Luke Whearty

OPERATION DAGGER

Australian ex-pat now calling Singapore home, Luke Whearty earned his bartending chops in Melbourne before taking his talents to Asia where he owns and operates Operation Dagger, one of Asia’s most progressive bars. Drinks World’s Lukas Raschilla sat down with Luke to find a little more about what he’s doing and how he ended up in Singapore.

LUKAS RASCHILLA: Can you tell me about how you got started in the industry?

LUKE WHEARTY: I first started in hospitality washing dishes at the same restaurant by brother was a chef in my home town of Coffs Harbour in New South Wales, Australia. Back then it was just a job so I could earn money at night and then spend the days surfing with mates. Over time it turned into more than just a job for me and I eventually made it my career.

LR: How did you end up in Singapore?

LW: In 2010 I was lucky enough to work under Ryan Clift at The Tippling Club, which was my introduction to Singapore and was an amazing experience that taught me a lot. Then years later, it was actually Ryan who called me up and linked me with the people who would eventually become my business partners in Operation Dagger.

LR: The back bar of Operation Dagger has been noted to look like an apothecary, with the non-branded bottles with labels and symbols. Can you tell me a little about the bottles and look of the back bar and how that décor/design came about?

LW: It actually came about from a very simple idea of removing people from their comfort zones and getting people to think about their drinks in terms of flavour instead of the brand or spirit category. It also opened up so many different options for making drinks, as we were no longer restricted by particular categories or brands. Instead, if we wanted a particular flavour we would then distill or ferment it ourselves which then opens up so many more possibilities.

LR: What inspires you when putting a cocktail menu together?

LW: I get my inspiration from everywhere. Sometimes it’s a particular dish or flavour combination I have at a restaurant or sometimes it’s a memory from my childhood. Other times it could be a film or something I’ve read or even a painting or a photo. So short answer is simply the world around me I guess. Whatever is on the menu is what I am experiencing or being exposed to at that point in time so I guess you could say its quite personal.

LR: Have you seen many changes in the Singapore bar scene since arriving?

LW: So many! I remember back when I was at Tippling Club there was literally nowhere to go for a drink after work and more often than not we just ended up at a hawker centre drinking beer. Nowadays Singapore has turned into a legitimate city for bars and there are so many high quality bars to choose from that I haven’t even been to half of them. So yeah it’s definitely come a long way and bars like Tippling Club, 28 Hong Kong Street, The Cufflink Club have definitely paved the way for people like myself to come and open concepts like Operation Dagger.

LR: What are some of your favourite places in Singapore to hang out?

LW: Being from Melbourne I miss my coffee so for my coffee fix, Nylon coffee roasters in Everton Park is my go-to place. For food my favourite place recently is Cheek by Jowl, which is run by my good friend Rishi Naleendra and his wife Manuela Toniolo. And heading to the wave house at Sentosa to get my surfing fix. It’s not quite as good as the real thing, but its still super fun.

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