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What’s Happening?
CHALONG BAY – THE SPIRIT OF PHUKET
Hailing from Thailand, Chalong Bay is an original, handcrafted natural fine spirit that introduces the French Caribbean heritage of rum distillation back to the birthplace of sugarcane. The spirit combines centuries old Thai sugarcane culture and French know how and traditions with a sustainable and artisanal approach. The Chalong Bay Rum line has two series; the Pure Series and the Tropical Notes series. The Pure Series is made from 100 per cent pure sugarcane for an extra smooth tropical taste. This is made from indigenous single variety Thai sugarcane that’s ethically grown in small-scale plantations, with no use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and is harvested without burning. The Tropical Notes series offers four infused cane spirit varieties that are vapour infused during distillation. All ingredients used in the Tropical Notes series are ethically produced and sourced from local farmers and selected and prepared by hand. The three expressions in the Tropical Notes series are lemongrass, cinnamon, and Thai sweet basil. With no added sugar, these flavours lend themselves being sipped neat or on the rocks, or as part of a cocktail.
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www.chalongbayrum.com
CALIFORNIA’S SONOMA COUNTY DISTILLING CO. LAUNCHES IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Founded in 2010, Sonoma County Distilling Company produces high quality whiskeys for the discerning drinker. Incorporating a grain to glass philosophy, each level of production is handled in-house, including the mashing and fermentation of grains, American oak barrel aging, bottling and labeling. Sonoma County Distilling Co. is rolling out three whiskey expressions to the Australia and New Zealand markets; the Sonoma Cherrywood Rye Whiskey, 2nd Chance Wheat Whiskey, and West of Kentucky Bourbon. Sonoma Country Whiskeys are distributed in Australia through California Dreamers.
sonomacountydistilling.com californiandreamers.com.au
COMMERCIAL DRINKS SHOW AND FINE FOOD AUSTRALIA JUST AROUND THE CORNER
The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICC) in Darling Harbour is playing host to the inaugural Commercial Drinks Show on September 11 through 14. The event is dedicated to bars, clubs and venues that serve alcohol and is running alongside Fine Food Australia.
If you are an operator of licensed venues looking to improve and differentiate your drinks list you will be able to browse hundreds of quality beer, spirits and wine brands or visit the “The Speakeasy Stage”, presented by Winterhalter, providing visitors with a programme of free sessions on building a profitable drinks list, getting staffing right for your venue and navigating the world of RSAs, amongst other practical topics.
AGAVE GINGER CIDER WINS GOLD…AGAIN
The golden boys behind Sydney Brewery have taken out the top spot yet again, winning Gold at the 2017 Royal Hobart Show with their Agave Ginger Cider scoring a class topping 96/100!
This innovative hybrid cider is made from fermenting organic agave syrup and ginger with the brand’s quality Sydney Cider, to create a sweet and zesty blend.
This award-winning cider has the spicy aroma of ginger along with fresh apple. On the palate, it tastes of agave and tangy ginger, which is rounded out by crisp apple. Check out more on page 32.
sydneybrewery.com/agave/
MAY THE FORCE BEER WITH YOU
Melbourne’s Hop Nation Brewing Co. has released a beer that harnesses the force. The Yoda inspired Jedi Juice is a New England IPA (NEIPA) beer that was originally brewed in keg only for the Great Australasian Beer SpecTapular (GABS). The beer is a hazy, juicy brew with a citrus hop aroma and intense flavour with a great mouthfeel. It features a combination of Kiwi hops in Riwaka and Nelson Sauvin, along with American Citra and Mosaic hops, and comes in at 7.1% ABV.
Tyson Buhler
DEATH & CO. POP-UP IN HONG KONG
From September 19 to 23, 2017, Hong Kong cocktail enthusiasts will have an exclusive opportunity to catch New York’s Death & Co. Voted one of the World’s 50 Best Bars in 2017, the venue are popping up at Ozone in the Ritz-Calrton, one of the city’s most celebrated rooftop bars.
Death & Co. is acclaimed for its contribution to the contemporary craft cocktail movement. The bar have partnered with Diageo Reserve in Hong Kong to bring drinks to the masses for five nights only. A worldrenowned bar team led by Tyson Buhler will serve up signature cocktails and guests will also be able to sample small plates created by Ozone’s Chef de Cuisine Rafael Gil.
September 19 to 23, 2017 6pm onwards Ozone, Level 118, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong
GEELONG’S VERY OWN SPEAKEASY NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Bartender and the man behind Camorra Liqueurs, Gorge Camorra has opened The 18th Amendment Bar in the Victorian city of Geelong, which pays homage to the prohibition period. The 18th Amendment Bar invites guests to enjoy concoctions of prohibition elegance interlaced with modern innovation, in similar fashion to the speakeasies of New York and Chicago, where dark and mysterious spaces housed booze, jazz, lust and love, seducing people of all classes. In addition to offering table service, the venue has a barrel-aged cocktails program and an extensive whisky list that will satisfy even the most discerning drinker.
Level 1, 82 Little Malop St, Geelong VIC
WINGS X TINS OPENS IN SYDNEY
Sydney’s first bar dedicated to buffalo wings and ice cold tinnies (cans for the Victorians) has opened in a back alley in Darlinghurst. Here chicken wings are the order of the day and taken very seriously, with all sauces, except the classic Frank’s Original, made in-house. The space has taken over from the iconic ‘No Name’ restaurant behind Stanley street, and the themed booths décor makes all your retro teenage dreams come true from an 80s Swedish ski cabin to a booth inspired by ‘ya mum’s house’. As the name suggests, the venue also houses a massive selected of craft beer cans, three rotating tap beers and a small selection of wine, champagne and spirits that’s complemented by a tight classic cocktail list.
2 Chapel St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Tasmania’s award-winning cider maker, Willie Smith’s, has launched a new limited-release Traditional Cider Apple Blend. The new offering has been crafted using old-world cider techniques and rare heritage cider apple varieties. The new Traditional Cider Apple Blend is available in limited quantities, however, will become part of the core range as soon as the supply of the specialty apples increases. Willie Smith’s Traditional Cider is a richly golden coloured un-filtered cider made in the traditional French and English farmhouse style.
williesmiths.com.au
ELECTRIC AVENUE BISTRO & BAR
Rock down to Electric Avenue, a multifaceted venue in the Brisbane suburb of Wooloongabba. The space is filled with eclectic antiques, tables and leather couches to slink into. The food on offer at Electric Avenue focuses on using fresh local produce to create dishes with a modern Australian twist, think items like blackened duck with smoked royal blue potatoes. The food is complemented with a tight but casual drinks menu and a wine list featuring over 80 Australian wines. For the whisky lover there’s also Jack Rabbits – their own little speakeasy housed within Electric Avenue. Jack Rabbits is home to over 200 whiskies sourced from around the world, as well as offering classic cocktails and live jazz, in true speakeasy fashion.
23 Logan Road, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4102 www.electricavenuejr.com.au
WELCOME TO FRANK’S LIBRARY
Frank Minza, the English gentleman who brought you Foxglove, is now welcoming guests into his private den, ‘Frank’s Library’.
The discreet bar located behind closed curtains will showcase a rotating collection of eight different whiskies and Cognacs, all from Frank’s personal collection.
The cocktail menu ‘Travel Diary Cocktails’ will boast and an array of extravagant cocktails inspired by Franks’ globe-trotting adventures, created by bar manager Austen Lendrum.
2/F Printing House, 18 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong
PROOF & COMPANY HEADED DOWN UNDER
Asia’s leading independent spirits company, Proof & Company has made an investment in one of Australia’s fastest growing craft spirits distributors, Neat Spirits. With the investment, Proof & Company has acquired a significant minority interest in Neat Spirits and a seat on the Neat Spirits board. Proof & Company will also provide Neat Spirits with an inventory financing facility to allow the company to expands its portfolio of brands and enhance brand development.
neatspirits.com.au
NILS BOESE TOUR OF AUSTRALIA WRAPS UP
The rockstar-esque Australian tour of German bar legend and Jägermeister Global Brand Ambassador, Nils Boese wrapped up in Melbourne on August 28. The owner of Manhattan Bar in Germany’s Hildesheim, outside of Hanover was recently in the country to host a series of trade events and bartender seminars with Jägermeister. Kicking off with an intimate food and drink pairing in Sydney at Mjølner, a welcome party followed at Surly’s where the classic ice-cold shots were served along with the Jägermeister cocktails. Nils hit up Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne culminating in a final epic sign off party at Heartbreaker, where the Jäger shots flowed, tunes pumped and good times rolled. Check out page 40 for the full interview with Nils.
jägermeister.com
THE OLD MAN OPENS IN HK
Three industry names that need no introduction; James Tamang, Agung Prabowo, and Roman Ghale have opened The Old Man, an Ernest Hemingway inspired venue that combines elements of Cuban and Asian style with an old world feel. The name of the bar was inspired by Hemingway’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel “The Old Man and the Sea”, step inside and be transported to a sitting room of an old Cuban house. The drinks here are experimental twists on classics, served up in surrounds that feel luxurious yet unpretentious, along with service to match.
37 Aberdeen Street, Central Hong Kong
ABOVE BOARD
Opening in December 2016 in the inner city Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, Above Board is an intimate venue, housing only 16 seats. Co-owners Hayden Lambert and Manu Potoi serve a small list of cocktails, and keep things simple with only one beer, one red wine and one white wine on the menu. The drinks list is the work of Hayden, and his attention to detail is second to none.
Level 1, 306 Smith St, Collingwood VIC 3066 Enter via Chopper lane. Just off Smith and Perry Street, behind Beermash.
Stay tuned for the next issue of Drinks World where we have an in-depth look at the venue and chat to Hayden and Manu about their concept.
WINNER OF ÜBER BAR TOOLS LUX ROLL™ – KURTIS BOSLEY OF PUBLIC HOUSE MANAGEMENT GROUP
The winner of the Über Bar Tools Lux Roll™ giveaway is Sydney’s Kurtis Bosley of Public House Management. Entrants were to recount their biggest tool fail while bartending and this one takes the cake. In Kurtis’ words, “So I had been making our new bar backs life a absolute misery for the duration of a shift to see what he was made of, turns out he knew his way around a bar pretty bloody well because he’d worked out that each time I grabbed my bar spoon I would spin it in my fingers before stirring a cocktail. When I hadn’t been looking, he’d untwisted the end of the bar spoon to the point that when I had spun it later in the night it sent the end weight shooting behind me. Unluckily for me, the weight actually sent itself flying into a stack of glasses behind us, smashing the lot. I only found out that it was actually him who had done this opposed to my own stuff up a couple months later on a night out when he confessed… hats off to you mate, hats off to you”
Our take away is to always treat your bar backs well… you never know what they may do otherwise. Kurtis takes home a Lux Roll™ valued at AUD $495.
HEARTBREAKER
Heartbreaker in Melbourne CBD is nspired by the classic dive bars of Los Angeles; good-times, fast bar, serving great booze and classic rock tunes until the early hours seven days a week, giving city dwellers “Somewhere to drink after The Everleigh calls last orders.” Heartbreaker’s taps champion both Australian and American craft beers whilst the back bar supports a smoking selection of tequila, mezcal and whiskey. No shakers are necessary; instead single-serve martinis, negronis, manhattans and old fashioneds come straight from the bottle, thanks to the Everleigh Bottling Co. With a liquor to-go store housed within and late night pizza on offer, this place does anything but break your heart.
234a Russell Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Hippocampus Metropolitan Distillery has merged with Boatrocker Brewing, the craft beer and spirits products will take on the new title Boatrocker “Brewers & Distillers”.
The two teams join forces under the one roof, meaning Hippocampus moving west to east. The Hippocampus Head Distiller, Alex Poulsen will relocate the copper still and move from Perth to Melbourne and will work under Matt Houghton and the Boatrocker team. Alex has a background in craft brewing, honing his skills at Little Creatures, and in Norway where he was both brewing and distilling.
The merger will see sales and marketing for both the beer and spirits range managed by the Boatrocker team nationally from Braeside.
For more information, head to boatrocker.com.au and hippocampusmd.com.au
THE CIDERY BAR & KITCHEN `
Recently getting a makeover, the Sydney Brewery Cidery Bar and Kitchen is located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD inside Rydges World Square, overlooking the busy shopping piazza. The Cidery Bar & Kitchen was developed as collaboration between The Sydney Brewery and Rydges to create an urban bar paying homage to the cider. With an in-house cider making facility, the flagship Sydney Cider is produced on site by the Sydney Brewery team. The bar houses a selection of the finest Australian and international ciders on tap and in bottle, showcasing some of Australia’s best small cider producers. The Cidery Bar also has an extensive spirits range, ample wine and a formidable cocktail menu. A casual food menu with small bites are on offer, as well hand-made wood fired pizzas available after 5pm.
The Cidery Bar and Kitchen is located on the mezzanine of Rydges World Square, 389 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
BURROW BAR
Boutique cocktails and spirits is the offering at Burrow Bar, and they aren’t kidding. Owners Bryce McDonough and Chau Tran have created a bar with over 300 bottles and counting, which is quite a collection for a small bar with a big heart buried beneath George St in Sydney’s CBD. With no specific spirit focus, both whisky and rum are the heavy hitters here, but no matter your preference they carry a few interesting options for you. House cocktails are fun and creative but impeccably balanced, and they take pride in making great classics to match their old-fashioned hospitality.
De Mestre Pl, Sydney NSW 2000 burrowbar.com.au
