2019 vintage release also gives a glimpse of changes behind the scenes of one of McLaren Vale’s iconic family wineries. Established in 1905 and known for fullbodied, structured and complex executions of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, Woodstock’s next generation is exploring alternative varietals and hinting at more exciting projects on the horizon.
What began as an experimental single 8-row vineyard of Montepulciano – noted for its spicy, savoury notes and vibrant colour – planted in 2010, has become the most exciting new wine in the Woodstock portfolio, according to third-generation winemaker Peter Collett.
“We were trialling a variety that thrives in the heat and requires less water to produce high quality fruit, and it’s amazing to see this vineyard still improving as it matures – this late ripening, high yielding variety seems well matched to our warming climate,” explained Peter.
“Our 2019 Montepulciano was picked with high acidity, low alcohol and ripe tannins in mind. We shifted from maturing Montepulciano in oak to stainless steel tank finding a stronger and more distinctive Montepulciano varietal character was retained in tank.” Peter said. At only 13.5% alcohol this medium bodied, smooth and spicy wine may seem a departure from the winemaking of Woodstock’s historical portfolio, but brothers Peter and Max (Commercial Manager) are quick to reinforce the solid foundation and value of classic techniques handed down through the family owned and operated business. In their respect for terroir, vine and fruit, both brothers follow the family footsteps, proud to be joining and learning from lauded winemaker and father, Scott Collett.
HAND CRAFTED & REFRESHINGLY AUSTRALIAN, PERFECT FOR ANY OCCASION
ORDER ONLINE WWW.TOP25. COM.AU
The Top 25 Bartenders
Adam Dow – The Ivy Precinct (NSW) Alex Boon – Pearl Diver (VIC) Alex Gilmour – Cantina OK! (NSW) Alex Johnston – Smoke & Oak (NT) Anneliese Grazioli – Hanky Panky Lounge (NT) Antonello Arzedi – Wills (NSW) Cara Devine – Bomba (VIC) Chau Tran – Burrow Bar (NSW) Darren Leaney – Aru (VIC) Dean Buchanan – Clarences (WA) Emma Cookson – Whisky & Alement (VIC) Emma Crisp – El Grotto (WA) Evan Stroeve – RE (NSW) Grace Rawlins – Memphis Slims House of Blues (SA) Hayden Lambert – Above Board (VIC) Kayla Reid – Nick & Nora’s (VIC) Kayla Saito – Capitano (QLD) Millie Tang – The Gresham (QLD) Natalie Ng – Door Knock (NSW) Nick Tesar – Bar Liberty (VIC) Olivia Kelly – Bar Rochford (ACT) Sarah Mycock – Old Mates place (NSW) Shirley Yeung – Foxtrot Unicorn (WA) Zach Mynott – La Costa (QLD)
AUSTRALIA’S TOP 25 BARTENDERS COLLABORATE ON THE ULTIMATE “COCKTAILS FOR THE HOME BARTENDER” COCKTAIL BOOK
Winners of this year’s Top25 Bartender Competition have been rewarded with a publishing contract and the opportunity to benefit from the sales of the ultimate home bartending and cocktail book.
Australia’s top bartending talent were nominated by a panel of industry experts in April, before a shortlisted 115 bartenders voted on their personal top three: creating a list of the bartenders own Top 25. History repeated itself and shortly after most venues were thrown back into lockdown – so the Top 25 got busy and dreamt their own wonderful creations and shared their creative talents with the world. Home cocktail making was on the rise, and the consumer needed some tips on how to make cocktails well. The result is a book of over 300 mouth-watering cocktails in a book you can help support the industry by retailing, and in turn increase your customers knowledge and appetite to spend more in your store. Your ranging of this book will increase basket size for you, build loyalty with your customer and support some of the parts of our industry that has felt the full force of being shut down for so much of the last 18 months.
Generous support from leading suppliers to the Australian on-trade meant all profits from sales of the book can be returned to the bartenders themselves
