Barfly | Edition 2, 2018 by The Blend Australia

Edition 2, 2018

BAR INDEPTH:

TIPPLING CLUB ROKU GIN

JAPAN’S PREMIUM CRAFT GIN

2018 GRAND FINAL GET THE LOWDOWN

DANDELYAN TOUR

COLLABORATING WITH THE BLENDS OF THE WORLD AND AUSTRALIA’S LEADING BARTENDERS

PLUS: THE PERFECT BLEND FINALISTS’ COCKTAILS, MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT, CANBERRA COMMUNITY CUP, TALES OF THE COCKTAIL

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WHISK(E)Y

COGNACS LIQUEUR

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VODKA

GIN

TEQUILA

RUM

EDITOR’S NOTE It’s that time of year again… awards season! A time for the industry to be celebrated, recognised, and rewarded. Just prior to this edition going to print, a group of Aussie bartenders (there must be a collective noun for this by now) assembled in New Orleans, joining thousands of other like-minded industry enthusiasts, for Tales of the Cocktail. It’s a week of education seminars, countless events, tastings, new friendships (not to mention festivities and debauchery…) and, again, another bunch of awards. The Spirited Awards, globally recognizes and honours the best bars, bartenders, new brands and cocktail writers in the business. Turn to page 84 to see what went down. Once that concludes and life somewhat returns back to normal, one must prepare their liver for BARWEEK, again a week of education seminars, countless events, tastings, new friendships (festivities and debauchery…). This is always followed by the prestigious Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards, honouring the nation’s best bars and bartenders, including crowning the highly anticipated Australian Bartender of The Year! The Perfect Blend 2019, is about to launch, with a brand new exciting concept and a brand new grand prize! To be involved, check out the website www.the-blend.com.au for more details. Entries open September 4th 2018. This edition, check out all of last year’s finalists showing off the creations that earned them a spot in their respective regional finals. The team has been busy executing seminars nationwide, as Dandelyan have just visited our shores all the way from ol’ London Town. James Wheeler and Will Meredith have been educating our industry on modern botany, sustainability, innovative drink concepts and ‘The Dandelyan Way’. Missed their session? Turn to page 6 to hear from James and Will, or page 12 for a few of the standout recipes created for the tour. It wouldn’t be Barfly without the usual features. Venues are springing up across the nation, and we tell you where all the hotspots are. We also get up close and personal with Genevieve Maladay and Jameson Gregg! Last but not least, we spoke with Tippling Club in Singapore, and its former head bartender come recently appointed International Bartender of the Year Joe Schofield, to find out how they are celebrating their 10 years! As usual, enough babble from me! Time to put your feet up, grab a whiskey and get reading!

Hayley ‘Milkshakes’ Morison #the_blend www.the-blend.com.au 04

WELCOME NOTE

CREDITS MANAGING EDITOR Hayley Morison PUBLISHING EDITOR Ashley Pini ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephanie Aikins SENIOR DESIGNER Racs Salcedo CONTRIBUTORS Ben Davidson, Chris Hysted-Adams, Genevieve Maladay, James Wheeler, Jameson Gregg, Joe Schofield, Ryan Clift, Will Meredith PHOTOGRAPHY Cory James Photo, Jacqueline Vangrootel, Joe Brasted, Sean O’Reilly, Steve Woodburn,

Barfly is published on behalf of Beam Suntory Australia by HIP Media 169 Blues Point Road, McMahons Point, NSW 2060 ABN: 42 126 291 914 Barfly was nominated as finalist in Customer magazine of the year at the 2009 Publishers Australia awards

06 38

16 44

CONTENTS

48 54

62 64

70 84

DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF DANDELYAN

THE BLENDS OF THE WORLD PRESENTS DANDELYAN

THE LOWDOWN: THE PERFECT BLEND 2018 GRAND FINAL

THE COCKTAILS OF THE PERFECT BLEND 2018

38 44 48

MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT

52 54

MEET JAMESON GREGG

IN THE CAPITAL: CANBERRA COMMUNITY CUP

62 64 70 72 80 84

GENEVIEVE MALADAY

THE SPIRIT OF ROKU GIN A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY: ROKU GIN BARTENDERS’ TRIP

BARTENDING RITUALS WITH ÜBERBARTOOLS

BAR IN-DEPTH: TIPPLING CLUB THE FANCY FREE TEAM VENUES BAR BUZZ TALES OF THE COCKTAIL 2018 CONTENTS

Left: Will Meredith Right: James Wheeler

Discover the Secrets of

DANDELYAN FOLLOWING THE BAR’S AUSTRALIAN TOUR, BARFLY SAT DOWN WITH DANDELYAN GENERAL MANAGER JAMES WHEELER AND SENIOR BARTENDER WILL MEREDITH TO FIND OUT JUST WHAT HAPPENS BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE WORLD’S BEST COCKTAIL BAR*. *TALES OF THE COCKTAIL SPIRITED AWARDS 2017

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“It’s definitely more of a family than it is a team.”

Tell us about your recent tour of Australia! JAMES WHEELER: The idea was to collaborate with some of the best bars in Australia to come up with some really unique and interesting drinks. We started with the idea of using some cool Aussie ingredients and began experimenting from there. It all turned out super exciting. WILL MEREDITH: Hopefully, we shared just a bit of what we do every day. It was amazing to come over and talk about our world, so I hope that translated to everyone who had the opportunity to see us. How long have you been in the industry and could you briefly give us insight into how your journey started?

to Bournemouth, UK when I was 20 and worked my way up through a few managerial roles within restaurants and other bars before making the move to London. I became involved with Sweet and Chilli as well as managing a nightclub in Covent Garden before coming across the opportunity to join the Dandelyan team. WM: I’ve been in the industry around five years. I started as a bar back in a nightclub in Manchester. As so many of us at the time, I needed beer money while at University. It was great fun whipping up carefree, pure disco cocktails at high, high volumes at the time. Northerners can drink!

WM: I’m a Senior here, which essentially means that my job is to ensure the bar ticks over on a day-to-day basis and that no one falls apart. I started in September 2016, which feels like an awfully long time ago! How would you summarise the drinks culture in London? JW: I’d say that bars in general have become more open to the idea of making their lives easier with the likes of batching and prepping. I also think the bars that are doing well now have taken a step away from ridiculous garnishes and showing off how a drink looks, and begun focusing on making drinks taste great.

JW: Almost ten years now (that’s the first time I’ve ever said that - that is terrifying!). I started working behind a bar straight after studying and

JW: I started at Dandelyan as Assistant General Manager just over three years ago. After some hard graft and some incredible times, I was made General

WM: London moves about in waves that come as frequently as the seasons. Everybody is looking to stand out in new ways and there’s a really strong push at the moment to design menus that have a wider meaning, rather than just solely geeking out on liquids. We are also starting to

fell in love with it. I moved

Manager at the end of last year.

see the return of a few of the

What is your role and length of employment at Dandelyan?

‘naughtier’ flavours that were tossed in the metaphorical ‘trash can’ of obnoxiousness a couple of years ago. How do you feel about cocktail competitions and their place within the industry? JW: I watch so many of the creative talents within Dandelyan do well in competitions and I think it’s a fantastic experience for them. It pushes them not only creatively but also helps improve their confidence by standing up in front of people and believing in themselves. It can also be a great platform to make connections and relationships within the industry. WM: Cocktail competitions are a great way to add excitement to your day-to-day work life. It’s always fun to challenge yourself in new ways. However, it works best when used as a learning experience. Creating a menu for a competition is like a more extreme version of creating a FEATURE

“The idea was to collaborate with some of the best bars in Australia to come up with some really unique and interesting drinks.”

menu. It’s also a great chance to learn presentation and hosting skills, which are great to take back to your everyday work. What excites you about working at Dandelyan? JW: Dandelyan has become a beast. We now employ 30 people and make over 1,000 cocktails on a busy night. Keeping on top of that and still maintaining the standards that we set out to achieve three and a half years ago is what excites me. Working with such an incredible group of talented and creative rockstars is pretty sweet too. WM: I think it’s the sheer volume we do on a daily basis. The number of people who come in on what we would consider a ‘quiet night’ and tell us how busy it looks keeps us in check with reality! The operation that goes on behind the scenes is great to be a part of and to see it working first hand is incredibly 8

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rewarding. From ordering to seeing Aska and Matteo (our prep ninjas) working day-inday-out downstairs making just about everything, to then seeing the results upstairs, is an amazing journey. Sustainability and minimal waste are things the trade is really taking on board as an everyday practice now – how important are they to you? JW: We have always tried to be as sustainable as we can be while operating this very large and busy bar - we have to be creative with it. We practise some super simple bits like using all our cuts and left overs from juicing but we are also very conscious of the ‘s’ word when creating new menu drinks. Something we always ask ourselves is, ‘How can we incorporate a flavour without creating more waste’, and it’s crazy how many options there are. On the current menu, we use

pineapple four different ways in four different drinks, quite literally wasting nothing. WM: We will never turn around and tell the world we are perfectly sustainable, but we try to be responsible wherever possible. The best way to look at it is to just assess everything before you toss it in the bin, ask yourself, ‘can it be used again?’ In your opinion, what do you think makes a great team? JW: A group of people that have common goals around making people happy and delivering a product that they are proud of. The team here is truly remarkable and inspiring, they put such a huge amount of effort and love into what they do and it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed when it comes to the guest experience. It’s definitely more of a family than it is a team.

WM: I think when you have a team like ours - one that is so willing to give up its time and energy to constantly help make the bar a better place to be in. Everybody constantly puts their all into the place every single day and it honestly makes the job of helping run the place one of the easiest! Most importantly, when everyone believes in what we are doing and everyone knows that we do all of this for our guests, then everybody tries that much harder. What has been the most memorable moment you can share with us while working in the industry? JW: Well, I was lucky enough to be in New Orleans last summer and I’ll never in my life forget the moment that we collected an award that said we were the World’s Best Cocktail Bar. WM: It was probably getting the job here (Dandelyan). I was

living in Manchester at the time and applied randomly. Nobody knew who I was or what I had done previously, so it was a clean slate - a new city, new bar and new people, all of which were awesome! This really helped me push on and get stuck in and I think the whole experience has matured me ever so slightly. How long does it take to create a Dandelyan menu? JW: We put roughly six months of groundwork into our menus. It is a pretty intense process and it involves the entire team from start to finish. We base our menus around stories that the team have created, we then build drinks around those stories. It’s such a brilliant way of having the whole team truly believe in the menu and it really brings us all together in a unique way. Cocktails are pretty subjective. Will, how do you decide between those that will or won’t make the Dandelyan menu? WM: Given that our drinks are led by stories, the strength of the story tends to dictate which way the drink will go. The taste of the final drink is just about the last box we tick off during development, so it’s not totally about flavour. If a cocktail can hold an identity or personality while appealing to as many people as possible, then you’re onto a winner. We have people from all walks of life come to Dandelyan and while not everyone will love every drink, we want everyone to be able to feel like they gained something from trying them.

And James, who inspires you in the trade? JW: Iain and Ryan have been such huge inspiration for me over the last three and a bit years. I wish I could understand how their brains worked! The team inspires me day-in-day-out too. If I ever have a down day when I’m just not really feeling it, I’ll have a walk around the bar and watch the team do their thing. I always leave with a big smile on my face. What’s next in your eyes for the industry? WM: I think we will see more people look for simplicity of serves and how they can change the way we view hospitality. People are always looking for something unique and I think mixing new flavours isn’t so much ‘new’ but just different. What’s the strangest ingredient you’ve used in a cocktail at Dandelyan? WM: We occasionally dip into the weird and wonderful, but a lot of our more interesting flavours come from the stories around the drinks. When working on a menu, we always start with a story that eventually becomes a drink. Therefore, each individual ingredient may not be crazy, but the way they link up and tie in to create the final liquid really makes them stand out. Having said that, ingredients such as rust, and helional (liquid sunshine) were pretty odd ones. We currently have what we call ‘creme d’escargot’ in which we infuse cooked snails and blackberries in to vodka. This ingredient ends up in a twist on a bramble called ‘More Ducks’ which is rather delicious!

You talked about ‘Station Zero’ during the bar in-depth seminar. For those who weren’t present, can you explain what this concept means? WM: Station Zero is essentially the equivalent of ‘the pass’ in a restaurant. All of the action goes through that station and whoever is working it essentially becomes a sort of shift leader. All of the drinks that go out to tables pass through this station; all of the garnishes and stemware are on this station, and whoever works on the pass has the job to garnish, taste, and ‘plate up’ the rounds of drinks on to trays. This way, the role of the dispense bartenders can be specialised, as they only need to build, shake, and strain drinks, reducing the room for error and delivering drinks more consistently and quickly. What are some Australian flavours you used in your collaboration cocktails with other venues? WM: We stuck to the big guns in Aussie drinks. Wattleseed came up a lot, so it was nice to manipulate that in as many ways as possible. Strawberry gum was also an interesting one, as its flavour is so unique and I’m a sucker for anything to do with strawberry! There were a lot of people behind the scenes creating cocktails for the events; how did the collaboration work for each state? WM: So, Tim Laferla and Mario La Pietra from Charlie Parker’s were absolute godsends, in that they prepared all of the seminar drinks as well as collaborated with us to create some really

funky ingredients based on previous flavours we have used at Dandelyan. This ranges from a filtrate inspired by Australian terroir, to an in-house fermented mead, fortified with Australian botanicals. Some of these ingredients were then transported across Australia to the various cities, in order to be developed with the teams from those respective cities. From there, we worked alongside the teams in these cities to design the menus for each shift. James Pennefather from Tiny’s, Ollie Margan from Maybe Mae, and the Charlie Parker’s boys were all unbelievable to work with and really opened our eyes up to interesting ways to work with drinks and flavours. What was the highlight of the tour? WM: Meeting everyone here in Australia has been so incredibly rewarding. From day one we have been greeted with such warmth and hospitality, and everyone has been keen to just to have a laugh and share stories. It’s the best thing about what we do as bartenders, and this has been the best example of it that I have ever experienced. A particular highlight was being treated to a home cooked meal by Bill Bewsher (The Exchange Ambassador WA), followed by a few hours chatting around the fire. Before you came on tour, what was your first impression of Australia? JW: Lot’s of sun, surf, a really long journey. Then Koala bears and kangaroos! WM: Sun, beaches and a load of creatures designed to kill you! FEATURE

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T H E BLENDS O F T H E WOR LD p r es ents to you 20 17 WO RLDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BE ST C O C K TAI L BAR Sp i ri ted Award s

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Cocktails

Koji Hardshake Jim Beam Double Oak, lemon juice, koji, cream sugar, liquorice bitters. Our house-cultured cream syrup takes on a rich umami underpinned by a nutty sweetness. Shaken in a whisky sour, it has a lasting finish and is earthy yet fresh. • • • • • •

50ml Jim Beam Double Oak 30ml Koji syrup 10ml Cream 25ml Egg white 15ml Lemon juice 4 x Dashes Liquorice bitters

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Cocktails One For The Fox Maker’s Mark, oats, green apple pulp, La Gitana Manzanilla and chamomile. A toast - usually of port or sherry - to the fox is made in a stirrup cup prior to the hunt. But the urban fox is cunning, and develops its own sedative to throw off and placate those pesky hunters. A complex, hard back-to-old style oat whiskey and natural relaxants. • • • • • •

40ml Oat infused Maker’s Mark 10ml La Gitana Manzanilla 2.5ml Kamm & Sons 20ml Apple syrup 2 x Dashes Passaflora tincture 2 x Dashes Chamomile tincture

Rocks of Manhattan Canadian Club 1858, chokecherry grenadine and pine nut vermouth. Red Rocks in Utah is one of the only true natural amphitheatres in the world. The geology dedicated a social use that led to its reputation as a musical mecca. It is now home to some of the most legendary gigs of all time. • • • •

55ml Rusted Canadian Club 1858 10ml Chokecherry grenadine 1.25ml Cherry brandy 1 dash Pinyon coffee tincture

Heirloom Auchentoshan American Oak, Kamm & Sons, plant haemoglobin, exploded raspberry cordial. As we domesticated varieties of fruits, many trace nutrients were lost - including higher iron content, proteins and trace minerals - as well as flavour. Many of these can be reintroduced to capture the sensation of wild - or exploded - fruit. • • • • • 14

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30ml Auchentoshan American Oak 15ml Kamm & Sons 5ml Pinot Noir 12.5ml Heirloom syrup 2 x Dashes Absinthe

Cocktails

BC3 Negroni ROKU Gin, Dandelyan pollen vermouth, propolis, Ceylon Arrack, Campari and aged honey. Bees are history’s explorers. Exploring new landscapes to find ‘gold’ for their queen and simultaneously pollinating flowers to create the fruits and vegetables we depend on for all the magical ingredients we love. • 30ml Waxed ROKU Gin • 20ml Ameadricano • 15ml Propolis Campari

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THE LOWDOWN

The Perfect Blend 2018 Grand Finals THIS YEAR, THE PERFECT BLEND DESCENDED UPON BEAUTIFUL BYRON BAY, WITH 12 GRAND FINALISTS BATTLING IT OUT FOR THE TOP SPOT IN THEIR CATEGORY.

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It had been a long road getting there, with Regional Finals held in each of their respective states leading up to the highlyanticipated Grand Final. For the 2018 competition, 450 entries were submitted from across Australia and New Zealand. This was narrowed down to 79 regional finalists across the Professional and Apprentice categories. This year, each finalist was asked to Ccelebrate The Occasion of World Bartender Day in their venue. Points were awarded for promoting their Perfect Blend cocktail in their venue, while bonus points were

given to those that staged events or found means of promoting their cocktail above and beyond. Then between February and April, Regional Finals took place around the country to find the crème de la crème of the bartending elite. Five women and seven men made the grade, with each of the final 12 rewarded with a three-day experience in Byron Bay before the final showdown. If you know The Perfect Blend, Beam Suntory, you’ll know that sustainable practice drives all

that they do. It only seemed logical then the Grand Finals be held somewhere that reflects this ethos. Bryon Bay, with its stunning environment and environmentally conscious locals became the natural choice of host city for what was to be one of the biggest Grand Finals yet. The festivities kicked off with a ‘Ice Breaker’ dinner, where drinks expert and Überbartools ambassador Ben Davidson ran a workshop on ice carving in the bar. The evening also included a ‘Whiskies of the World’ workshop, hosted by ambassadors Dan Woolley and Erica Richards. The bartenders were able to experience the range of whisk(e)y styles from across the globe that make up the Beam Suntory portfolio,

paired with a delectable four-course meal by Harvest Restaurant. Day two began with a ‘Sustainability from Within’ workshop, where the finalists participated in a yoga session and were afforded techniques on how to apply a healthy approach to their work. This was followed by a ‘Speak Easy’ workshop, hosted by Byron Film and Acting School, which taught the bartenders effective public speaking skills ahead of their Grand Final cocktail presentations. Finally, the ‘Amazing Race’ challenge put the competitors’ knowledge of spirits and palate to the test, with a race against the clock and the other teams to complete three challenges - a blind tasting, a FEATURE

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‘classics’ knowledge test and a mystery box cocktail. This put them all in good stead for what was to come the following day... On the third day, things got serious. Competition day saw the bartenders vie for The Perfect Blend title across four stages – the blind tasting, the product knowledge test, the Highball creation and the sustainable cocktail challenge. In the blind tasting, the 12 competitors tasted five liquids from the Beam Suntory portfolio and analysed their flavour profile for 10 per cent of their overall Grand Final score. The product knowledge test followed, with both Professionals and Apprentices answering 10 brand related multiple choice questions, five short answer questions and and five essay (yes, essay) questions. This component was worth 30 per cent overall. Next came the cocktail making challenges. This was divided based on competition category, with the Professionals preceding the Apprentices. Bartenders had to present two cocktails before the judging panel, which included The Exchange Ambassadors; Sam Bygrave, Editor of Bartender Magazine;

and the 2017 Winners of The Perfect Blend, Ollie Margan and Evan Stroeve. One was required to meet the brief of the ‘Refresh The Way You Whiskey’ challenge, and the other the ‘Minimal Waste’ challenge. Over the course of 12 minutes the bartenders had to create two pours of each cocktail, four cocktails altogether, with their score making up the 60 per cent of their mark. The ‘Refresh The Way You Whiskey’ component required bartenders to create a twist on the classic Highball using a Beam Suntory brand. Competitors were judged on their innovative use of flavours and the aroma of the drink,

as well as its capacity to be promoted on a world scale and/ or its potential to inspire a new cocktail trend. In the ‘Minimal Waste’ challenge, the bartenders were asked to draw inspiration from Trash Tiki’s (Iain Griffiths and Kelsey Ramage) Power of Locality tour, with The Blends of the World, to create a cocktail that utilised a second-hand ingredient from the cocktail made in the Highball round. Points were awarded for ingenious second use methods that reflected Trash Tiki’s philosophy of creating flavour through sustainable practice.

bartenders were rewarded with a Kentucky style awards presentation dinner. Congratulations to Kurtis Bosley and Timothy Pope for taking out the Professional and Apprentice categories respectively. Kurtis and Tim won a whirlwind trip to the USA, visiting Tales of the Cocktail before heading to the home of bourbon, Kentucky, to experience the Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam Distilleries.

Once the competition challenges

If this all sounds like one hell of an adventure that you’d like to get in on, well you’re in luck. Applications for The Perfect Blend 2019 open September 4th! Head on over to the-blend.com.au for more

were done and dusted, the

details on how to enter. FEATURE

THE PERFECT BLEND COCKTAIL COMPETITION 2018 Another year, another two champions crowned. This year, a whopping 450 bartenders from across Australia and New Zealand tried their hand at creating a cocktail that ‘Celebrated the Occasion’. Of those entries, 79 finalists were chosen to battle it out in the Regional Finals for their shot at a spot in the coveted Grand Final. As well as competing in a blind tasting, product knowledge test and a live cocktail presentation on competition day, each of the finalists were required to ‘Celebrate the Occasion’ of World Bartender Day (February 24th) in their venue. The finalists had to list their cocktail entry on the menu at their respective venues and promote the drink to consumers in innovative and effective ways. In honour of the mammoth effort put in by all, we thought we’d turn the spotlight on each of the cocktail creations. Now you can truly ‘celebrate the occasion’ in your venue with any or all of these show-stopping recipes.

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NZ ALEXANDER BALCHIN

GEORDIE HOLIBAR

THE HUNTERS TIPPLE Glassware: Metal goblet Garnish: Smoked, maple venison jerky Ingredients: 50ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 10ml Punt e Mes 20ml Quinta de la Rosa Ruby Port 15ml Strong brew Lapsang Souchong Tea 1 Bsp Canadian maple syrup 1/4 Bsp Smoked sea salt Method: Stirred and warmed over a candle.

SAND AND SMOKE Glassware: Coupette Garnish: 3 Drops Rangihoua Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil Ingredients: 45ml Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey 20ml Cocchi Vermouth di Torino 7.5ml Waiheke Honey Company honey syrup 1 Dash saline solution (10:1) Method: Stir and strain.

ISSAC FITZPATRICK

KATYA EFREMOVA

THE RISING SUN-TORY Glassware: Highball Garnish: Activated chia seeds coloured with a tea flower and pomegranate Ingredients: 45ml Suntory Kakubin Whisky 20ml Fresh Japanese yuzu juice 20ml Falernum 2 Dashes Orchard Street Celery Shrub 50ml Ramune (Japanese carbonated soft drink) 10ml Amaro Montenegro Method: Shake and strain, then top with Ramune. Drizzle Amaro over the top to finish.

DECEMBER COCKTAIL Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Freeze dried mandarins Ingredients: 45ml Auchentoshan 12 Year Old 20ml Pedro Ximénez 2 Dashes orange bitters 1 Egg white 30ml Bols Cacao White 1 Dash aromatic bitters Method: Stir the whisky, sherry and bitters over ice until desired dilution and strain into a Coupette glass. Whisk one egg white and mix it in with the chocolate liqueur. Float the foam on top of the cocktail. Brûlée the foam with a blowtorch.

PINEAPPLE ON PARNELL

AZABU

MEA CULPA

TALULAH

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NZ ALEX VOWLES

GEORGIA MACKENZIE

FUJI IN FALL Glassware: Highball Garnish: Apple leather and dehydrated ginger pears Ingredients: 45ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 15ml Yuzu juice 75ml Ginger and nashi pear soda 25ml Fuji apple shrub Method: Build and stir all ingredients over cubed ice in a Highball glass. Top with ginger and nashi pear soda and garnish.

THE TEAGHLACH FLIP Glassware: Highball Garnish: Lemon twist and lamb jerky Ingredients: 45ml Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey 20ml Pedro Ximénez 25ml Fresh lemon juice 1 Egg 2 Dashes aromatic bitters 60ml Stout Method: Shake and fine strain all the ingredients, except the stout, into a Highball glass over ice. Top with stout and garnish with a twist of lemon and sliver of lamb jerky.

EDDIE GODDARD

JAMES CAMPBELL

LOLLYPOP Glassware: Coupette Garnish: A lollypop hanging off the edge of the glassware Ingredients: 50ml Maker’s Mark 10ml Mandarine Napoleon Liqueur 30ml Fresh lemon juice 10ml Sugar syrup (2:1) 2 Dashes Fee Brothers Rhubarb Bitters Manuka smoke Method: Fill the inside of the shaker with the manuka smoke using a smoking gun just before shaking. Shake and strain.

STARRY NIGHT Glassware: Spaghetti Tin Garnish: Housemade toasted marshmallow and Laphroaig crystals Ingredients: 40ml Auchentoshan 12 Year Old 15ml Egg white 20ml Cacao husk infused Aperol (infuse 200ml Aperol and 10g cacao husk for four days) 20ml Salted lemon cordial (heat 4.5g pink salt, 4.5g citric acid, ½ water, ½ sugar and ½ lemon juice until dissolved) 30-40ml Soda water Atomised Laphroaig 10 Year Old Method: Shake, double strain, then add soda. Finish by atomising the Laphroaig.

HAWTHORN LOUNGE

HANGING DITCH

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POQUITO CAFÉ AND BAR

BETTYS

NZ LAURA VINCENT

LOUIS SHEPHERD

THE WRY ASIDE Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Roast beetroot Ingredients: 50ml Jim Beam Rye 2 Bsp Roasted beetroot purée 30ml Housemade pink peppercorn blackberry liqueur 15ml Sweet vermouth 25ml Fresh orange juice 5ml Fresh lime juice Method: Shake and strain.

KING JACK Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Circular orange slice with a basil leaf Ingredients: 45ml Jim Beam Rye 30ml Pumpkin juice 15ml Orange juice 15ml Smoky sugar syrup Method: Add ingredients into shaker and throw until properly diluted, then strain into glass over ice.

LAUNDRY BAR

C.G.R MERCHANT & CO.

WA MAX ROBERTSBRISTOW POQUITO

THE BURK Glassware: Chilled Tall glass wrapped in the Everton Football Club logo Garnish: Edible flower and moustache on top Ingredients: 45ml Maker’s Mark 15ml Almond croissant orgeat 30ml Salted pineapple juice 45ml Samuel Adams beer 3 Dashes aromatic bitters Method: Add all ingredients except the beer into the shaker. Shake and fine strain into chilled glass. Top with beer and garnish.

CLAUDIA MORGAN

MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE THE LOST BIKINI Glassware: Tiki Mug Garnish: Pineapple leaf, Barbie doll bathers and edible flowers Ingredients: 60ml Laphroaig Select 20ml Fresh lime juice 30ml Charred pineapple shrub 90ml Homemade ginger beer 1 x Scoop mango and coconut ice-cream Method: Combine Laphroaig Select, lemon and pineapple shrub, shake and strain into glass, top with ginger beer and scoop of ice-cream.

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WA EMMA CRISP

JAMES MCMERRIN

THE ENDLESS RISING SUN Glassware: Goblet Garnish: Caramelised pumpkin seeds Ingredients: 45ml Suntory Kakubin Whisky 30ml Fresh lemon juice 20ml Homemade roast pumpkin, vanilla and thyme syrup 2 x Dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters Mandarin foam (egg white as protein; approximately 1/3 of cocktail volume) Method: Shake and double strain and top/float with foam.

SMALL STREET, BIG CITY Glassware: Highball Garnish: Mint head, dehydrated lemon and yuzu mist Ingredients: 50ml Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve 10ml Ginger liqueur 30ml Raspberry, pinot noir and cacao syrup 20ml Fresh lemon juice Method: Perlini shake to carbonate, strain and serve on cubed ice.

JOSHUA WEDD

MITCH GURRIN

BOBECHE

VIEUX CARRÉ HIGHBALL Glassware: Highball Garnish: Lemon and pear skin twist Ingredients: 45ml Knob Creek Rye 120ml Vieux Carré Pear Soda 15ml Courvoisier VSOP Cognac 2 x Dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters Method: Add collins cube to glass. Add rye, Cognac and bitters. Top with Vieux Carré Pear Soda. Spritz lemon skin oil. Garnish.

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THE RISING SUN Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Decorative flowers Ingredients: 45ml Suntory Kakubin Whisky 30ml Chamomile and toasted rice tea 10ml Smoked apricot syrup 1 x Dash Sesame oil Method: Stir and strain over block ice.

WA ROHAN DAVIDOVIC

SHIRLEY YEUNG

THE T’KU PEAR Glassware: Highball Garnish: Brûléed nashi pear fan Ingredients: 50ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 20ml Homemade salted vanilla nashi pear syrup 15ml Fresh lemon juice 2 x Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters 1 x Dash Yellow Chartreuse Top with dry pear cider Method: Shake, strain and top with pear cider.

SMALL STREET, BIG CITY Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Orange salt rim Ingredients: 50ml Auchentoshan American Oak 5ml Bols Apricot Brandy 20ml Fresh lemon juice 20ml Orange shrub 10ml Agave syrup Half a husk of passionfruit pulp Method: Combine, shake and strain.

BILLY PHILLIPS

JASON MASON

BOURBON BUTTY Glassware: Tumbler Garnish: Toast Ingredients: 60ml Knob Creek Small Batch washed with rendered pork fat 30ml HP Sauce syrup reduction 3 x Dashes Bitterments Xocolatl Mole Bitters 45ml Buttered toast meringue Method: Stirred mainly, but the meringue should come from an ISI gun and then blowtorched.

RYE OF THE BEHOLDER Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Half salt rim, orange twist and fiesta mist Ingredients: 45ml Knob Creek Rye 20ml Fresh lemon juice 15ml Clove spiced beer syrup 10ml Aromatic bitters Method: Shake and strain.

LONG CHIM

MORRIES ANYTIME

CLARENCES

DADDY LONG LEGS

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WA LACHLAN ROBINSON BOBECHE

SCOTTISH DELIRIUM Glassware: Stemmed large tasting glass Garnish: Re-dehydrated Auchentoshan shortbread biscuit crumb and half a strawberry Ingredients: 45ml Auchentoshan Three Wood 5ml Bols Cacao 10ml Strawberry jam 20ml Fresh lemon juice 2 x Dashes aromatic bitters 100ml Auchentoshan shortbread soda to top Method: Dry shake, wet shake, fine strain and top with shortbread soda.

AUCHENTOSHAN SHORTBREAD SODA RECIPE Ingredients: 1 x Packet of Arnott’s Shortbread biscuits 1.2L Coconut water 100ml Sugar syrup (1:1) 3 x Egg whites 20ml Auchentoshan Three Wood Method: Combine biscuits and coconut water in a large sous vide bag and place in water at 150 degrees for one hour, massaging the bag every 20 minutes. Fine strain through cheesecloth. Add three egg whites, 20ml Auchentoshan Three Wood and 100ml sugar syrup. Whisk until combined and place in a cream gun for use. *NOTE: Save the left over biscuits for dehydrating to make the garnish.

SA/NT ADAM HINGSTON

DAN WALL

SLÀINTE Glassware: Champagne Flute Ingredients: 45ml Auchentoshan Three Wood 30ml Seppeltsfield Apera 30ml Acidulated apple juice 15ml Honey syrup Spritz Laphroaig Select Method: Built, centrifugal clarification, diluted, chilled, carbonated and bottled.

HEBBARD STREET BREAKFAST Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Bacon strip, dehydrated blueberry and apple pulp Ingredients: 60ml Bacon fat washed Maker’s Mark 25ml Apple acidulate 30ml Blueberry syrup 40ml Hickory smoked egg white Method: Dry shake, wet shake and strain.

MAYBE MAE

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BIBLIOTHECA BAR

SA/NT JAMESON GREGG

NICK CORLETTO

CORNER STONE COBBLER Glassware: Tall Garnish: Bitters crown, peach cheek, oak leaf bouquet, Connemara spritz (atomiser) Ingredients: 45ml Auchentoshan Three Wood 15ml Bols Peach Liqueur 15ml Oloroso sherry 20ml Peach cream (condensed milk, clarified peach purée, raw sugar) 20ml Fresh lemon juice Dash aromatic bitters Method: Shake and strain over pebbled ice. Add aromatic bitters over drink to crown.

PAINT IT BLACK Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Neutral charcoal Ingredients: 55ml Jim Beam Black Label 25ml Acidified grapefruit juice 17.5ml White peach syrup 30ml Spiced aquafaba foam Method: Shake and strain.

NOAH JOHNSTON

KAYLA GRIGORIOU

GINGHAM TEA Glassware: Highball Garnish: Skewered orange rose Ingredients: 45ml Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey 15ml Bols Apricot Brandy 15ml Salted agave syrup 60ml Orange ceylon cold brew tea 25ml Fresh lemon juice Method: Stir and strain.

NAME OF THE SAMURAI Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Bay leaf and orange twist Ingredients: 45ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 15ml Aperol 5ml Bowmore 12 Year Old 30ml Pink grapefruit juice 20ml Fresh lemon juice 15ml Jalapeño infused sugar syrup Method: Shaken and strained.

MAYBE MAE

LINDES LANE

MAYBE MAE

BAR TORINO

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SA/NT AL SIMMONS

ANNELIESE GRAZIOLI

THE LITTLE LEBOWSKI Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Stencil design Ingredients: 45ml Vanilla bean infused Maker’s Mark 15ml Cinnamon brown sugar reduction 1 x Egg white 1 x Espresso ice cube Smoked orange zest Method: Shake and strain.

NOTHING BEETS OUR INDUSTRY Glassware: Port glass Garnish: Lime peel Ingredients: 50ml Maker’s Mark 10ml Del Maguey San Luis Del Rio Mezcal 30ml Aguafaba 20ml Fresh lime juice 15ml Beetroot, lime oil and agave shrub 30ml Fresh pressed apple juice Method: Dry shake, wet shake and strain.

POUYA KHOSHTARASH

SAGAR ACHARYA

SOUTHERN-LEIGH Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Mint sprig and ginger candy on stick Ingredients: 60ml Canadian Club 8 Year Old 10ml D.O.M. Benedictine 10ml Beetroot shrub 15ml Homemade ginger syrup 15ml Fresh lime juice Method: Shake and strain.

GLOWING SUNSET Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Mini garnish clip to hold orange zest with burnt cinnamon Ingredients: 45ml Jim Beam Double Oak 15ml Italian bitter orange 5ml Jim Beam Maple 15ml Smoked lemon juice 15ml Homemade ginger and honey syrup 25ml Guava juice Method: Smoke glass by burning the end of a cinnamon stick and place it on a plate with glass upside down on top to capture the aroma. Shake and strain.

IL LIDO BAR

SKY CITY

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HOT TAMALE

SKY CITY

QLD TOM CHARLES

SEYMOUR’S COCKTAILS & OYSTERS NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRING Glassware: Hickory smoked Crystal Goblet Garnish: Homemade biltong Ingredients: 40ml Auchentoshan Three Wood 10ml Laphroaig Select 20ml Date and Pedro Ximénez reduction 10ml Leather rested beechworth honey 2 x Dashes Walnut bitters Method: Stir in mixing glass and strain into chilled glass.

KAYLA REID SAVILE ROW

NURTURED FROM NIGHT Glassware: Highball Garnish: White peach shrub frozen in ice cubes Ingredients: 40ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 35ml Homemade fermented lemonade 20ml Oaked white peach shrub 2 x Dashes white pepper tincture Method: Cocktail is bottled.

JESSICA MOXON

SEAN MCMEEKIN

T’DAI (THE LIGHTHOUSE) Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Cucumber and lime ‘paper’ o-fuda (Japanese prayer paper) Ingredients: 45ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 15ml Sakura (cherry blossom) infused bianco vermouth 7ml Clarified lime juice 10ml Cucumber gomme 2 x Dashes Sichuan peppercorn bitters Method: Stir and strain.

SECOND TIME’S A CHARM Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Thyme oil soaked cedar. Rosemary and lemon twist pegged on glass. Flamed with thyme oil. Ingredients: 25ml Knob Creek Rye 20ml Lamb fat washed Knob Creek Rye 5ml D.O.M. Benedictine 20ml Fresh lemon juice 10ml Rosemary and thyme infused sugar syrup Method: Shake and strain.

ELECTRIC AVENUE

BLACKBIRD BAR & GRILL

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QLD TRISTAN GREEN

ELLIOT PASCOE

RYE ON SUNDAY Glassware: Stemless Wine Garnish: Roasted lamb on a fork Ingredients: 40ml Jim Beam Rye 20ml Lamb fat washed Laphroaig 10 Year Old 15ml Lime, basil and rosemary oleo saccharin 10ml Seppeltsfield Oloroso Sherry Lemon twist (discarded) Method: Rolled.

A DILLY OF A PICKLE Glassware: Highball Garnish: Pickled watermelon slice Ingredients: 50ml Suntory Kakubin Whisky 15ml Wasabi sugar 5ml Pickled watermelon and dill brine 100ml Watermelon soda 15ml Fresh lemon juice Method: Shake, strain and top with watermelon soda.

AIDAN BEIERS

BILLIE-JEAN BRAY

TWILIGHT TIPPLE Glassware: Irish Coffee Garnish: Grilled banana and burnt vanilla hot foam Ingredients: 50ml Jim Beam Double Oak 10ml Grappa 30ml Cold drip coffee 15ml Spiced syrup (burnt sugar, cinnamon and cloves) 120gm Grilled banana and burnt vanilla hot foam (floated) Method: Stir all ingredients into a mixing glass, except hot foam. Stir until chilled. Strain up into glass. Top with grilled banana and burnt vanilla hot foam.

SMELL THE ROSES Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Lemon zest Ingredients: 45ml Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve 20ml T2 Strawberries & Cream Tea infused Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth 5ml Amaro Montenegro 2 x Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters 2 x Dashes Rose water 2 x Dashes White pepper bitters Method: Stir and strain.

CANVAS

BLACK BEAR

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MAKER

THE GRESHAM

QLD JOHN HIGHTON CLUTCH PUNCH Glassware: Collins Garnish: Grapefruit Ingredients: 50ml Auchentoshan American Oak 20ml Aperol 120ml Clutch Punch (recipe below) Method: To make the Clutch Punch, grind down 10g All Spice and two 5cm cinnamon sticks in a mortar and pestle, then add to a 1L mason jar along with 10g lemon myrtle, 30g lemon rind, 75ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, 100g raw sugar,

MITCHEL CONTESSI

BLACK BEAR LODGE

VICTORY HIGHBALL Glassware: Highball Garnish: Gold flakes and wheatgrass clippings Ingredients: 60ml Jim Beam Double Oak 60ml Soda water 15ml Smoked ginger and wheatgrass shrub 15ml Burnt blood orange oleo 30ml Lime juice Method: Shake and strain

120ml freshly juiced pineapple juice and 60ml freshly juiced strawberries (allow the juice to rest and self-clarify before straining into the mason jar). Add 100ml strawberry Oolong tea and 300ml boiling water, seal the jar and leave it to rest for 24 hours. Fine strain the punch into a sterile container and slowly boil. Slowly add 150ml full cream milk to the boiling punch mixture, along with 30-45ml fresh lemon juice. Allow the mixture to rest for two hours, stirring gently on occasion. Coffee strain off the resulting clarified milk punch, bottle and refrigerate.

SMOKED GINGER AND WHEATGRASS SHRUB RECIPE To make Shrub, reduce smoked ginger juice and wheatgrass juice in pan with caster sugar. Balance with vinegar. BURNT BLOOD ORANGE OLEO RECIPE To make Oleo, sous-vide burnt blood orange peels and caster sugar then extract oil.

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NSW/ACT ANNA NGUYEN FOR A MOMENT Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Rose tea mist and a sprinkle of crushed dried rosebud Ingredients: 45ml Maker’s Mark 20ml Rose infused sweet vermouth 10ml Suze 20ml Homemade pomegranate shrub Method: Stir and strain.

JOSHUA DIAZ MOMOTAROU Glassware: Chilled Old Fashioned Garnish: Jasmine flower and grated pecan Ingredients: 60ml Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve 40ml Peach juice 30ml Fresh lemon juice 15ml Pecan orgeat 15ml Egg white Method: Add all ingredients into the shaker and dry shake. Add ice, shake and strain into chilled glass. Garnish.

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BENJAMIN VIALS

THE SWINGING CAT THE BLOODHOUND Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Grated dark chocolate Ingredients: 50ml Maker’s Mark 15ml Bols Cacao Brown 20ml Blood orange juice 20ml Antica Formula Vermouth 5ml Cynar amaro Method: Combine all the ingredients, excluding the amaro, in the shaker and shake with ice. Single strain into glass over ice and float amaro. Garnish.

TUA FATONGIATAU MARBLE BAR

LUCKY SUNDAY Glassware: Nick & Nora Garnish: Orchid flower Ingredients: 45ml Knob Creek Rye 10ml Pedro Ximénez 45ml Mango and banana nectar 20ml Homemade spiced syrup Topped with Citrus foam. Method: Shake and double strain. Top with citrus foam.

NSW/ACT RACHAEL MERRITT

JONOTHAN CARR

15 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT Glassware: Wooden Cup Garnish: Burnt pine needles and a quail egg shell Ingredients: 40ml Knob Creek Rye 5ml Bowmore 12-Year-Old 20ml Homemade praline liqueur 25ml Almond milk 1 whole quail egg Pinch of salt Method: Dry shake, then wet shake.

NICELY TOASTED Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Toasted marshmallow Ingredients: 45ml Jim Beam Double Oak 10ml Laphroaig 10 Year Old 30ml Charred lemon juice 20ml Toasted marshmallow syrup 10ml Egg white 2 x Dashes barrel aged bitters Method: Dry shake, then wet shake.

DANIEL NOBLE

KURTIS BOSLEY

JANGLING JACK’S

OLD MATE’S

THE STORY OF OLD MATES Glassware: Ornate Nick & Nora Garnish: Orange twist Ingredients: 45ml Jim Beam Rye 15ml Cruzan Estate Dark 2 Year Old Rum 12ml Old Mates Choc Bitter Syrup 1 x Dash Absinthe Method: Stir over ice and strain into glass.

DOOR KNOCK

PUBLIC HOUSE MANAGEMENT GROUP HANAMI Glassware: Nick & Nora Garnish: Yuzu scented edible flower Ingredients: 50ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 40ml Fermented strawberry and sansho pepper 15ml Choya Umeshu 15ml Pedro Ximénez 4 x Dashes Dandelion and Burdock Bitters Method: Stir and strain.

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NSW/ACT MITCHELL LAMBESS

CONOR O’BRIEN

SANPUKU Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Pear fan and eucalyptus leaf Ingredients: 60ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 60ml Pear, eucalyptus and beer shrub 15ml Fresh lemon juice 15ml Fresh pear juice 1 Dash Alpine bitters Method: Add all ingredients into the shaker, except the bitters. Dry shake, wet shake and double strain over a clear ice ball. Add bitters.

YAMFLIX AND CHILL Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Spiced sweet potato chips Ingredients: 60ml Maker’s Mark 30ml Sweet potato and paprika syrup 20ml Fino sherry 10ml Grapefruit juice Method: Shake and double strain over a large ice cube.

LACHLAN GUNNER

JOSHUA WALLER

CLEAR SKIES Glassware: Highball Garnish: Grape stalk Ingredients: 40ml Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve 10ml Courvoisier VS Cognac 30ml Pressed grape juice syrup 8ml Grape stalk bitters 30ml Fresh red grapefruit juice Method: Build all ingredients in Perlini Shaker. Shake under CO2 pressure. Strain over ice into glass.

GOOD SUMMER Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Pineapple wedge and rosemary sprig Ingredients: 45ml Knob Creek Rye 30ml Adelaide Hills Distillery Italian Bitter Orange Aperitif 60ml Homemade caramelised pineapple juice 30ml Homemade brown sugar rosemary syrup 15ml Maple syrup 70ml Pact Beer Co. Mt Tennent Pale Ale Method: Shake and fine strain.

GOLDFISH BAR & KITCHEN

THE WILD ROVER

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EARL’S JUKE JOINT

TIPSY BULL

VIC/TAS HAYLEY DIXON

ALEX GRUMBALL

ABBOTSFORD COCKTAIL Glassware: Champagne Garnish: Grapefruit oil and charred mandarin segment Ingredients: 40ml Auchentoshan American Oak 15ml Courvoisier VSOP Cognac 40ml House Champagne juice (a blend of pressed grape, sugar cane juice, black tea, citrus peel, green apple, vanilla and Champagne yeast) 3 x Dashes Malic/lactic acid solution 12ml Simple syrup (1:1) Method: Stirred down over hand cracked ice, then carbonated.

LOSE YOURSELF (AND THE ELECTION) Glassware: Nick & Nora Garnish: Dehydrated Campari sugar half rim, cut orange peel and card detailing lyrics of Max Key’s Eminem diss track Ingredients: 45ml Maker’s Mark 10ml Coffee infused Campari 20ml Dolin Suedois Bitter Liqueur 2 x Drops Salt solution (1:10) 3 x Sprays lavender spray 2 x Dashes Orange bitters Method: Stir and strain.

BEN RICKMAN

GENEVIEVE MALADAY

TESSIE PEARL Glassware: Flute Garnish: Fresh blueberry and basil leaf on a mini skewer Ingredients: 60ml Jim Beam Rye 10ml Homemade blueberry syrup 100ml Grant Burge Australian sparkling pinot noir Method: Shake and build.

LUCKY RABBIT FOOT Glassware: Small rocks Garnish: Dusted dark cacao rabbit foot Ingredients: 45ml Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey 15ml Courvoisier VS Cognac steeped in allspice 10ml Sultana Demerara syrup 1 x Whole egg Method: Dry shake, wet shake and strain.

LILY BLACKS

WEST VILLAGE

JULIET MELBOURNE

GARDEN STATE HOTEL

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VIC/TAS PHOENIX HOLOHAN

ANDY GRIFFITHS

JAPANICILLIN Glassware: Old Fashioned Garnish: Lemon and pandan soaked galangal root Ingredients: 45ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 30ml Fresh lemon juice 15ml Oriental spiced syrup (galangal root, ginger, pandan, kaffir, lime, palm sugar and Demerara syrup) 15ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve (infused with lapsung tea) Method: Shake and strain, then float infused Hakushu.

ADAM’S APPLE Glassware: Fancy stemless wine glass Garnish: Toffee-apple macaron and ‘smoke’ Ingredients: 60ml Ardmore 10ml Heather infused Bols Genever 20ml Maple butter syrup 10ml Soured apple juice Method: Shake and double strain over a large block of ice.

SIMONE SANNA

REUBEN BEASLEYPALMER

EAU DE VIE

SAKURA BLOOM Glassware: Pre-Prohibition Martini Garnish: Edible flower sprayed with pine Laphroaig essence Ingredients: 45ml Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve 7ml Umeshu plum sake 7ml Lapsang ume cordial 2.5ml Suze Method: Stirred.

BOILERMAKER HOUSE

BLACK PEARL

IN THE NOE Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Aromatic mist Ingredients: 45ml Knob Creek Rye 25ml Fresh lemon juice 22.5ml Dry orange, almond and Demerara flambéed reduction Method: Shaken.

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VIC/TAS TIM POPE

GORGE CAMORRA

HUNG PARLIAMENT Glassware: Nick & Nora Garnish: Firecracker/flash paper Ingredients: 45ml Suntory Kakubin Whisky 20ml Sweet vermouth 10ml Bols Maraschino infused with black pepper 7.5ml Laphroaig 10 Year Old 1 x Dash whiskey barrel bitters 1 Spray Laphroaig 10 Year Old Method: Stir and strain.

SENSO-JI Glassware: Martini Garnish: Seaweed strip Ingredients: 50ml Yamazaki Distillerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reserve 20ml Yamazaki Umeshu Plum Liqueur 10ml Genmaicha Japanese brown rice green tea syrup 8 x Dashes soy sauce Method: Stir and strain.

NEW GOLD MOUNTAIN

18TH AMENDMENT

ETIEN CELZNER THE DEN

HALF WAY 37 Glassware: Highball Garnish: Crystalised ginger and lemon grass Ingredients: 50ml Suntory Kakubin Whisky 10ml Laphroaig Select 20ml Ginger shrub 10ml Honey and almond syrup 15ml Fresh lemon juice 80ml Lemongrass soda Method: Shake, strain and top with lemongrass soda.

2019 ENTRIES OPEN

4TH SEPTEMBER

MASTER YOUR CRAFT www.the-blend.com.au

For more details and entry submission

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Maker’s Mark

PRIVATE SELECT EARLIER THIS YEAR, IN AN INTIMATE WORKSHOP HELD IN SYDNEY, SIX OF AUSTRALIA’S BARTENDING ELITE LIVED THE ULTIMATE BARTENDER’S DREAM – CREATING A BESPOKE CASK STRENGTH MAKER’S MARK BOURBON WHISKY ALONGSIDE THE BRAND’S CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER AND FOUNDING FAMILY MEMBER, ROB SAMUELS. Merivale’s Sam Egerton; Mjølner’s Alissa Gabriel; Stuart Morrow from Sydney’s Baxter Inn; Reuben Beasley-Palmer from Black Pearl; The Cobbler’s Ella Rhodes; and Max Allison from Boilermaker House assembled for an exclusive session with Rob, to be guided through the process of making their own customised version of cask-strength Maker’s Mark. For Rob, the Maker’s Mark brand isn’t just business, it’s family. The brand as we know it was built on the back of his 38

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grandparents’ ingenuity and hard work. It was Rob’s grandfather, Bill Samuels Sr., who had the vision to create a whisky that was smooth and approachable, changing the mash bill from rye to red wheat. His grandmother, Margie, is responsible for the Maker’s Mark name, inspired by the whitesmiths marks on her fine English pewter, as well as the brand’s iconic handdipped red seal. Rob, like his father Bill Jr. before him, learnt about the crafting of Maker’s Mark firsthand from his grandparents.

“It was an incredible experience to meet someone who not only makes and represents a product, but is so personally intertwined with its history.”

Inspired by their dedication and resolve, Rob chose to work his way up the ranks across nearly every position in the distillery, from milling, cooking and fermentation of grains, to distillation, warehousing, bottling and even the famous dipping line. This gives Rob a unique understanding of the craft and the attention to detail that goes into the production of Maker’s Mark. “It was an incredible experience to meet someone who not only makes and represents a product, but is so personally intertwined with its history,” said Max Allison on the once-in-a-lifetime experience of working alongside this whisky master. Rob’s father, Bill Samuels Jr., focused his efforts on building a name for Maker’s Mark outside of Kentucky and his success has inspired the current eighth generation whisky maker to turn his attentions to strengthening the brand’s presence in international markets through projects such as The Private Select. FEATURE

In the Australian session, the bartenders involved chose ten charred oak staves, which were then inserted into an American Oak barrel filled with high proof Marker’s Mark. They chose from five different types of stave that can be arranged in up to 1,001 ways, ensuring no two Private Select creations are the same. Each stave imparts a range of distinct flavours, with the Baked American Pure 2 giving notes of sweet brown vanilla, caramel and brown spice; the Seared French Cuveé adding a roasted/toasted oaky, caramel taste; the Maker’s 46 instilling notes of dried fruit, vanilla and spice; the Roasted French Mocha offering flavours of char, maple and cacao; and the Toasted French Spice giving hints of smoke, coumarin and spice. After the winning stave combination was settled upon, the 108 to 114 proof liquid was added to the barrel. It has now been left to age until later this year, allowing the liquid to mature and draw the flavours from the wooden staves. According to Sam Egerton, the final product is indicative of the values that drive Maker’s Mark: “Versatile, approachable and possessing an unwavering approach to excellence.” 40

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Asking a diverse group of bartenders with unique palates to agree on their perfect whisky could have proved difficult, but Max Allison said the experience was incredibly rewarding. “The team-building and collaborative blending component was fantastic. Listening, compromising and creating a product with some other amazing bartenders was really challenging!” Reuben Beasley-Palmer agreed, adding that Rob’s enthusiasm made the day both informative and enjoyable. “I really enjoyed being around other talented, interesting people and being able to discuss and throw ideas to each other. Rob Samuels was also an incredibly captivating speaker, he could have kept talking all day and I would have been happy to listen (bloody legend).” LAUNCH DATE: The Private Select Bartender’s Edition will officially launch in Australia this October. Following this, limited quantities of the prized liquid will be sold exclusively in the venues of the bartenders that participated. 42

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W H I S K Y. S U N T O R Y. C O M W H I S K Y. S U N T O R Y. C O M W H I S K Y. S U N T O R Y. C O M 43

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THE SPIRIT OF IT WAS THE DREAM OF THE FATHER OF SUNTORY, SHINJIRO TORII TO CREATE, ‘ORIGINAL JAPANESE SPIRITS THE WORLD CAN ENJOY, UNIQUELY MADE FROM JAPAN’S NATURE AND HER PEOPLE.’ HE OVERCAME MANY OBSTACLES TO REACH THIS GOAL, AND THROUGH HARD WORK AND DEDICATION HE CREATED WINE, WHISKY AND BRANDY DISTINCT TO JAPAN. IN 1936, HE TOOK THIS ONE STEP FURTHER WITH THE CREATION OF SUNTORY’S FIRST GIN – HERMES. IT IS THIS GIN AND THE 100-YEAR HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF SUNTORY THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR ROKU, JAPAN’S PREMIUM CRAFT GIN.

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Crafted by Japanese artisans, ROKU Gin is made from six unique Japanese ingredients and eight traditional gin botanicals. Each botanical is collected according to the Japanese concept of ‘shun’, which dictates that a botanical should only be harvested when it has reached its full bloom or peak flavour. The word ROKU in Japanese means six, and it is the six unique botanicals of sakura leaf, sakura flower, gyokuro tea, sencha tea, sanshō pepper and

is extracted through vacuum distillations in stainless pot stills, while the strong yuzu flavour is delivered through distillation in copper pot stills. The carefully crafted extracts of the six Japanese botanicals are then blended with the traditional gin extracts of juniper berry, coriander, angelica seed and root, cinnamon, cardamom, bitter orange and lemon peel to create a gin that tastes of the harvest of the four seasons.

yuzu peel that shine through in this gin. Each individual ingredient is distilled separately in accordance with its best extraction method to preserve its distinct characteristics and ensure ultimate flavour. An example is the subtle aroma of the cherry blossom, which

On the nose, ROKU Gin has sweet scents of cherry blossom and green tea, while the complex, multi-layered taste starts with traditional gin notes as the base and develops with the six distinct botanical flavours. Yuzu is particularly prevalent across the smooth and silky FEATURE

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Gin & Tonic 1. 2. 3. 4.

Thinly slice ginger into sticks. Pour 30ml of ROKU Gin into a measuring glass. Add the ginger sticks and ROKU Gin to a tall glass filled with ice and tonic water. Stir and serve.

Kazuyuki Torii

palate, before the crisp Japanese sanshō pepper brings spiciness to the finish. The hexagonal shaped bottle is a nod to the six natural Japanese botanicals, with the image of each embossed on opaque glass. The label is printed on washi paper and is adorned with bold calligraphy as a reflection of Japanese craftsmanship. To celebrate the release of ROKU Gin in Australia earlier this year, Beam Suntory flew three bartenders from some of the country’s best Japanesefocused venues to 'The land of the rising sun' in order to experience the gin’s distillation process firsthand. In May, Kevin Low, owner and operator of The Elysian; Yoshi Onishi, beverage operations manager at Tokyo

Bird; and Sacha Leonard, former bar manager of Kisume jetted off for a four day immersion in Japanese drinking culture. Whilst there, they were treated to tours of Suntory’s Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries as well as the Osaka Plant, where they where privileged enough to be hosted by Senior Gin and Spirits Specialist Kazuyuki Torii. Over the course of the trip, the bartenders experienced a snapshot of Japanese food and drinking practices, attending traditional restaurants in Osaka and Tokyo and bar hopping in both cities. Upon their return, Barfly asked each of the trio about their journey and found out why they’re excited that ROKU Gin has hit our shores.

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A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY ROKU GIN BARTENDERS' TRIP

KELVIN LOW, OWNER/OPERATOR OF THE ELYSIAN WHISKY BAR & SELECT SPIRITS How many times have you travelled to Japan previously? Kelvin Low: Oh geez, I’ve lost count. I’ve already travelled to Japan three times just this year. What would you say was your level of knowledge of ROKU Gin before the trip? KL: Not a lot. I knew Suntory had launched a new Japanese gin called ROKU Gin and that it was coming to Australia, but that was about it. 48

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Most interesting fact about ROKU Gin you learnt from the trip? KL: The way they extract the different flavours from each ingredient is really cool. Different treatments for different ingredients ensures maximum flavour extraction, without losing quality. Now that is a lot of attention to detail! It's very different to just throwing everything into one basket and distilling that. What is one highlight from the trip you can share? KL: My highlight of the trip was definitely being able to meet Suntory Senior Gin & Spirits specialist, Mr.

Kazuyuki Torii. Getting the chance to see Suntory's Osaka Plant Liqueur Atelier was incredible. Even people in the trade in Japan don’t get an opportunity to visit that plant. It’s where Suntory does a lot of their research and development and is also where they make all their liqueurs and gins. Moreover, listening to Mr. Torii talk about how he created the ROKU Gin was just priceless.

In Japanese, 'Roku' means six, which represents the main six botanicals. What’s your favourite ROKU Gin ingredient and why?

What is your best story from the trip?

What differentiates ROKU Gin from other gins in your opinion?

KL: Oooh this is a tough one. There's a karaoke session story, but I think that's better left untold…

KL: ROKU Gin has captured the essence of each season and placed it into a bottle. It is a gin that has six ingredients that all work together to balance

KL: Probably the sakura flower. I think it is so typically Japanese, the concept of appreciating something so transient. It is also really cool that they have to try and gather as much sakura flowers as they can at the right time and extract enough essence out to last them the whole year.

YOSHI ONISHI, BEVERAGE OPERATIONS MANAGER OF TOKYO BIRD

just another gin with Japanese ingredients, but it draws on

How many times have you travelled to Japan previously?

What is one highlight from the trip you can share?

Yoshi Onishi: I was originally born in Japan and still hold a passport, but over the course of my adult life I’ve been about six times.

YO: I would say there were several but going to Hakushu was definitely up there. It is an amazingly picturesque distillery. Please take me back!

What would you say was your level of knowledge of ROKU Gin before the trip?

What is your best story from the trip?

YO: Pretty minimal, although I was definitely interested in it! one another out. It is different to other gins because not one flavour is too bold. The six ingredients work in harmony. What was your favourite thing about Japan? KL: Can I say everything? I can never get enough of Japan. Every single thing from the omotenashi (hospitality) of your host, to the amazing food and bar culture. I have a lot of respect for the Japanese art of bartending and I love how old traditions are blended with a highly modern society.

Most obscure thing you’ve found in Japan? KL: The Golden Gai in Shinjuku is definitely something different. Miraculously, hundreds of tiny bars continue to exist in this little pocket in Shinjuku. It gives you a little glimpse of what Tokyo used to be like. Did you have a preconception of Japan before going and did that change after the trip? KL: Before: Japan is amazing! After: Japan IS amazing!

Most interesting fact about ROKU Gin you learnt from the trip? YO: I found the selection of Japanese botanicals they use, many of which aren't in every Japanese ‘style’ gin, and how they harvest them based on optimal times of year very interesting. For example, the sakura leaf, which was at its peak at the time we were there, had to be picked later that very same week! I also love the conceptual aspect of ROKU Gin. It’s not

the spirit of Japan and its seasons to make a truly unique Japanese gin.

YO: My luggage was left in another country when we got to Japan, so I had the pleasure of roaming the streets of Osaka at 2am to find the closest 24-hour department store that sold underwear and donburi. Luckily, my luggage had arrived before we went to dinner the following day and I didn't look like a complete tracksuit-pantcladded hobo. In Japanese, 'Roku' means six, which represents the main six botanicals. What’s your favourite ROKU Gin ingredient and why? YO: I'd have to say sanshō. It's a pepper from a small, spiny shrub. It’s not so much a hot spice, but a super aromatic and slowFEATURE

SACHA LEONARD How many times have you travelled to Japan previously? Sacha Leonard: I’ve been to Japan three times previously, and I'm pretty sure I drank little to no gin on those occasions, due to youth and foolishness. What would you say was your level of knowledge of ROKU Gin before the trip? SL: I knew nothing apart from the name, and I wasn't smart enough to connect the name with the botanicals… Most interesting fact about ROKU Gin you learnt from the trip?

building flavour that numbs your mouth and lingers. We tried a little bit at the distillery, and it held its flavour for a good half an hour. It was intense.

held its essence, which I thought was great.

It really stands out in the finish of ROKU Gin, giving it a longer mouthfeel and interesting peppery spice that balances harmoniously with the various Japanese citrus.

YO: Everything! The cities are vibrant and full of the best bars offering immaculate hospitality, while the countryside is vast and a complete visual delight. The place rules.

What was your favourite thing about Japan?

What differentiates ROKU Gin from other gins in your opinion?

Most obscure thing you’ve found in Japan?

YO: The concept, flavour and execution. It is a gin that completely captures Japan in a bottle, from its ingredients and taste, to its product design, name, and simplicity. We had the pleasure of trying ROKU Gin out in a few different ways, from cocktails made by some of the country's best, to Highballstyle pours accompanied by amazing food. It was so incredibly versatile, but still

YO: Have you been to Akihabara? Do yourself a favour and check out the weirdness of ‘maid cafés’

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and vending machines stocked full of obscure goodies. Did you have a preconception of Japan before going and did that change after the trip? YO: I had no pre-conceptions about it. It was everything I remembered it to be.

SL: The most interesting fact for me is that ROKU Gin is not a new product, but is a modern iteration of Suntory gins that have been made since the 1930s. What is one highlight from the trip you can share? SL: It was definitely a highlight to meet Kazuyuki Torii-san and learn about his favourite food (Katsu-don!) What is your best story from the trip? SL: It's not much of a story, but getting a severely low score for Rihanna's ‘Umbrella’ during karaoke was pretty embarrassing. In Japanese, 'Roku' means six, which represents the main six botanicals. What’s your favourite ROKU Gin ingredient and why? SL: Sakura leaf is a very interesting ingredient to use.

It creates a subtle freshness that lifts all of the other botanicals, while still having presence. What differentiates ROKU Gin from other gins in your opinion? SL: Most new world gins, even if it isn't the intention, end up showcasing the character of one or two ingredients. ROKU Gin very successfully manages to represent Japanese flavours and aesthetics without relying on any one botanical, despite how distinctive and flavoursome they all are. What was your favourite thing about Japan? SL: The melon liqueur collection at the Liquor Atelier (the Suntory Osaka plant). Most obscure thing you’ve found in Japan? SL: I was at a hip-hop club in Kyoto about seven or eight years ago when I learnt about the no-dancing laws in Japan (since repealed). It was like being in a late 90s Japanese remake of Footloose. Also, I stayed on in Tokyo for a few days after this (Suntory) trip and happened to be there over bitter gourd week. It wasn’t that obscure, but it’s still surprising when you're ambushed with it. Did you have a preconception of Japan before going and did that change after the trip? SL: Before going to Japan I had been told it is like the future, which is true but it’s more like the future as imagined by the 80s… which is better!

WIN 1 1 OF 3 PERSONALISED 1 OF OF 3 3 PERSONALISED PERSONALISED

BAD SWEATERS

*GO TO WWW.THE-BLEND.COM.AU. *GO *GO TO TO WWW.THE-BLEND.COM.AU. WWW.THE-BLEND.COM.AU. TO ENTER, ANSWER SOME BAD TRIVIA QUESTIONS. TO ENTER, ANSWER TO ENTER, ANSWER SOME SOME BAD BAD TRIVIA TRIVIA QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS. 51

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MEET JAMESON GREGG FEW WOULD PICK THAT JAMESON GREGG HAS ONLY TWO YEARS OF COCKTAIL BAR EXPERIENCE UNDER HIS BELT. FROM GLASSY, TO CASUAL BAR STAFF AT ADELAIDE’S RENOWNED MAYBE MAE, TO CURRENT BAR MANAGER AT MELT, IT’S BEEN A CRAZY COUPLE OF YEARS FOR THE UP-ANDCOMING BARTENDER, INCLUDING HIS ACHIEVEMENT AS A REGIONAL FINALIST FOR LAST YEAR’S SA/NT THE PERFECT BLEND. BARFLY SAT DOWN WITH JAMESON RECENTLY TO CHAT ABOUT HIS UPBRINGING IN HOSPITALITY, HIS RAPID CAREER PROGRESSION, AND TO HEAR A FEW OF HIS MOST MEMORABLE BAR STORIES.

How long have you been in the industry and why choose hospitality as a career? I’ve been in the industry working full-time since I was 15. You could say my career started when I left high school and began a course in Hospitality & Hotel Management. I had worked parttime at a local hotel bar since I was 13 and strived for something better and more stimulating. Pursuing hospitality as a career seemed, and still is, a natural avenue for me. I was very lucky that I was brought up around restaurants; I was always drawn to good food and good booze. 52

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What is your current role and how did you get here today? I’m currently the Bar Manager at MELT (Henley Beach). It’s big! During summer it easily has some of the largest foot traffic in the state. I found myself in this role after being with the group for two years. Before that (and this is a true story), I had hounded Ollie Margan for a trial shift at Maybe Mae every night for a week until he gave in and let me cover a glassy on a weekend. From there, I worked my drink slingin’ tushy off to get to a good position in a great venue.

You’ve had probably the quickest promotion to date – tell us how this happened? Yeah... (laughs) I seriously received a call from the co-owner of MELT the night before the soft opening. It was a big step-up from being a casual staff at Shōbōsho and Maybe Mae, straight into managing a 200+ seater restaurant. I guess l was picked to step up because I was eager to move up the ranks and keep challenging myself. What do you love about the industry? Great chats, great food, great drinks, great music and encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone to try things and experience flavours they’ve never tried before. What do you think there should be less of? The one thing I’m actively trying to eradicate is the stigma surrounding hospitality workers as unstable ‘party animals’. I enjoy having a shot or a cheeky beer when the time is right,

but I’ve seen the ugly side of it and that’s what gives people the idea that hospitality is nothing more than a stepping stone to a ‘big kid’ job. It’s like anything else, the more you put into your career, the more you get out. What’s your most memorable moment behind the bar? My time working in bars and restaurants has been pretty action-filled... The thing that really stands out in my mind was a night during the cricket season. It was just myself and my mate Nick in an 85-person capacity venue. About an hour after we opened, we were full; we ended up doing the numbers we would usually do on a Friday night with six people working or something ridiculous like that! Nick and I still refer to it as ‘Black Monday’. What’s your most embarrassing moment behind the bar? I had about 15 cocktail dockets on the line at a local hotel bar I was working at as I was the only one there who had been

shown how to make the drinks... This was the first and last place I worked at that had the glass and tin shaker combo, and an Espresso Martini that couldn’t be served loose, you had to give it a real good slappin’! Let’s just say that one night there was a lot of blood, a quick trip to the hospital, a couple of stitches, and then I was straight back into butterscotch Espresso Martini town. Remember gang, those glass shakers will get ya! You were a finalist last season in SA for The Perfect Blend, what made you enter? I’ve always really enjoyed Beam Suntory products and to compete in a competition for such a strong brand is motivating. The comradery in these events is fantastic as well. Always great vibes! What do you enjoy about competing? My favourite thing about competitions is definitely watching the fellow competitors present.

Do you look up to anyone as a mentor in the industry? If so, who and why? The biggest influence in my career as a hospitality worker is my Father. Working at his establishment and learning from him was a great experience for me. I was lucky enough to be around a team of hospitality gurus my whole life. What is so unique about the hospitality industry in Adelaide that you love? Hospitality in Adelaide is really strong right now. I love that the population is so open to trying new things, and naturally the standards of service, food and booze rise along with expectations. I really love how in Adelaide, everything is locally sourced. Having great wine and a farming country so close to home raises the bar and that helps breed healthy competition amongst restaurants and bars.

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BARTENDING

Rituals

THE RITUALS OR ACTIONS PERFORMED BY BARTENDERS AROUND THE WORLD ON

A NIGHTLY BASIS ACCUMULATE INTO THE SUM TOTAL OF THE CRAFT OF MODERN BARTENDING. OVER TWO CENTURIES, THESE RITUALS HAVE CONTINUOUSLY

EVOLVED, KEEPING THE BEST BITS FROM THE PAST AND INCORPORATING NEW PRACTICES TO ADD TO THE CANNON OF THINGS BARTENDERS DO IN THE SERVICE OF DRINKS. WHETHER IT’S THE JAPANESE HARD SHAKE, THE HANDPICKING OF AN ICE SPHERE, THE CORRECT USE OF THE JULEP STRAINER, THE APPROPRIATE USE OF A MULE MUG, OR THE STIRRING OF A COCKTAIL IN AN ORNATE MIXING GLASS, THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE TECHNIQUES THAT ARE EMPLOYED TO PRODUCE THE INFINITE LIQUID LIBATIONS, ALL THE WHILE ONLY USING A FINITE SET OF BAR TOOLS. WORDS BY BEN DAVIDSON, ÜBER BAR TOOLS™ ADVOCACY GURU

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“Überbartools™ are very close to the bartender’s opinions, they listen and they make it. Überbartools™ makes bar tools bartenders want to use” - Hidetsugu Ueno. In today’s bars and hotels, there is an elevated level of expectation for quality and good service, from cocktail lovers and foodies, which makes it more challenging to make an impact and to stand out in a competitive marketplace where everyone is raising the bar. It’s attention to detail and the small things that often make the biggest difference. It’s in the unexpected surprises where the difference between a good and an amazing experience lie. Bars are typically the visible centrepiece of a venue and act as a place in which people naturally gather. The appearance of the bar is a key element to setting the stage for the experience ahead. A wellequipped bar is a key foundation upon which good drinks can be made. When I approach a bar for the first time, I let my eyes wander around to form a picture of what’s going on at the bar. For example, when I see ProFlow™ speed pourers on back bars, a properly set-up bar station with polished chrome or copper finished Über jiggers, shakers and strainers, I’m reassured that someone knows what they are doing at this establishment and that there is a high likelihood the drinks are going to be excellent. There is a high level of deserved respect for the leading bartenders and mixologists in Australia today and, like chefs with their knives and tools, modern bartenders

barware to make cocktails and mixed drinks. The craft of bartending has developed to such an extent that the level of quality and originality is now pushing the avant-garde. This renewed focus on the bartender as a producer has also put their ‘tools of the trade’ under the spotlight, where quality, durability, comfort and appearance are all vitally important to successful outcomes that call for precision and accuracy. But you don’t have to be a master mixologist to use high quality bar tools, even bartenders in the beginning of their career can benefit from quality bar tools, which actually make the experience of bartending that much more enjoyable. Even if the venue you work at doesn’t have a cocktail focus, the Überbartools™ pourers and jiggers have design features that make the building of simple mixed drinks more accurate and efficient. In 2018, Überbartools™ was a supporting sponsor of The Perfect Blend, in which the twelve finalists received a LuxRoll bar kit to ensure they have their own set of professional bar tools moving forward. When you are working with premium quality brands like Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark or Yamazaki, and when the consumer is paying a premium price for a perfect serve, quality bar tools help deliver the benefits of being professional, but also elevate the perceived quality of the experience for the consumer.

should and do use high quality bespoke FEATURE

ICE TOOLS One of the best things that has happened in the last few years is the rapid improvement and use of dense, clear ice, and bartenders’ understanding of its physiology and why it’s better. The use of clear ice cubes and spears from the guys at Bare Bones Ice Company, for example, or large blocks for cleaving and ice picking to make spheres, can transform a drink experience from good to amazing. I recently asked Hidetsugu Ueno from Bar High Five in Tokyo - when making an ice sphere, what’s the best way to start? He answered, “It’s very important to prepare equal square blocks of ice. That makes everything easier when you make ice ball.” Start picking off the corners and work away the straight edges until slowly the sphere starts to emerge. When pressed on whether he prefers the fork or the pick, he explained, “I would say I prefer the fork one because it’s faster to make it!” 56

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Ueno san is obviously the king of ice ritual serves, including his ice diamond which he cuts with a uniquely solid, folded iron knife that he’s used for over 15 years, slowly getting smaller and smaller. The Über LuxPick™ and LuxFork™ are finely machined for putting the finishing touches to an ice ball before placing it into a glass of whisk(e)y. If we get down to the fundamentals of bar tools and equipment, they are there

to enable and streamline the effectiveness of pouring, measuring, stirring, muddling, shaking, chilling, diluting and aerating the ingredients, for enjoyment in the final cocktail. The design of barware had largely not changed since the Golden Age of the cocktail and the pre-Prohibition era. With the founding of Überbartools™ in 2007, the goal was to reimagine the functionality of every bar tool to make improvements that benefit the bartender.

Überbartools™, exported to over 34 countries, is a leading bar tools designer and manufacturer, founded with the single-minded purpose of re-imagining bar tool design to provide bartenders with better quality, more functional tools to make consistent tasting cocktails, profitably served.

OTHER ESSENTIAL RITUAL TOOLS LuxSwizz, Tweezers, Bitters Bottles, JetMister, Julep Cups, Ice Hammer and bag, Lux Fork.

DRINKS WORLD AWARDS TOP 25 BARTENDERS AUSTRALIA 2018 The Marble Bar, Hilton Sydney, was the venue for the Top 25 (T25) Bartender celebration hosted by Drinks World Australia magazine and MC’d on the night by Ben Davidson, Drinks Curator and previous winner of Australian Bartender of the Year competition. The Top 25 Bartenders gathered in Sydney for the ‘2018 Bartenders Weekend’ two days of hanging out and making quality drinks. The T25 were chosen via peer voting, having been nominated by the

Drinks World Australia panel of industry experts giving us the Top 100 Bartenders for 2018. The 2018 award culminated in the announcement of the ‘Bartenders’ Bartender’ as Daniel Gregory from Etties in Hobart. Overall, it was a massive night full of the best bartending talent Australia has to offer. Daniel won a trip to the 2019 Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans courtesy of Drinks World Australia.

THE FULL T25 LIST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) IS LISTED BELOW: Aidan Beiers Alex Boon Alex Gilmour Andrea Gualdi Andy Griffiths Chris Hysted-Adams Daniel Gregory Dimitri Rtshiladze Ella Rhodes Elliot Pascoe Evan Stroeve Hayden Lambert James Connolly

James Irvine Joe Sinagra Jonothan Carr Kurtis Bosley Matt Linklater Michael Chiem Nick Corletto Ollie Margan Orlando Marzo Shay Chamberlain Tom Kearney Trish Brew

MORNING IN THE FIELD By Kurtis Bosley INGREDIENTS: 40ml Auchentoshan American oak 12.5ml Ginger liqueur 10ml Beeswax and Tonka Amontillado Sherry 20ml Fresh lemon 10ml Simple syrup 2 Dashes Hopped grapefruit bitters GARNISH: Davidson plum and finger FEATURE

IN THE

CAPITAL AUSTRALIA’S CAPITAL CITY, CANBERRA, IS BEST KNOWN FOR A FEW THINGS. THERE’S PARLIAMENT

HOUSE; AN INFINITY OF ROUNDABOUTS; WORLD-CLASS ARCHITECTURE AND THE FAMOUS CALLISTER ST - NAMED AFTER THE INVENTOR OF VEGEMITE. ONE OF THE NEWER HIGHLIGHTS, WHICH IS ALSO SHAPING UP TO BE AMONG THE MOST IMPRESSIVE, IS CANBERRA’S BAR SCENE.

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To celebrate exactly that, the inaugural Community Cup Canberra was held recently to celebrate the city’s finest bars and bar-keeps. For one night only, the budding seven came together to show-off their talent and prove that Canberra shakes up a serious show of hospitality. An institution in its own right and one of the capital’s oldest buildings, Bar Rochford, set the scene for the event hosted by the well-known Michael Nouri to hero premium Scottish whisky brand Laphroaig. The challenge was to create a signature drink highlighting the peat, oak and sweetness of Laphroaig Select Cask and brought together Alex Gondza, Ciaran Moran, Zac Guertin and Holly Ingram of Molly bar; Esteban Savic of Bar Rochford; Finn Adams of Hippo & Co.; and Luke Morris of Elk & Pea.

ALEX GONDZA MOLLY

THIRSTY BEGGAR Glassware: Double Rocks Garnish: Orange oils and dehydrated Serrano ham Ingredients: 50ml Laphroaig Select 45ml Honey cream 30ml Sour wine citrus stock Method: Shake and strain.

Acoustic sets from John Smith and DJs including Canberra’s very own Soul Crane kept the competition full of energy and excitement, while guests swirled, sipped and savoured competitor’s drinks. Congratulations to all those involved!

CIARAN MORAN

ZAC GUERTIN

AUTUMN IN ISLAY Glassware: Nick & Nora Garnish: Orange oils Ingredients: 45ml Laphroaig Select 20ml Montenegro 10ml Recycled orange peels, spice and pear syrup 2 Dashes Aromatic bitters Method: Stir and strain.

SHAKE & BAKE Glassware: Highball Garnish: Orange peel Ingredients: 45ml Laphroaig Select 20ml Sugar syrup 15ml Fresh lemon juice 60ml Sourdough and pineapple beer Method: Shake, strain and top with beer.

MOLLY

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HOLLY INGRAM

ESTEBAN SAVIC

LAST NIGHT DIDN’T HAPPEN Glassware: Rocks Garnish: Dehydrated orange wheel and nutmeg Ingredients: 40ml Laphroaig Select 20ml Orange Curacao 30ml Honey cream 20ml Citrus stock 10ml Sugar syrup Method: Shake and strain over crushed ice.

PEATY TIKI TORCH Glassware: Goblet Garnish: Lemongrass stalk Ingredients: 45ml Laphroaig Select 30ml Cardamom infused Coco Lopez 20ml Citronella 20ml Fresh pineapple Juice Method: Shake and strain.

FINN ADAMS

LUKE MORRIS

FOREST FIRE Glassware: Double Rocks Garnish: Orange twist and flamed pine needles Ingredients: 40ml Laphroaig Select 10ml Pedro Ximénez Sherry 10ml Fino sherry 20ml Amaro 8ml Orange and pine syrup Method: Shake and strain.

ISLAY TAKE 2 Glassware: Double Rocks Garnish: Apple fan and cheddar Ingredients: 50ml Laphroaig Select 10ml Bols Triple Sec 20ml Apple and clove syrup 15ml Fresh lemon juice Method: Shake and strain.

MOLLY

HIPPO & CO.

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BAR ROCHFORD

ELK & PEA

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ALL-STAR

APPRENTICE

GENEVIEVE MALADAY’S APPROACH TO BARTENDING IS AS REFRESHING AS IT IS ENDEARING. HAPPY TO ADMIT TO THE HUMBLE REALITIES OF THE JOB, LIKE SPILLING ESPRESSO MARTINIS ALL DOWN YOUR SHIRT, GENEVIEVE PROVES THAT BEING A GREAT BARTENDER IS SO MUCH MORE THAN PERFECT TRICKS. EVEN WITH JUST OVER A YEAR OF EXPERIENCE UNDER HER BELT, THIS BARTENDER IMPRESSED JUDGES WITH AN ALL-STAR, NATURAL PERFORMANCE IN THE APPRENTICE CATEGORY OF THE PERFECT BLEND VIC/TAS FINALS. PERHAPS IT WAS A TOUCH OF THE IRISH LUCK THAT RUNS THROUGH HER VEINS OR SOMETHING SHE PICKED UP FROM WATCHING ONE OF THE HEARTFELT COMEDY-DRAMA’S SHE LOVES SO MUCH. BARFLY SPOKE WITH GENEVIEVE TO FIND OUT WHAT THE SECRET IS TO HER HIDDEN TALENTS. 62

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The Perfect Blend State finalists VIC/TAS 2018

How did you first enter the world of bartending? I was let behind the bar while working as a waitress at The Noble Experiment in Collingwood. It may have been a foolish decision, but I was keen to learn, and after several spilt tins of Espresso Martini all over my shirt, I found myself as a bartender. What do you love about working in the industry?

This was my second cocktail competition in a little over a year as a bartender. The different categories in The Perfect Blend interested me a lot; they are a nod to the fact that in this industry, there’s no school that you can go to that will teach you enough to be a bartender – all of our knowledge comes from our peers. On comp day, it was great to watch the different skill sets between the Apprentices and Professionals.

Who is your mentor in the industry? I have so many mentors in this industry, nearly everyone that I have worked with has taught me something very valuable. If you could do a guest shift with anyone, who would it be? Whoever the fabulous person is that first made The Last Word (Mark Pellington).

What made you enter The Perfect Blend? Where do you see yourself in five years?

I love that there is always something to learn, whether it’s about new and exciting products, rediscovering lost classics, or just different ways of interacting with patrons, it keeps every shift interesting You were recently an Apprentice in The Perfect Blend VIC/TAS Finals. Firstly, congratulations. Secondly, was this your first cocktail competition and what was it like being an Apprentice?

Glory. Gold. Greatness. Any of those reasons. What was the highlight of being in the Regional Finals of The Perfect Blend? The highlight was the competition night itself, it was so fabulous. I had a great group of people supporting me from Garden State Hotel, which reminded me of how lucky I am to be surrounded by great peers and mentors.

Drinking Daiquiris on a beach, or making them on a beach. What’s been your most embarrassing moment behind the bar? I could write a humorous novella of my many embarrassing moments behind the bar. The blurb would read something like ‘the story of a woman that flicked citrus juice in her eye, causing her to drop both of the Boston tins...’ FEATURE

Ryan Clift, Chef-Owner, Tippling Club

BAR IN-DEPTH:

Tippling Club NEXT TIME YOU’RE IN SINGAPORE, HEAD TO TIPPLING CLUB. NUMBER SEVEN OF ASIA’S 50 BEST BARS, THIS BUSY VENUE IS ATTRACTING LOCALS AND EXPATS ALIKE AMIDST THE CITY’S THRIVING HOSPITALITY SCENE, WITH ITS NEXT GENERATION COCKTAIL AND KITCHEN PROGRAM.

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Renowned and award-winning Chef-Owner and Head Bartender, Ryan Clift and Joe Schofield, respectively – who in another life spent some of their careers in Australia – have employed modern molecular gastronomy to push the boundaries of what we know of cocktails and cuisine. Tantalising the taste buds and impressing onlookers, everything on the menu here proves there is no limit to the imagination. The first menu developed by the duo, ‘Sensorium’, brought to life a series of visually stunning cocktails, each capturing a memory-evoking scent. This placed them in the top four of the World’s Best Cocktail Menu category at Tales of the Cocktails 2017 and 2018 Spirited Awards, taking out the title of Best International Restaurant Bar in 2017 also. As if this wasn’t enough, Ryan and Joe are the creators of ‘Dreams and Desires’, the world’s first edible menu, with each cocktail transformed into a gummy bear. Experience at the world’s top bars and restaurants has given Ryan and Joe the confidence to search for new flavours and textures, unique to Tippling Club. Joe has worked at The Savoy in London and Palmer & Co., in Sydney, while Ryan was in the kitchen at Vue de Monde, which most will know, and worked under famous chefs Marco-Pierre White, Peter Gordon and Emmanuel Renaut. Barfly recently spoke to the guys as they prepare for their most significant milestone yet, celebrating 10 years of Tippling Club, with only bigger and better things to come.

Joe Schofield, International Bartender of the Year – Spirited Awards, Tippling Club, Singapore

When did you come up with the idea for Tippling Club and how long did it take to set-up? Ryan: Tippling Club was setup in 2008, 10 years ago, as a collaboration between a very famous bartender, Matthew Bax from Der Raum in Melbourne, and myself.

the idea into a reality with the investment of Cynthia Chua from the Spa Esprit Group. We took the opportunity to jump ship and head over to Singapore. That’s how it all started. Unfortunately, partnerships don’t always work out and Matt moved on after around two years. Then it was really left for me to take over and run the business.

This year’s a big milestone for us – there are not many bars in Singapore, let alone restaurants and bars combined, that can boast ten years. It’s going to be a big celebration! What’s your background in hospitality?

Matt and I conceptualised Tippling Club about a year before 2008 in Australia. Then

Since then, Tippling Club has been on the up and it’s now in

Joe: I have been working at Tippling Club for approximately two and a half years. Before that, I worked at American Bar at The

we got the opportunity to turn

a place I’m really happy with.

Savoy, The Zetter Townhouse FEATURE

with Tony Conigliaro, Palmer & Co. in Sydney, Spice Temple Melbourne and bars in the north of England. I started working in the local pub at 16, some 12 years ago. Ryan: I’ve been in the kitchen and industry for 27 years. I started in Marco Pierre White’s kitchen in Claridge’s, London. From there, I moved 66

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to France, where I was working with Emmanuel Renaut and Marc Veyrat, both three-star Michelin chefs, from Flocons de Sel. Then I moved to Australia, where I became the Head Chef and Chef de Cuisine in Vue de Monde, which, at the time, was Australia’s most famous restaurant. And finally, Tippling Club. That’s my career in a nutshell.

What does the Tippling Club logo represent? Ryan: The logo is very simple. The straight line in the middle is my chain of thought and the timeline we give ourselves to create a dish or drink. Every dish or drink on our menu starts with just one ingredient. From there, the lines facing down represent the individual

ingredients we compare with the original ingredient. So for example, foie gras would be the initial ingredient, the straight line across. Then, the lines that come down represent other ingredients such as apple, cherry and fig. Once we’ve drawn a line down, we add the concept we’re going to apply to the ingredient. So with apple, it could be fresh, juiced, pureed, dehydrated or

freeze-dried; turned into a fluid gel, sorbet, ice cream, cold confit, hot confit, candy, jelly bean or gummy bear. Each ingredient could have 30 to 40 concepts. Then, we stand back and have an entire mind map of every ingredient that would work with just foie gras. The Tippling logo is actually the very first one I ever did with foie gras, apple, cinnamon, Calvados, 8 spice powder and sea salt. Your cocktail program is unlike anything we’ve seen before. First, there was the ‘Sensorium’ menu, which captures the senses, and then there is ‘Dreams and Desires’, a series of cocktails and gummy bears based on the two concepts. Can you tell us about the philosophy behind the program at Tippling Club? Ryan: The concept for the Sensorium menu came about on Joe’s first day of work. We sat down together and I asked him, what ideas he had for a new menu, because I wanted to do something different. Joe opened his notebook and literally showed me in writing pretty much the same idea I had. It was kind of freaky that we were both on the exact same page. From there, we started working on that first menu, which was about aromas. The original Sensorium menu took nearly a year to develop and then the moment we launched it, we were back in the laboratory working on the Dreams and Desires menu. We try to keep them to a nine to ten-month lifespan, but the Sensorium menu went on for a year and the Dreams and Desires menu created so much excitement among the community that we’re not letting

it go. We might structure it slightly smaller, but we’ll keep it in a form in which people can still have the gummy bears and menus to recall our drinks from. How long does it take to create a new menu at Tippling Club? Joe: About ten months. Who leads the cocktail creation at Tippling Club – the chefs or bartenders? Joe: As former head bartender, I created the cocktails with the support of the bar team. Ryan tries every single element served in his restaurant and, with his approval, it goes on the menu. That is the reciprocal process between the kitchen and bar with pairings. Ryan: It’s vice-versa. I’m always working on new dishes using the format I explained earlier, and I would hand the list to Joe to come up with new pairings. It doesn’t always have to be a cocktail pairing, sometimes it might be a dish that’s so far removed from the cocktail world that we feel it works better with wine, sake, beer or a niche spirit. Then again sometimes, Joe would hand me his list. So was a 50-50 collaboration. How do you bring these concepts to life – do you work with external agencies or do you have the equipment in-house? Joe: Tippling Club has an eight-year relationship with a company called IFF. That stands for International Flavours and Fragrances. Ryan and I give them direction and worked FEATURE

with them to create the flavours and fragrances for the Dreams and Desires gummy bears. The flavours and fragrances we use have never existed before; they were created for our menus by us and IFF. But the key word here is relationship, we help them work on projects too. Do you have any other cocktail menus developing in the background? Ryan: The new menu is set to launch in October this year, which is top secret. This one’s spent a year in development. Ryan, we hear you have a love of science when it comes to creating 68

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recipes. Where does your passion for science come from? Ryan: The chefs I’ve worked with during my career. Working with Marc Veyrat was a turning point in my career; he was the first chef to really push the boundaries of molecular gastronomy. He was shunned from the French culinary community, but he had a threestar Michelin for the food he was cooking. You couldn’t deny it. He had an amazing laboratory and from there, I was subjected to working with some of the world’s best food scientists, which really got my creative juices going. It’s about understanding all the additions food manufacturing

has used for decades but only now, chefs are realising that it can be applied to food on a small scale. It’s very exciting and currently, it’s making its way into the cocktail scene, and that’s something Joe and I work on heavily. The only difference is that for cocktails, it’s more about the equipment you use than the food grade techniques that we apply. It’s made its way onto our bar in the form of thickening syrups or cold infusions; we also use freeze dryers, dehydrators, magnetic stirrers and special high power blends to make things different.

with in comparison to a chef who can play with as many as they want. I also want the garnish to be fast to produce during service, as well as being engaging for the guest and a nod to the story behind the drink.

Joe: I’m a firm believer in simplicity when it comes to drinks. All of the cocktails I make have no more than five to six ingredients. As bartenders,

Ryan: There is no balance between art and science, it’s just mixology and bartending. Art is the last thing we look at. Yes, we have all of these wacky menus and there is printing and graphic design involved, but that’s just creativity. I don’t class it as art; art is something you hang on the wall. What we do is creative and original, and that’s the key to Tippling Club. Everything we do comes from only our heads, we do not copy or replicate from anywhere else. Science will always be a major part of what we do here, but it’s never prevalent when you eat or drink it – you will never see how we did it. Nobody goes, ‘Oh, this is distilled at -4 in the evaporator.’ It’s done to enhance the flavours

we only have one medium to play

and give new textures. But it’s

Your cocktails look incredible. How do you find the balance between art and science, i.e. making sure they look and taste great?

“We use a machine called the Sonicprep to ‘age’ it.”

The Sonic Negroni

not something that we need to balance, it will always be a main characteristic of what we do. What is the signature drink at Tippling Club? Joe: The Sonic Negroni from our first Sensorium menu is perhaps unofficially our signature drink. We use a machine called a Sonicprep to ‘age’ it. The machine uses 20,000 ultrasonic sound waves a second to create the same characteristics you might get with barrel ageing. We put it in there for five minutes and it tastes like a Negroni that’s been aged for one year, without the flavour of the wood and inconsistencies. We then serve it with our Negroni wedge.

Where do you source your ingredients from in Singapore?

How would you describe the bar scene in Singapore?

Ryan: We do have our own little garden here in Singapore that we use in the kitchen, but unfortunately the local climate doesn’t allow us to grow what we’d like to. We are able to grow some really interesting wild herb varieties that are really cool to use in the kitchen, but for the bar, we select our ingredients from all around the world. We’re very fortunate that here in Singapore, we can get a delivery in from Japan every 12 hours. This is where we tend to select a lot of our fruits, citrus and herbs from.

Joe: In my opinion, this is the most exciting bar scene in the world right now. It’s a small city with talent coming from all over the world to work in. It is competitive in a way, but it’s also a really friendly industry here. Ryan: The bar scene in Singapore has exploded in the last six years. Looking at where Singapore is in Asia’s 50 Best Bars, it’s killing it as a city and we’re a leader. How do Tippling Club’s food and drinks resonate with Singaporeans?

Ryan: It was quite tricky at the start in the sense that people found it weird and weren’t used to the food, even though I had come from restaurants that were cooking these foods every day. So, we really did struggle at the start. But, we chose not to change our concept. We didn’t want to bow down to people’s needs or wants; we did exactly what we wanted to do, and still do to this day. Now we’re a ten-year-old business in Singapore that’s almost fully booked every day. EDITOR’S NOTE: Joe Schofield has since announced his departure from Tippling Club. He will be moving back to the UK to pursue other career opportunities. FEATURE

POPPING UP PROPERLY WITH THE FANCY FREE CREW

MELBOURNE’S SOON-TO-BE HOTTEST DRINKING DEN WILL BE COMING TO YOU FROM FOUR OF THE BEST IN THE BIZ. ORDINARILY, CALLING YOURSELVES THE ‘AVENGERS’ OF THE DRINKS WORLD WOULD BE CONSIDERED A LITTLE PRESUMPTUOUS, BUT THIS CREW CAN DEFINITELY GET AWAY WITH IT. WITH ROB LIBECANS (EX-WHITE LYAN), CHRIS HYSTED-ADAMS (EX-BLACK PEARL BAR MANAGER), MATTHEW STIRLING (ALSO FORMER BLACK PEARL MANAGER) AND RYAN NOREIKS (BRISBANE’S LARK) BEHIND THE BAR, THIS VENUE WILL BE AN AVENGERS MANSION OF SORTS. APTLY NAMED FANCY FREE, THE BAR WILL BE A SPACE FOR THESE INDIVIDUAL POWERHOUSES TO COME TOGETHER AND FREELY DO WHAT THEY DO BEST – EXPERIMENT WITH DRINKS CREATION. WITH A LOCATION FOR THE VENUE YET TO BE CHOSEN, THE TEAM HAVE BEEN SPARKING HYPE ACROSS THE COUNTRY BY HOSTING A SERIES OF POP-UPS. IN BETWEEN THEIR HECTIC SCHEDULE, CHRIS MANAGED TO FIND TIME TO SHARE WITH BARFLY A FEW TIPS AND TRICKS ON HOW TO NAIL THE PERFECT POP-UP EVENT. Whilst hunting for a site, and refining what our bar Fancy Free will offer, we’ve launched a series of pop-ups across Australia. We’ve toured through Tasmania during Dark Mofo, thrown a Tiki Weekender in Brisbane and just held a very fancy Quiz du Pub at Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern in Sydney. So we thought we’d pass on some of our learning, and show you all, ‘How to Pop Up Proper!’ Before we start thinking about styling, cocktails or music there’s 70

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a few very important things we need to ensure are nailed down. Firstly, we’ll ensure all parties involved have clear, defined roles from the beginning. This includes whose paying for what, when does it need to be delivered by, and who’s ordering it? We define this ASAP and follow up regularly in the days leading up to the event. We’ll negotiate a fee or even a split on the takings for the night. There’s nothing to motivate you running an uber-successful pop-

up like a split on the takings. Make sure you negotiate this way before you publicise the event. Awkward conversations early prevent even more awkward or potentially angry conversations later on. Chances are you’re friends with the people who own or run the venue you’re popping up in, so you want to keep it that way too. Try to overcompensate as much as possible with old-fashioned good manners, providing stock, working over time, and maintaining slicklooking social media accounts (this is a little easier for us

considering we have an in-house design and marketing team in Ryan and Chris!) Since we’re talking about money - budget, budget, budget! Set a budget, and stick to it. We’ll always do our best to keep costs as low as possible, without compromising on our final product. Our most recent pop-up used everything that was in our kitchen cupboards and backyards! Another we managed to hit a 90% gross profit (venue owners love this, and it also meant we could afford flights).

Tight budgets force you to be really creative, and often produce some of your best stuff! Now that’s all done, we can get into the creative stuff! We always start by asking each other, “What are we trying to achieve?”This helps us select the concept to use in a certain space. It helps dictate what style of event we’ll execute, on what day, and what style of drinks/service we’ll roll out. Then we’ll work out the USP (unique selling proposition) of the event. What’s going to make people want to come along, and part with their hard earned cash? It’s extremely important to differentiate our offering from what is regularly available at the venue. Otherwise, why will people come? Once that’s all done? Come up with some drink recipes, work out how to dress the venue, design the menu, get a detailed list together, and plan social media. Go to the venue, prep the event, execute the event, have fun and bump out. Sounds easy right? If so, it’s only because of all the hard work we put in before hand.

TOP TIPS • Find a point of difference for your event. • Every event is a lesson in how to make your next one better. • Be prepared to make sacrifices. • Always have contact with all parties involved. It might seem obvious, but never allow a middleman to arrange things for you. • Respect your teammates’ strengths and your weaknesses. • Have one of your team ‘host’ the event: We can’t stress the importance of this. This ensures there’s no disconnect between the event you’ve been working on for weeks, and what people are actually experiencing or seeing on the other side of the bar.

• Work hard and give yourself every chance to succeed. • Do what you say you’re going to do. • Don’t assume that people will just come because you’re doing an event. Be proactive on social media, be creative on your menu and concept, and create intrigue. Reach out and appeal to local publications, bloggers and influencers. You’ll be surprised how much they want to hear from you. • Remember to be respectful to the owners, and understand that they’re helping you as much as you’re helping them on their normally quiet Sunday night. • Music: It will define your pop-up in the space you’re

in, especially if it’s a place people know really well. It is something that will constantly be in the thoughts of your guests and will reset their internal rhythm to that of your party. Choose carefully and drive it to the hilt. Go hard on contrast so turn it up or down (in our case up). You don’t want people walking away at the end of the night feeling luke warm about it all. We’d rather ringing ears from loud music than an absence of impact from an event that didn’t leave an impression. And finally, one of the most important points we pride ourselves on: have fun, dance, and breakdown your station. You’re a bartender, not a rockstar. FEATURE

THE SCOTTISH PRINCE THE PONY COCKTAIL Glassware: Coupette Garnish: Lemon zest Ingredients: 47.5ml Connemara Irish Whiskey 12.5ml Botrytis Semillion 22.5ml White grapefruit juice 7.5ml Lemon juice 12.5ml Ginger syrup 1 Egg white Method: Add ingredients to shaker, dry shake, and fine strain

VENUE PROFILES

Named after the famous cargo shipwreck, this Gold Coast whisky bar is known as the go-to place to enjoy a quality dram. With a 300odd backbar of whiskies, along with a menu of share plates including seafood, meat dishes and vegetarian bites, and complete with live blues music, this is one jam-packed nautical themed bar. The staff (or crew) is passionate about friendly service and making every customer feel welcome, whether they are using one of the many booths or their private tasting room. Designed to look like a shipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s galley, the Scottish Prince is the perfect spot for a drink with your (first) mates. Shop 27/1176 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach QLD 4221 T: (07) 5598 3021 W: www.thescottishprince.com.au Opening Hours: Monday: Closed Tuesday-Thursday: 5:00pm-12:00am Friday-Sunday: 4:00pm-12:00am

CANVAS CLUB This popular Brisbane bar is known for its quirky bespoke cocktails. With its antique furniture and mural walls, the design is a fun and unique mix of rustic meets modern. At Canvas, they take the drinks seriously, with the menu spanning classic cocktails, wine, absinthe and all the spirits your heart could desire. The food menu focuses on Southern Californian classics with a touch of Spanish

influence, including tapas, burgers and pizza. Find a spot out in the courtyard area and settle in for an evening of chilled drinks and killer food. 16B Logan Road, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102 T: 07 3891 2111 W: canvasclub.com.au Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 12pm-12am

TIME WARP AGAIN: WINTER ROCKY ROAD DESSERT COCKTAIL Glassware: Julep Garnish: Macadamia Nut Foam and grated Chocolate Ingredients: 40ml Jim Beam Black Label infused with white cacao 20ml Amaro Montenegro 5ml Pomegranate Molasses 20ml Tempus Fugit Liqueur 15ml Maple Syrup 15ml Egg white Bunch of fresh raspberries Method: Shaken

VENUE PROFILES

TINY’S With an emphasis on sustainability, this bar takes inspiration from the environment and their own rooftop garden when creating their drinks menu. Situated in the iconic QV1 building, Tiny’s has both indoor and outdoor areas to enjoy their unique beverage offerings. During the work week, stop by and hear cover bands playing the classics, or come on a Friday night to celebrate the weekend with the best DJs Perth has to offer. With a diverse menu of various meats and vegetarian options that pair perfectly with their seasonal cocktails, there is something for everyone at Tiny’s. QV1, 250 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA 6000 T: (08) 6166 9188 W: www.tinysbar.com.au Opening Hours: Monday-Friday: 11:30am-12am Saturday: 4pm-12am 74

VENUE PROFILES

RED RUM RISING Glassware: Tiki glass Garnish: Mint sprig Ingredients: 60ml Bati Dark Rum 10ml Fresh lime juice 10ml Lime stock 20ml Passionfruit nectar 20ml Fresh pineapple 20ml Charred capsicum purée

20ml Honey cream 15ml Crawleys agave 2 x Dashes aromatic bitters 3 x Dashes saline solution 3 x Dashes absinthe Method: Shake and double strain

WALTER’S BAR & STEAKHOUSE Enter Walter’s Bar & Steakhouse and you’ll pleasantly find yourself transported to a classic 50’s New York steakhouse. The combination of the beautiful red leather booths and an incredible selection of steaks and beverages, made by world-class chefs and bartenders, create a wonderful atmosphere. With attentive service from bar to table, there is definitely a nostalgic charm to this venue. If you’re a serious steak lover, get a table at Walter’s for a meal you won’t forget.

‘Old Mineral House’ 219 Alice Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000 T: (07) 30128640 W: www.waltersbrisbane.com.au Opening Hours: Restaurant: Monday-Saturday: 12:00pm-3:00pm, 5:30pm-Late Bar: Monday-Saturday: 11:30am-12am

MJØLNER This Viking-inspired restaurant and bar, the second of its kind, is the definition of entertainment. With the original Mjølner in Sydney a roaring success, Sven Almenning and his Speakeasy ‘Clan’ decided to start a new camp down south. Decorated with fur pelts, dark woods, boat hulls in the ceiling and various Viking weapons, you’ll be transported back to the time of the great Nordic warriors. The cocktail menu is extensive and is divided into taste profiles, including complex and delicate tipples, citric and refreshing options, rich and fruit driven concoctions and digestifs or aperitifs. The hearty menu is meat focused, with a bird, beast, fish and vegetable option available each day, along with side dishes and desserts. For the true Viking fans, you can even order a beverage and drink it straight from a horn. Mjølner is the ideal location to let out the inner warrior and pretend you’re a true Scandinavian god (if only for a few hours).

106 Hardware St, Melbourne VIC 3000 T: (03) 8393 9367 W: www.mjolner.com.au Opening Hours: Monday: 12:00pm-1:00am, 5:00pm-1am Tuesday-Thursday: 5:00pm-1:00am Friday-Saturday: 5:00pm-3:00am Sunday: 5:00pm-11:00pm

VENUE PROFILES

THE TRADER BAR

Darwin is fast becoming a hotspot for cocktail and coffee culture, and this small bar is leading the way. Created by childhood friends Andrew Giles and Pippa Ainsworth, The Trader Bar starts the day as a cafĂŠ with delicious espresso and pastries, but transforms into a bar as the sun goes down. Relax in the luscious outdoor courtyard with a glass of wine or one of the bespoke cocktails. Though small in size, the drink options are large at The Trader. Whether you prefer a simple pint of beer or a more unique beverage, the relaxed ambience of this venue makes it the perfect setting to enjoy afternoon drinks. 3 Harriet Place, Darwin City, NT 0800 T: 0417 882 423 W: thetraderbar.com Opening Hours: Friday: 2pm-12am Saturday-Sunday: 8am-12am

VENUE PROFILES

BARBARA Barbara, a small cocktail and wine bar in Brisbane, takes you away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and back in time to Palm Springs in the 60’s. The bar’s Scandinavian-esque style adds to the comfortable yet exotic vibe that all its customers need to escape the rush of Fortitude Valley just

outside. With events happening frequently, some of Brisbane’s best DJs and bartenders are often found at this unique venue. With a menu created by 2018 The Perfect Blend finalist Mitch Contessi, the delicious drinks are crafted using the best and newest culinary techniques.

105/38 Warner Street, Brisbane City, QLD 4006 T: 0413 812 184 W: www.barbara.bar Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 4pm till late

ELECTRIC LIME

Glassware: Martini glass Garnish: Lime sherbet dusting and an electric high five! Ingredients: 40ml Sipsmith London Dry Gin 10ml Green Chartreuse 15ml Fino sherry 45ml Apple and kiwi syrup Method: Shake and strain

VENUE PROFILES

FAT ANGEL SPORTS BAR & GRILL

Who doesn’t love drinks with a view? The Blackbird Bar & Grill is the perfect example of this with its views of Story Bridge located right on the Brisbane River. Known for their extensive wine list and delicious food, this restaurant and bar provides welcome respite from the tourist area of Eagle Street Pier. The décor is inspired by the decadence of The Roaring Twenties and the speakeasies of the Prohibition era, with the bar stocking popular beers and spirits alongside rare and exclusive scotch, gin, tequila, bourbon and whiskey. There is also a bespoke cocktail menu featuring twists all your favourite classics, such as Tahitian Daquiri, the Molls Martini and the signature Blackbird Spritz. Riverside Centre, 123 Eagle Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000 T: (07) 3229 1200 W: www.blackbirdbrisbane.com.au Opening Hours: Everyday: 12:00pm-3:00pm, 6:00pm-1:30pm 78

VENUE PROFILES

Brisbane finally has an American themed sports bar, complete with American food favourites like buffalo wings, philly cheesesteaks, popcorn shrimp and burgers. The space is fully decked out with American NFL, NBA and UFC merchandise and will be playing the games over

A combination of Australian beers and American brews (Sam Adams, Blue Moon and Coors) are on tap behind the bar. If you love Australian or American sports, this is the ideal sports bar to visit.

eight large screens, four of which can be combined to create one large screen, and each equipped to watch multiple games at once - a mad sport fan’s dream!

QLD 4000 Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday: 11:30am-12:00am

Eagle Lane, Brisbane City

BLACKBIRD BAR & GRILL

SURF CLUB PALM COVE

Located on the edge of one of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most pristine tropical beaches, The Surf Club Palm Cove is the perfect place to enjoy a drink or a meal with a view. Take a seat outside, surrounded by centuriesold melaleuca trees and listen to the peaceful sound of the ocean breeze with your favourite tipple in hand. The inside, newly-renovated bar has a strong wine and beer offering, alongside a few cocktail creations. There is also a bottle shop on site, with an array of beers, ciders, spirits, wines and sparkling for purchase. 135 Williams Esplanade, Palm Cove QLD 4879 T: (07) 4059 1244 W: www.surfclubpalmcove.com.au Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday: 11:00am-10:00pm Sunday: 8:00am-10:00pm

Located in the heart of Brisbane, Malt is the perfect combination of fine dining meets homely hospitality. Taking up three levels of the Wenley House, Queenslandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first municipal marketplace in 1863, the venue spans the Malt Bar on the ground level, the Attic upstairs and the Cellar down below. With distinct design features such as timber arches, local artwork on the walls and backlit spirit bottles behind the bar, it is the ideal combination of old and modern decor. The downstairs bar has a concise yet well-curated wine and sparkling list, a substantial beer offering and a menu of bespoke and classic cocktails. 28 Market Street, Brisbane City, QLD 4000 T: (07) 3236 4855 W: www.maltdining.com.au Opening Hours: Monday-Friday: 11:30am-12:00am Saturday: 5:30pm-12:00am Sunday: Closed

MALT DINING VENUE PROFILES

BAR BUZZ Masterclasses, events, workshops, trainings you name it we have it covered.

BAR BUZZ

Tales of the Cocktail 2018 THE WRAP UP

TALES OF THE COCKTAIL, A WEEK WHERE THE INDUSTRY DESCENDS UPON NEW ORLEANS FOR A COCKTAIL FESTIVAL LIKE NO OTHER. IT IS SOMETHING THE INDUSTRY LOOKS FORWARD TO EVERY YEAR, FROM BARTENDERS TO VENUE OWNERS, COCKTAIL EDUCATORS TO DISTILLERS, MEDIA, SPIRITS BRANDS, AMBASSADORS, CONSULTANTS AND COCKTAIL ENTHUSIASTS. WORDS BY HAYLEY MORISON If you haven’t been following the story I’ll quickly bring you up to speed. Last year scandal broke with the festival’s founder Ann Tuennerman and her husband Paul. The industry had to helplessly look on at what appeared to be the entire operation possibly going down in flames, which would have meant complete devastation for industry folk. Months of uncertainty and investigations into the ‘non-

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profit ‘ event took place, with it being revealed that Ann and Paul, via their ‘Mojo911’ entity, had taken close to $850,000 in ‘professional fees’. Again, I repeat – a ‘non-profit’ organisation.

is a must visit, if you get to TOTC by the way. Caroline Nabors Rosen was named as executive director, with the intention to operate as a fully non-profit organization.

After they finally resigned from the board of directors, it was announced as of February 21 that Tales of the Cocktail had been sold to the Solomon Group and New Orleans bar owner Neal Bodenheimer of Cure and Cane & Table – a restaurant/bar which

SO WHAT IS TALES EXACTLY? TOTC, founded in 2002 by Ann Tuennerman, originally started with with a small group of spirit experts and

writers that embarked on a historical walking tour around the city, of New Orleans. They came from various cities across the country and gathered in one location as a way of socially sharing information. It then evolved into a half-day cocktail experience for anyone that enjoyed cocktails - a bar tour, one could say. Then in 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit, destroying the city. With all efforts turned to restoring

New Orleans, the mission of Tales became to function as a yearly non-profit charity festival to support the city, its people and the cocktail industry. As the drinks community and the festival itself expanded so did the investment of brands, and once Ann personally invested her entire savings, Tales of the Cocktail began to grow. With a schedule jam-packed with seminars, masterclasses, spirited dinners, events, tasting rooms, take overs, pop-ups, and mammoth parties every day, new up-and-coming cocktail bartenders from around the globe travel to NOLA for the opportunity to participate in its Cocktail Apprentice Program (CAP). This role sees these aspiring bartenders up at 6am, working behind the scenes to prepare, serve and clean up seminars, tasting rooms and events – a feat they need to be

recognised for. These guys work long hours on a voluntary basis for the chance to work with some of the most influential and experienced talents in the industry and to form life-long friendships with industry enthusiasts from across the globe, which they may never have encountered otherwise. Big brands bring big parties. Not forgetting the all-star roster of historians, experts and enthusiasts that lend their expertise to highly educational seminars and tasting events.

THE SHOW GOES ON… In 2018, industry folk from far and wide descended on New Orleans like a fat kid on cake. From visiting Tales for the first time the year before, instantly it was noticeably different. First it was even hotter… we are talking close to 40 degrees every day.

Events were downscaled in size though, and the brand presence was a lot less. There was still a significant amount of events on each day, with countless seminars, tasting rooms, pop-ups, takeovers etc., but everything was reduced in terms of investment. Rightly so… being unsure of the turn out, brands were hesitant. But the folks that did attend were treated to some incredible events, with an around the clock schedule. Being a part of the Aussie contingent, I can’t reveal all happenings, but there was certainly laughter, tears, sweat, and a seriously good time had by all.

THE FINAL NIGHT: THE SPIRITED AWARDS

for 2018, and after months of filtering through the impressive pool of nominees and deliberating the finalists, the awards took place at the Orpheum Theater in New Orleans on the final evening of Tales of the Cocktail. A global industry audience turned out to celebrate the hard work of the industry and those crowned the best of the best. The Spirited Awards first took place in 2007, and have grown to be one of the most prestigious and honourable awards in the industry. The awards do not only recognise individuals, but venues, brand ambassadors, new brands, and writers also.

This is the moment for the industries best to celebrate in all their glory. I was fortunate enough to be a judge again

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HOW TO SURVIVE TALES: 1. Hydrate, and NOT with alcohol. Just because it’s free, you don’t have to consume it. Dandelyan: World’s Best Cocktail menu

HERE THEY ARE, THE 2018 SPIRITED AWARD® RECIPIENTS: AMERICAN CATEGORIES: • Best American Bar Team Sweet Liberty Drinks & Supply Co., Miami, FL • American Bartender of the Year Yael Vengroff, The Spare Room, Los Angeles, CA • Best American Brand Ambassador Anne Louise Marquis, Campari America • Best American Cocktail Bar Lost Lake, Chicago, IL • Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar The NoMad Bar, New York City, NY • Best American Hotel Bar The Broken Shaker Miami at The Freehand, Miami, FL • Best American Restaurant Bar Clyde Common, Portland, OR

• Best International Restaurant Bar Sager & Wilde, London • Best New International Cocktail Bar Coupette, London

• Best New American Cocktail Bar Navy Strength, Seattle, WA International Categories • Best International Bar Team The American Bar, The Savoy, London • International Bartender of the Year Joe Schofield, Tippling Club, Singapore • Best International Brand Ambassador Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador • Best International Cocktail Bar Happiness Forgets, London • Best International High Volume Cocktail Bar The Clumsies, Athens • Best International Hotel Bar The American Bar, The Savoy, London

• Best Broadcast, Podcast or Online Video Series Life Behind Bars

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WRITING CATEGORIES • Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication The Daily Beast, Half Full Section • Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer M. Carrie Allan, The Washington Post, Imbibe, and more • Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book Meehan’s Bartender Manual by Jim Meehan • Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History or Spirits By the Smoke and the Smell by Thad Vogler

GLOBAL CATEGORIE: • Best Bar Mentor Andy Seymour, Liquid Productions • Best New Spirit or Cocktail Ingredient Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Jabali • World’s Best Cocktail Menu Dandelyan, London • World’s Best Spirit Selection Sweet Liberty Drinks & Supply Co., Miami, FL • World’s Best Bar The American Bar at The Savoy, London • Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award John Lermayer

2. RSVP to everything before going. Register prior via the app, and pick up your wristbands on day one. Be organised. 3. Download the app and be aware of your schedule. Attend as many events as possible to get a feel for the entire epic ‘Tales Experience’. 4. Attend as many seminars as possible. These are highly informative, educational and inspirational as well as provide great insight to controversial and trending topics. 5. Alibi – use this as a meeting place if you ever get lost. It’s here you find yourself, then lose yourself very quickly… 6. Purchase talcum powder. You will sweat. 7. Two words to remember - Big Easy. Frozen drinks in the sweltering heat will save your life. 8. Bachannal Sunday is a must. 9. Don’t begin a health kick or 8-week challenge prior to attending tales. Fresh food and good coffee is not always readily available. They won’t know what your almond milk macchiato is… But they know what percolated coffee is! 10. Understand internal flights in the USA are f**ked and you will ALWAYS be delayed.

-FORBES,

DECEMBER 2016

-FORBES,

DECEMBER 2016

Gin made the way it used to be, Ginway made the waybe.it used to be, the it should the way it should be. Sipsmith® London Dry Gin, 41.6% Alc./Vol. ©2017 Sipsmith Distillery London, UK. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Please Sip Responsibly.

FEATURE

WIN

THE ULTIMATE BARTENDER’S TRIP! A winner from each category will travel to Beam Suntory’s award winning distilleries - Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark receiving the ©

VIP treatment. Then off to Bar Convent Brooklyn in New York, also experiencing some of the world’s best bars.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS • Log on to www.the-blend.com.au • State which category you are entering: Apprentice or Professional • Choose the journey of your cocktail inspiration: 1. Minimal waste, maximum taste 2. That moment in time • Select your ‘hero’ spirit from the Beam Suntory portfolio* • Submit your entry and join us on The Perfect Blend journey! *Selected spirits only

OPTION 1

OPTION 2 CREATE A SIGNATURE COCKTAIL FROM ONE OF THE TWO OPTIONS.

minimal waste

Maximum taste!

That moment in time...

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FEATURE

Log onto www.the-blend.com.au to submit your cocktail. Full T&C’s are available on the website.

@The_Blend

@TheBlendAU