Alex Johnston

aka Bubba

Manager @ Smoke & Oak 14 Dashwood Cresent, Smith Street, Darwin City

ABOUT BUBBA

I was born and bred in Tottenham, North London. I grew up around pubs and bars with my family working in and running them. I got my first hospo job in a small pub just down the road from White Hart Lane football stadium. My first shift behind a bar was a home game with 35,000 people coming to watch and my pub being the only one that let the 5,000 away fans in. We got ‘slammed’ to put it nicely. “You’ll either sink or swim,” my first pub landlord’s Pete & Di told me. I was hooked.

I moved over here in 2013 and started doing comps to challenge myself and learn. I was fairly shy, and it forced me to come out of my shell and express myself more. I’ve been lucky enough to be part of great competitions, local and national, although my highlight would be one with Dale De Groff judging, serving him a mezcal twist on a Cosmo and winning!

Smoke & Oak is the only cocktail bar in Darwin, focusing on dark spirits that’s table service. We have a very small bar, so we only employ bartenders with everyone doing every job; glassy, runner, waiter etc. This way, we are able to bring the knowledge of the bar to the table and give that extra bit of service too.

We’re very laid back. Our whole ethos is to be somewhere to go for a relaxing vibe where you can have a conversation with a good drink. Wednesday through to Saturday are pretty relaxed. We have a live jazz band every Saturday that we alternate between a few local bands. We’re at our busiest after dinner, so after 10 pm really, especially on a Friday or Saturday.

Best seat in the house? If you’re into it, we only have two bar seats in the courtyard in front of an old service window at the side of the bar. This is the front row seat to the bartenders shaking tins, and a few Fernets passed over.

BUBBA’S DREAM BAR:

Byrdie, 211 La Trobe Street, Melbourne

LAST NIGHT OF BUBBA’S LIFE BAR:

Coupette London, 423 Bethnal Green Rd, London

LAST NIGHT OF BUBBA’S LIFE DRINK:

Champagne Pina Colada

BUBBA’S NIGHT OFF BAR:

Darwin Waterfront, 19B Kitchener Dr, Darwin City

BUBBA’S HOME COCKTAIL TIPS

Batch, batch, batch. And the day or morning before too. You’re more than likely going to be busy with food or hosting, so this way, drinks are sorted and consistent. It means you can do more advanced techniques like a milk punch or carbonated drink (cream guns work great) and then store them in the freezer for an hour or two before you serve. They’ll be ice cold. Just don’t forget roughly 30ml of water per drink for dilution (up to you how much). For glasses, op shops are great for glassware on a budget, well coups at least, someone’s Grandma is always throwing some out!

BUBBA’S T25 HERO COCKTAIL

I wanted to create something that shows off Tia Maria, but at the same time what we do at Smoke & Oak.

It’s this approach I took to making Likkle More. Tia Maria is a rum-based coffee liqueur but a lot more subtle, more refined, less dense and less syrupy than most liqueurs. I wanted to make a drink to complement Tia Maria, not just add a coffee flavour to an existing flavour profile. I wanted to create a drink with coffee being the prominent flavour backed up with a hit of vanilla and a tiny bit of spice and fruit, finished with zesty cream.

BUBBA’S TOP 4 COCKTAILS

1. One Winged Angel

INGREDIENTS:

• 30ml Japanese whisky • 15ml raspberry dry vermouth • 7.5g fresh raspberries • 15ml vanilla syrup (1:1 simple syrup with a ½ barspoon vanilla essence can be used instead) • 20ml orange juice • 10ml lemon juice • 20ml milk • 5ml Fernet Branca METHOD: Muddle berries before mixing in all ingredients. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for 3 hours before placing in freezer overnight. Cloth strain until the liquid pours clear. Pour 90ml over ice and garnish. This recipe can be made in bulk and frozen for later consumption. GARNISH: Raspberry coral tuille or a fresh raspberry. ICE: Large block ice for serving GLASS: Rocks

2. Whisky Apple

INGREDIENTS:

• 45ml Japanese whisky (Suntory Toki) • 70ml clarified Granny Smith apple juice • 15ml lemon myrtle citric acid (4%) or approximately 0.5g citric acid powder • 10ml vanilla syrup (1:1 simple syrup with a ½ barspoon vanilla essence can be used instead) • 30ml soda water • 1 dash black walnut bitters METHOD: Combine all ingredients (except bitters) and chill to 0 degrees. Force carbonate at 45 psi,

repeating 3 times. Serve in a clear glass filled with ice and add a dash of black walnut bitters. GARNISH: Green apple paint ICE: Cubed ice for serving GLASS: Clear Highball glass

3. Sazerac

INGREDIENTS:

• 20ml rye whiskey • 20ml Cognac • 10ml Islay single malt

whisky • 10ml sugar syrup • 3 dash Peychaud’s bitters • 1 dash Angostura bitters METHOD: Chill a rocks glass with 5ml of green chartreuse and ice. Combine ingredients in a separate mixing glass. Discard chartreuse and ice, and strain cocktail into prepared glass over fresh ice. GARNISH: Lemon zest garnish ICE: Cubed ice for stirring. Large block ice for serving GLASS: Rocks

4. 1910

INGREDIENTS:

• 20ml mezcal • 20ml Cognac • 10ml maraschino liqueur • 25ml sweet vermouth • 2 dash Peychaud’s bitters METHOD: Stir with ice and strain into coupette once at desired dilution GARNISH: Orange zest & brandied cherry garnish ICE: Cubed ice for stirring GLASS: Coupette

SMOKE AND OAK

Smoke and Oak: where grunge meets cocktail, soul meets Darwin. A place of energy and atmosphere, where nobody is going to bat an eyelid if you decide to let your hair down for a night. But above all, it is a place of passion.

While specializing in breathtaking cocktails and quality whisky, it is the ambience that defines this place. Jazz, soul and indie music is guaranteed to be pumping loud, and if you’re lucky there’ll be a local band taking to the stage. The rustic wooden furniture and red-painted walls are bathed in patchy fluro light in a very dive-bar-esque like way, striking a stark contrast to the extensive whisky selection on hand.

For lovers of dark spirits this place is goldmine, with plenty of unique and rare drams to choose from. For the cocktail inclined, Alex Johnston and the team have you covered. Despite taking incredible pride in their work there is nothing pretentious here: it’s all taste, smiles and rock & roll.

Smoke and Oak also offers a variety of craft beer and wine. If you’re feeling adventurous, their Absinthe fountain lounge is an awesome experience!

Food is a fusion of classic pub snacks and Vietnamese dishes, or eat at the neighbouring Nirvana Restaurant for a more traditional, but equally tasty, affair.

Smoke and Oak is open TuesdaySaturday 5pm-2am, and is found at 14 Dashwood Crescent, Larrakeyah Darwin, by walking through the Nirvana Restaurant. For more information, email info@nirvanarestaurantdarwin.com.au or call (08) 8981 2025

LIKKLE MORE

BY: ALEX JOHNSTON | SMOKE AND OAK SPONSOR: TIA MARIA

“Likkle more” is a Jamaican patois phrase used when saying goodbye to a friend. The basic meaning is “I’ll catch you later” and it is the perfect name for our end of the night tipple. We serve this Irish Coffee twist ice cold, and it is our way of saying goodbye to our guests.

INGREDIENTS:

• 20ml Tia Maria • 20ml Barbados dark rum • 7.5ml Demerara syrup (2:1) • 45ml cold brew coffee • 2 bar spoons blackberry jam • 10ml jerk washed Zucca Rabarbaro (or other lighter-style sweet vermouth)* METHOD: Combine ingredients well and refrigerate before serving. Strain 115ml into glass.

GARNISH: Top with marshmallow & lemon zest cream** & jerk dust*

GLASS: Chilled spirits snifter

*JERK WASH/DUST

Wet:

• 100g spring onion • 100ml soy sauce • 40ml olive oil • 40ml red wine vinegar • 20g molasses • 2 red chilli deseeded • 10g Australian garlic

Dry:

• 10g thyme leaves • 7g salt • 4g all-spice • 6g black pepper • 5g cinnamon • 5g nutmeg • 100g Zucca Rababrbaro

Method: Combine all dry ingredients and set aside 1 tablespoon (for garnish). Blend all remaining ingredients except the Zucca and chilli. Gradually add in chilli checking spice levels as you go. Combine 30g of jerk paste with 100g of Zucca Rabarbaro and place in a freezer friendly container.Leave to rest at room temperature for 3 hours before freezing overnight. Strain through a coffee filter. Alternatively, combine 50g of a storebought jerk seasoning with 2 teaspoons olive oil & 3 teaspoons soy sauce. Add 30g of this to 100g of Zucca Rabarbaro and leave covered at room temperature for 24 hours. Strain through a coffee filter **MARSHMALLOW & LEMON ZEST CREAM • 10ml toasted marshmallow syrup*** • 100ml cream • ½ a lemon zest

Method: Mix all ingredients into a small plastic sauce bottle and refrigerate. Before use, leave the cream outside of the fridge for a few minutes and shake well. Slowly pour over the back of a barspoon.

***TOASTED MARSHMALLOW SYRUP • 250g sugar • 250g water • 8 large white marshmallows • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method: Bring sugar and water to simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved. While syrup is simmering, toast skewered marshmallows using a kitchen torch of gas stove until browned all over with some scorched patches. Stir marshmallows into the hot syrup and cook until marshmallows have dissolved. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Once cooled, stir in the vanilla extract.