Bars & Clubs July - August 2015

NAREN YOUNG

THE ART OF CREATING A KILLER MENU

NEW BLOOD

THE BARTENDERS GETTING ATTENTION AROUND THE COUNTRY

TIKI DREAMS

HOW TO BRING A TROPICAL TOUCH TO YOUR BAR

AMERICAN

WHISKEY Delve into the classic category

PLUS: TOP SHELF FESTIVAL PREVIEW • GIN AND BOTANICALS • THE BLOODY MARY • CIDER 101 • BRANDY

FIRST DRINKS

I

t’s a good time to be Australian.

Especially if you happen to work in the bar industry or in the local liquor industry. I’ve always had a passion for craft beer and the rapidly expanding craft beer market in our big old country has proved to be a constant source of inspiration and discovery.

Working hand in hand with the slow food movement, the ‘slow beer’ ideal is spreading, with drinkers looking to try something new, support local brands, and to ‘drink local’. The fact that some amazing, world-beating brews have been churned out of breweries as far afield as Byron Bay, Fremantle (the WA one), and Beechworth (in Victoria) is pretty impressive, and the Australian craft beer scene is continuing to grow week by week.

So it’s with no small amount of anticipation that I have been watching

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the Australian spirits market follow the same path. And like the beer market, our spirits have been making waves on an international stage – I don’t need to point to Tasmanian whisky, the clear forerunner and a well-established part of the global spirit landscape, and then there is the array of gin brands that have exploded in recent times as well.

Like craft beer, the local craft spirits boom can be leveraged to give your venue an edge when it comes to upgrading customers to top shelf products and expanding their taste horizons. The premiumisation trend is showing no signs of abating, and local brands fit right in the sweet spot of what consumers are looking for: great stories, premium products, and bragging-to-their-mates rights.

For a lot of small bars it’s a nobrainer. With a point of difference set firmly in the camp of ‘keeping ahead of the curve’, Aussie spirits should be on every back bar. But for those bars that are a little reticent to take on the risk of a more perishable craft beer lineup, craft spirits represent an excellent opportunity to mix up the top shelf and offer a point of difference to customers that are, by and large, looking for new flavours and interesting drinks to expand their personal repertoire.

Naturally, I’m very excited about the huge range of Australian and international spirits, local and international beers, and of course quality wines, which will be featuring at this year’s Top Shelf Festival in Melbourne on 8-9 August.

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The show is set to be a cracker with plenty for the trade as well as consumers – with lots of samples, brand reps and seminars aimed at getting you the best information in the industry on a huge range of subjects. Everything is being covered, from How to Open a Bar, to So You Want to Be a Sommelier, to the guys behind PDT in New York talking you through how to successfully batch cocktails for your own venue – a one way ticket to consistent products and super slick service, even if you can’t hide your entrance in a phone booth like the original. It’s a full program and there is certainly something for everyone, no matter what your particular interests are.

I am even leading a few seminars myself – indulging my twin passions of craft beer and craft spirits with the amazing brewers and distillers that have made the Australian industry what it is. Please come and introduce yourself if you see me floating around the show (read: running around like a maniac) as I’m always interested in meeting people in the industry and making new contacts. It is so hard to keep up with all the amazing scenes around the country, so the chance to meet bartenders and bar operators from outside of our base city of Sydney is always welcome.

Cheers,

Stefanie Collins Editor

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MANAGING DIRECTOR Simon Grover PUBLISHER Paul Wootton pwootton@intermedia. com.au EDITOR Stefanie Collins scollins@intermedia.com.au EDITOR-AT-LARGE James Wilkinson jwilkinson@intermedia. com.au CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Jacqueline Jane Amanda Koh NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Mark Ryu mryu@intermedia.com.au (02) 85866123 GERNERAL SALES – HOSPITALITY & LIQUOR Shane T Williams stwilliams@intermedia. com.au GRAPHIC DESIGN Ryan Vizcarra ryanv@intermedia.com.au PRODUCTION MANAGER Jacqui Cooper PUBLISHED BY The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd ABN 940 025 83 682 41 Bridge Road, GLEBE, NSW Australia, 2037 Telephone: 02 9660 2113 Fax: 02 9660 1883

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“For bars that are reticent to take on craft beer, craft spirits are a point of difference for customers.”

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40 TIKI DREAMS

Tiki bars, and their accompanying cocktails have been capturing the imagination of drinkers for decades – so what is the secret to a successful tiki venture?

FLAVOURS IN

JULY/AUGUST

FEATURE LIST

REGULAR LIST

18

AMERICAN WHISKEY

8

16

All the latest industry news.

The newest beers, ciders, and mixers.

NEWS

What you need to know about this classic spirit.

36

MENU PSYCHOLOGY Naren Young talks menu creation and how to do it right.

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TOP SHELF FESTIVAL 2015 PREVIEW Coulour changing gin, flaming cocktails, and the world's smallest bar.

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OPENINGS The new, the revamped and the rebranded venues opening around the country.

24

GIN & BOTANICALS How to make the most of the botanicals that make gin so unique.

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The bartenders that have caught the eye of the best in the industry.

The local distilling revolution is continuing at a rapid rate.

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20

OPERATOR PROFILE The guys behind Applejacks Hospitality spill their secrets.

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30

A NEW GUARD

IN THE COOLER

AUSTRALIAN SPIRITS

BEHIND THE BAR

52

ALL ABOUT CIDER

14

Get ahead of the trend game with our cider 101.

It’s time to bust a few myths.

BLOODY MARY

The latest wines and spirits for your back bar.

ENTRIES NTRIES ARE NOW OPEN OP PEN TO AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA’S MOST TALENTED BARTENDERS REGISTER YOUR INTEREST VIA AUSTRALIA@BACARDILEGACY.COM

BE PART OF THE BACARDÍ LEGACY Entries close midnight EST Thursday, August 13th, 2015 LIVE PASSIONATELY. DRINK RESPONSIBLY. BACARDÍ and the Bat Device are Registered Trademarks of BACARDÍ & Company Limited.

NEWS VIBE THE BARS, THE EVENTS, THE THE DRINKS, DRINKS, THE THE PASSION BRANDS

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MELBOURNE GIN COMPANY EXPANDS THE much sought after Melbourne Gin Company gin is set to expand its reach in a distribution deal with Cerbaco Distribution. The agreement will see the ‘Melbourne Dry Gin’ distributed outside of its home state, to New South Wales, Tasmania and the ACT. The small batch gin is produced by Gembrook Hill winemaker Andrew Marks, at his family’s winery – where he also produces his own wine label, The Wanderer. On the market since 2013, the gin “doffs its hat” to London Dry Gin with juniper berries and coriander seed as its major botanical components.

There are an additional 11 botanicals in the recipe, including grapefruit peel and rosemary from the garden at Gembrook Hill Vineyard, alongside macadamia, sandalwood, honey lemon myrtle and organic navel orange – all Australian sourced – and the exotic botanicals angelica root, orris root and cassia bark.

Marks makes use of his wine-maker training, distilling each botanical separately and then blending them into the final recipe. To further enhance the botanicals, the distillery uses a copper pot bain-marie alembic still – a still traditionally used for making perfume. In order to create a uniquely ‘Melbourne’ style of gin, the only water used is Gembrook rainwater sourced just 60 kilometres from Melbourne.

SMOKING BANS ENFORCED IN NSW WHILE SA RELAXES THEIRS AS of 6 July, new laws have come into effect across New South Wales that will see bans on smoking in commercial outdoor dining areas and within four metres of pedestrian access to any licensed premise.

Any patron caught in breach of the law will be subject to an on-the-spot fine of $300, while the operators will face a $5,500 fine for non-compliance. The South Australian Government has also pledged its commitment to make outdoor dining areas smoke-free by July 2016. However, Health Minister Jack Snelling has made it clear venues will be allowed to serve ‘snack foods’ in outdoor areas where smoking is allowed – in line with Responsible Service of Alcohol requirements. Snelling said after having a closer look at the new rules, the Government came to the decision that it was reasonable for licenced premises to be able to serve snacks, such as chips and nuts, in smoking areas.

RARE TASTING OF THE WORLD’S ‘OLDEST’ GIN A SPECIAL tasting of Gin 1495, which replicates what is believed to be the oldest gin recipe on record, took place in Sydney as part of the World Gin Day celebrations.

The gin, made by French producer EWG Spirits & Wine, which also makes G’Vine gin, was created after spirits educator Philip Duff unearthed the recipe in an out-of-print Dutch-language history of jenever tome and shared it with EWG master distiller Jean-Sebastien Robicquet.

In Paddington’s appropriately named Juniper Hall, Duff conducted a tutored tasting of the two variants of Gin 1495 – Verbatim, the original 1495 recipe; and Interpretatio, a modern interpretation of the original.

Duff explained how expensive the original gin would have been to make.

“There was no real spice trade in Europe at a decent price at this time,” he said.

Yet the original recipe calls for nutmeg, ginger, cloves, galangal, grains of paradise, cinnamon and cardamom. The recipe also contains a little juniper but, unlike most modern gins, no citrus – citrus fruits were unavailable in the Low Countries at the time. The Interpretatio variant is more juniper-forward and contains citrus, making it more obviously recognisable to modern drinkers as gin.

NEWS

BROOKLYN LAGER TO BE BREWED IN OZ

WORLD RECORD COCKTAIL COVERS UP HEIST

COOPERS Brewery is set to brew and distribute one of America’s leading craft beers, Brooklyn Lager from 1 August.

Coopers and the New York-based Brooklyn Brewery, have reached an in principle agreement for Coopers to brew and keg Brooklyn Lager at its Regency Park facility and distribute the beer in keg, bottle and can formats across Australia and New Zealand.

Distribution would be undertaken by Coopers’ distribution company, Premium Beverages, which would also import and distribute other variants in the Brooklyn range as part of the agreement. Brooklyn Brewery was established in 1988 by former Associated Press Middle East correspondent, Steve Hindy and banker Tom Potter. Today, the brewery is the 11th largest craft brewery in America and exports to 29 countries around the world.

NEWS has broken that the original buyer in the Crown Melbourne’s Guinness World Record breaking cocktail sale was involved in an elaborate multimillion dollar casino heist.

The cocktail, created at Club 23 by bartender Joel Heffernan using Cognac dating back to 1858, was sold for $12,500 but never made it to the intended buyer. On the day, it was reported that the actual buyer, who was seated behind ropes in a thronestyle chair, only took a couple of sips of the cocktail before signing his bill and leaving the remainder of the drink behind. It has now been revealed by Fairfax Media that in fact he did not apparently pay for the drink and indeed was never the intended recipient.

The sale was faked to cover up a $32 million scam perpetrated by the original buyer the day before.

And who was this movie plot-worthy thief? A New Zealand millionaire by the name of James Manning.

The night before the purchase, Manning used his connections on the inside to go on a winning streak that saw him blitz eight consecutive winning hands, netting himself a rather tidy sum.

Fortunately the casino’s security are a suspicious bunch, and they investigated his rather fortuitous streak – according to SMH some of the bets were very, very risky, even for a seasoned gambler. Rather than cause a fuss, Manning and his family were reportedly turfed out of their casino villa in the middle of the night by security and banned from the premises.

Into the breach stepped a regular, Giang Nguyen, a financial backer of the Geelong Football Club.

He signed for the cocktail, took a sip or two then scooted out – and was apparently recouped the amount in full by the casino at a later date.

As for the cocktail recipe – it featured two nips of Cognac Croizet’s 1858 Cuvee Leonie Cognac – which had previously sold at auction for USD$157,000 – as well as Grand Marnier Quintessence, Chartreuse Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé and a dash of Angostura bitters.

For more visit professional.topshelfshow.com.au.

SYDNEY GETS FIRST DEDICATED GIN DISTILLERY AS the thirst for gin continues unabated, Sydney has gained its third distillery, with the launch of Poor Toms Gin in Marrickville.

The brainchild of Griffin Blumer and Jesse Kennedy, the duo began making gin at home a few years ago before investing all their savings in a 200 litre German copper still (named Jane).

“In our share house in Enmore we started trying new German gins, like Monkey 47 and Ferdinand’s, and they blew our minds,” says Blumer. “Jesse hated his job, I was performing Shakespeare to school kids, and we thought, ‘why aren’t we making gin? That seems way more fulfilling’. We realised we needed a bigger still to make something really good, so we spent all the money we saved doing these other jobs on a still.”

Blumer and Kennedy were then joined by one of Australia’s most experienced gin distillers, Marcel Thompson. He began his career as an assistant distiller with United Distillers NZ in 1987, as well as playing apprentice to some of the legends of Australasian gin making. And so Poor Toms was born. The brand is focussed on creating a gin that is “an idiosyncratic expression of who we are and the city we live in”, trialling over 100 individual distillations in the search for the perfect Sydney Dry Gin. “We see Sydney as a really ballsy and irreverent place, particularly the Inner West where we live, and where we make the gin,” he says. “The city we know is unconventional and it doesn’t taste like a conservative London dry gin.”

Made with a quality Australian wheat spirit, Poor Toms is distilled with ten botanicals, including fresh green apple, native strawberry gum, and chamomile.

“With a small, craft operation you have the opportunity to make something unique,” says Blumer. “Our German still has a three-plate rectification column, which allows us to be precise and get really clear and bright flavours. So our ingredients give the gin a fresh, floral, delicate fruit profile.”

Unlike their local distilling brethren – Archie Rose and Young Henrys – Blumer and Kennedy are dedicated solely to distilling gin, something that Blumer says was a conscious decision from the outset.

For more on this story visit professional.topshelfshow.com.au.

bars&clubs 11

OPENINGS

BARRIO CELLAR

With the a basement space opening up in the CBD, vacated by another iconic venue Spice Cellar, the team behind Barrio Chino, the successful Kings Cross tacqueria and tequileria, seized the opportunity to open a new space dedicated to rethinking agave spirits. And serving some cracking Mexican food. We chatted to the team about their new venture.

Why did you decide to open the new bar?

Dining options have been fairly limited in the area and Sydney is devoid of late night dining options so we wanted to fill that gap. The bar was very much inspired by a recent trip that some of the team made to the States and Mexico, including our executive chef, Kieran Cronin. We literally had 10 meals a day because we wanted to immerse ourselves in Mexican food culture as much as possible. Peter [Lew] wanted for Martin Place to have a special place in Sydneysider's stomachs – that’s part of the reason we are also open Friday lunch, which has already been a great success.

What influenced the style of the venue?

The space has been re-vamped by our award-winning architects and interior designers at Luchetti Krelle [also behind ACME, The Butler, and Hotel Centennial]. We wanted it to be refined with subterranean warmth – we visualised a Mexican twist on the Art-Deco movement – so the basement venue is perfectly suited to take customers from 4pm cocktails to 2am tortas. We were inspired by the famous New York Mexican bar and restaurant, La Esquina. We have always admired Spice Cellar and the first time we walked in it reminded us of La Esquina – so we knew it had to be our new project.

What types of cocktails are on the menu?

All our cocktails were designed to celebrate and exhibit our extensive tequila and mezcal selection. We are trying to move past the stereotype of every tequila based cocktail being a standard margarita and actually showcasing the

versatility and finesse inherent in all agave spirits.

Many of our cocktails feature our homemade infused tequila such as chipotleinfused Espolon Blanco and strawberry infused AgudoBlanco. Popular choices have been the Naked Lady (strawberry-infused Agudo Blanco, crème de cacao, Cointreau, lemon, lime and bitters); the Rhubarita (Agudo Reposado, Licor 43, rhubarb puree, agave, lemon, and mint); Carlitos Campfire (Bruxco No#1 Mezcal, Monkey Shoulder, lemon, ginger, agave, and peach); and our Tommy’s Margarita (El Jimador Reposado, lime, and agave nectar).

How was the food menu developed?

It was put together after our recent trip to Tijuana, Ensenada and Baja California. Favourites would have to be our ceviche with market cured fish – think Hirasama kingfish, heirloom cherry tomato and three chilli compote, and avocado; or octopus with citrus, habanero, pumpkin seeds, tomato, caramelised avocado and salsa rojo – or our San Fran-style tacos and of course our infamous Barrio Hamburguesa which we brought with us from Barrio Chino.

Where do you see it fitting in the Sydney bar scene?

We’re a brand new vibrant

OPENINGS

tequila bar serving Mexican street food until the early hours of the morning, Monday through Saturday, so I think we will fit right in. As Sydney's newest basement bar, we wanted to create a place that was really hip and that would fill the void of tequila bars in Sydney.

There's a plethora of whisky bars, rum bars and wine bars so we really wanted to create a hip place for all the tequila enthusiasts to meet.

Barrio Cellar 58 Elizabeth St, Sydney NSW (02) 9232 7380

NEW, REFURBISHED, REFITTED & RESTORED VENUES NOW OPEN AROUND AUSTRALIA.

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OPENINGS

HOWLIN’ WOLF GETS HUNGRY HUNGRY Wolf is Wollongong’s newest eatery, a welcome extension and next door neighbour of Howlin’ Wolf, one of the town’s favourite small bars. The New York-inspired joint features a hybrid of American cuisine with elements of Asian street food, with a focus on free range and organic produce. Dishes include southern fried tenders, house brisket and cornbread, and Korean wings and Asian greens. There is plenty for the vegetarian and the gluten-avoiders too – think pearl barley and roasted tomatoes with pulled mushrooms; or fried tomato, cabbage hash and buffalo mozzarella.

The retro-style of the solid brass counter and black and white tiles reference its sister venue over the arcade, with outdoor seating for 40 integrating the two destinations. Punters can order refreshments from the bar’s selection of over 100 whiskies, or the cocktail menu.

Hungry Wolf, 53-61 Crown St, Wollongong NSW 0417 265 272

BLOODY MARY’S DOES JUST THAT SYDNEY’S first dedicated Bloody Mary spot has opened with the launch of Bloody Mary’s bar and diner. With a menu that is all about its namesake cocktail, the bar also features American dinerstyle cuisine – Spam burgers anyone? – along with some pretty serious garnishes. Highlights include the Bloody Caesar – a Clamato juice Bloody Mary served with cos lettuce, a prawn and bacon – as well as the Bloody Hell – a chilli infused vodka version served with a prawn, a slider and a buffalo wing. The bar has ten Bloody Mary variations, and the spirit selection isn’t limited either, with gin, tequila, dark rum and vodka all featuring on the list. Bloody Mary’s is the creation of Cinta Rockey, a Bloody Mary fanatic who says she has been waiting for the perfect moment to bring her idea to life. She started experimenting by making her own tomato juice, with months spent tweaking the recipe in her kitchen before she was 100 per cent happy. Rockey also has an interest in interior design, working the space to create a Hamptonsinspired fit out, including a leafy courtyard area.

The bar slash diner is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, with the full cocktail menu available around the clock.

Bloody Mary’s, 332 Victoria St, Darlinghurst NSW (02) 9360 5568

BRISBANE MEETS ITS MAKER MAKER has opened on the South Bank of Brisbane with a focus on creative cocktails driven by local spirits and native produce. The cocktail menu leans toward the exceptionally creative, with a focus on creating an experience for customers and challenging perceptions of what can work. The menu features Russell’s Reserve 10-year-old with black garlic and caramel syrup, mint and eucalyptus liqueur, and mint and native thyme; a Fire Drum Vodka martini with house dry vermouth, saline, kombu tincture and pickled seablite; or beeswaxwashed whisky that is cold dripped through coffee, pollen syrup and macadamia oil, and served with a black garlic bread, roast macadamia crumb, and local honeycomb. With food yet to be running at the time of print, executive chef Cormack Bradfield was designing modern Australian bar snacks – think chargrilled yabby tails, seared scallops and house-cured local charcuterie with options such as water buffalo biltong and wild boar loin rotating through the menu. The small bar – it currently seats 25 with further expansion planned – has taken its design inspiration from Japan, with the single focal point in the bar being the charcuterie cabinet.

Maker, Fish Lane, South Brisbane QLD

bars&clubs 13

BLOODY Mary

The

14 bars&clubs

CLASSIC COCKTAIL

Russ McFadden dives into the world of the Bloody Mary in an attempt to clear up the confusion about just where it came from, and what is actually supposed to be in one.

“CONSISTENCY IS KEY” Three words that anyone with the fortune, or inherent misfortune, to work with me during my time behind the stick will have heard repeatedly from my talky round hole. Generally the words would follow the finding of a misplaced bottle in the rail, a half-assed garnish or a blatant disregard for house specs. Consistency is, in no small part, what defines someone who mixes drinks, as a bartender. I constantly refer to the kitchen and how regimented your average brigade is, sometimes way beyond that of a crack bar team.

My point? Even outside the confines of your own bar and into a world of house-twists, a martini should taste like a martini, a daiquiri a daiquiri, right? Regardless of where you drink there are some drinks that should remain pretty much the same base mix of gin and vermouth or rum, sugar and lime. That’s why they are ‘classics’. So, to clear up this seemingly fuzzy point I am stabbing at: I dare you to try to order a Bloody Mary in five bars and get two drinks that share exactly the same ingredients. Does this enrage my inner anal-retentive?

Absolutely not.

“OUR HOUSE BLOODY MARY” The Bloody Mary seems to have taken on a life of it’s own and every single bartender, boozehound, blogger or weekend boozer seems to have their own secret recipe, spice blend or super extravagant garnish to make it their own. From the humble beginnings of spirit and tomato juice, this savoury delicious eye-opener has seen everything from bacon, shellfish and beef, to the Sydney Eastern-Suburban kale and/or cucumber.

Frankly this is the one drink that I challenge you to experiment with, outdo each other and generally go wild. Even if only for the reason that it will give me an excuse to come drinking in your venue at 11am.

HOW, WHEN, WHERE? Aside from being a drink with so many individual twists and takes, it’s also a drink that I personally found pretty tough to pin down historically. A reasonably long time ago I made top 10 UK Bartender of the Year and found myself in London alongside some serious peers.

I spent weeks prior to the comp reading up on my classics but never came as unstuck on any drink as I did the Bloody Mary. It seemed that the more I found out about the drink the less I seemed to know. Every story had a counter tale, dates didn’t match, availability of ingredients didn’t always tally up and cited stories had nothing in print to back them up.

The most common story and the one that I had

accepted as gospel for a long time, states that the drink was created at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in 1921 by one Ferdinand Petiot. A mix of vodka, tomato, lemon, pepper and Worcestershire sauce gently rolled or simply stirred to avoid losing the viscosity of the tomato juice.

Folklore tells us that Petiot moved to Manhattan around 1934 and made the drink for guests at the St Regis hotel. With vodka still very much a European spirit he substituted more freely available gin and changed the name to the Red Snapper to appease his slightly prudish manager.

This story is unfortunately not backed up by much, if any, evidence. The Bloody Mary did not appear on the menu at Harry’s or in his ABC of Mixing Cocktails until a much later date. Not to mention that in 1921 Harry’s was actually named simply The New York Bar and was owned and operated by former jockey Ted Sloane.

Shortly after I learned the Petiot story, I came across a chap called George Jessel. Jessel was an American actor who had reportedly first mixed up a concoction of one part vodka and one part tomato juice. His autobiography reports that in 1927, after a softball win, he and team mates partied until 8am. Suddenly realising a need to sober up for a 9.30am volleyball date he reached for a tomato juice to cleanse his hangover. To spike it up one of the party reached for a bottle of a strange new spirit called vodkee (vodka only really took foothold in the US in the late 40s).

Jessel reports grabbing lemon and Worcestershire sauce to help mask the “rotten potato smell”.

WHAT'S IN A NAME? Jessel went on to explain: “Mary Brown Warburton walked in. She had obviously been out all night because she was still dressed in a beautiful white evening dress.

‘Here, Mary, take a taste of this and see what you think of it.’ Just as she did, she spilled some down the front of her white evening gown, took one look at the mess, and laughed, ‘Now, you can call me Bloody Mary’”.

In 1964 Petiot revealed in a new paper interview that he did not create the drink but claims he improved Jessel’s drink which was “nothing but vodka and tomato juice”.

Who created it? Who named it? Vodka or gin? All questions that could take up this whole publication before we even take a look at how best to mix one.

Whole books have been written and the debate will continue. I don’t aim to answer those questions right here but merely provide you with some of the things I have found and encourage you to delve deeper, ideally while contemplating the mistakes of last night over a pint of spicy red goodness. b&c

Best

CONSUM(MÉ)ED – WHERE TO DRINK Needless to say, if you’re in Paris check out ‘sank roo doe noo’ (the phonetic pronunciation of Harry’s New York Bar’s address in Paris, which you’ll find at 5 rue Daunou) for that little bit of history. Otherwise you can’t fail to try these bad boys.

LE BON TON’S BLOODY MARY Melbourne based Evan Stanley doesn’t buy into the over zealous garnish craze raging the globe of late and this mix of smoked tomatoes, charred capsicum and blended celery is best consumed leisurely in the suburban turfed back yard of Le Bon Ton. “At the end of the day it’s a drink” he says.

“Don’t be messing about with a forest on top”.

EAU DE VIE’S ERNEST’S NEW TOMATO COCKTAIL Sadly, unless you’re hungover enough to be rolling out of bed sometime around dinner, this one will have to wait ‘til this late night drinking den opens at 6pm. Worth it to try Australia’s Best Bloody Mary 2014 however.

BAR SARDINE’S GREEN BAY MARY Next time you’re in NYC, check out these guys in the West Village. Green tomatillo and cucumber with their house spice. It’s green so it’s got to be good for you right? Maybe not but it’s delicious anyway.

bars&clubs 15

IN THE COOLER

COOPERS EXTRA STRONG VINTAGE ALE 2015 7.5% ABV The traditional ruby hue of the 2015 Vintage Ale heralds the arrival of a new hop bill that features both bittering and aromatic characteristics. The driving hop this year is Melba – developed at Ellerslie Hop Estate, and imparting stone-fruit and citrus flavours.

Other hop varieties include Ella and Vic Secret, added late to maximise and accentuate passionfruit, peach, and spicy flavours.

Styrian Goldings and Cascade were added after fermentation, for balance, depth of flavour and to enhance the spicy, floral and fruity undertones. There is a noticeable increase in bitterness to enrich the other hop flavours and leave a smooth lingering aftertaste.

Distributed by: Coopers 1300 654 455

4 PINES OAKED BALTIC PORTER 500ML 7.5% ABV Aged in oak whisky barrels from Tasmania’s Lark Distillery since December 2014, this Baltic Porter is high in alcohol, sweet on the tongue and robust in flavour. 4 Pines describes it as involving a smug Cossack standing in the corner dousing himself in gooey chocolate syrup – or smooth and warming with a rich, sweet body. This brew has been partially aged in French oak whisky barrels for six months to give it a unique complexity of light vanilla and earthy minerals.

Distributed by: 4 Pines Brewing (02) 9099 2720

APPLEJACKS CIDER 5.4% ABV Applejacks cider is made with New Zealand Cox Pippin apples just north of Wellington, before it is “cut” with 42Below vodka in order to offset the often face-pulling sweetness associated with cider. Designed to combat the idea among consumers that cider is too sweet, the addition of vodka makes for a crisp, dry-tasting cider. There’s about half a shot of 42Below vodka in every bottle of Applejacks. The cider comes in two flavours: Pippin Dry has a fresh, crisp apple hit with a dry and less-sweet flavour; and Ginger Jive has dry apple upfront and a lengthy kick of ginger spice.

Distributed by: Bacardi 13 15 13

SMALL ACRES CYDER CAT’S PYJAMAS CIDER 8.5% ABV Named after the 1920s saying, which means “the best one can do” this isn’t an average cider. Only produced in years when the apples are of exceptional quality, containing the right fruit and acid balance required for employment of the traditional winemaking technique ‘Methode Traditionelle’, the 2013 vintage is the first to go on sale since the 2011 vintage sold out. The cider has been made with traditional winemaking techniques – malolactic fermentation, lees stirring and 24 month oak barrel maturation. The champagne sized bottles are handriddled and hand disgorged.

Distributed by: Small Acres Cyder (02) 6365 2286

YOUNG HENRYS HOP ALE 6.0% ABV Young Henrys have given their Hop Ale a winter make-over in light of the lower quality hop season that hit the industry. Realising they wouldn't be able to keep getting hold of all the hops they needed for the recipe of one of their core brews, the Hop Ale, the team have adapted the recipe to create a darker version of their classic. With strong bitterness, big aroma, sweet malt, and a solid body, it is the same Hop Ale, just darker. Not stout-black, but more a super dark red with crimson hues when held to the light.

Distributed by: Young Henrys (02) 9519 0048

VALE BREWING FOX HAT METRIC IPA 7.0% ABV The new owners at Vale Brewing in SA have expanded their range with Fox Hat Metric IPA joining Fox Hat Phat Mongrel. While the latter is a solid black, nitro-charged, American-style oatmeal stout, the former is a solid IPA with the highest alcohol by volume to come out of Vale Brewing so far. A light-hearted and belated homage to the little-celebrated move from the imperial to metric system almost 50 years ago, the beer packs a huge 80 International Bitterness Units and offers a solid head and simple resinous pine and fruity hop aromas.

More beers will be rolled out under the Fox Hat label in the next few months.

Distributed by: Vale Brewing (08) 7071 3520

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Russell’s reserve is a small batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, created by Wild Turkey Master Distillers Jimmy and eddie Russell.

Sourced from the ‘centre cut’ of the rick house (levels 3-5), only 150200 barrels are selected for each batch.

The Russell’s Reserve range is now available. Contact your Campari representative: Nsw: (02) 9478 2727 Vic / Tas: (03) 9249 2700 Qld: (07) 3253 1800 Sa: (02) 9478 2700 Wa: (08) 9347 2600 Nt: 0488 236 262 General Enquiries: 1300 856 759 DRINK RESPONSIBLY

BOURBON AND CO; A FAMILY BUSINESS

Bourbon may be the face of American whiskey but it is just the start in a long line of products penetrating the hearts and minds of whiskey drinkers worldwide. Jacob Stern takes a closer look at the flourishing category.

T

he ease of access to global markets has seen whisky go from strength to strength in the last decade. Where previously limited offerings kept hype at a minimum, expanded and varied stockists have taken the buzz around whisky drinking to new heights.

Leading the pack is American whiskey – which has reached a crescendo within the international conversation.

The category has been taking massive strides, gaining a firm foothold in areas that were once the stomping grounds of 'traditional' whisky producing nations. Ryan Lane, general manager at The Gresham, puts it simply: it is the "booming category in the alcohol industry at the moment".

That idea that American whiskey starts and ends with bourbon is quickly being blown out of the water; as consumers and stockers alike realise there far more to America than a bottle of Jack.

FAMILY HISTORY Although the alcohol industry may appear to have a checkered history in America, the reality has been relatively smooth sailing. Prohibition lasted only a decade – and certainly adds to the charm of the drink today.

While the earliest accounts of a whiskey-like drink in America come from the East Coast in the early 1700s – it was the Irish immigration to ingredient rich areas like Kentucky and Tennessee that truly led to the birth of the drink.

Tim Ryder, the brand manager for Woodford Reserve, traces the Woodford name back these times – the year 1797 in Kentucky, to be precise. It was here that the distillery "made several landmark discoveries and innovative practises – such as sour mashing, yeast propagation, copper pot distillation and the maturing of whiskey in new, charred oak casks".

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Fruitful times ensued as distillers appeared in increasing numbers. Through the seventeen and eighteen hundreds a minimal number of issues arose – those of note including a resistance against taxes and levies, and the introduction of legislation to fight against fraud and malpractice.

Perhaps the most poignant moment America's whiskey history was not the ban from 1922-1933, but rather the recognition from Congress in 1964 that bourbon was a 'distinct product of the USA'.

This acknowledgement was followed by the implementation of a legal statute that mandated the defining characteristics of bourbon – a move that sought to ensure the longterm quality of the nation's signature drink.

EXTENDING THE BROOD While thoughts of America naturally lead to thoughts

AMERICAN WHISKEY HAVE A RANGE OF

of bourbon, this does not mean there is a dearth of alternative offerings. An assortment of rye whiskies, white whiskies (also known as moonshine) and malt whiskies have started to gain in market share – with Sydney venue Keg & Brew’s licensee Zak Scolari noting that it is important for a good bar to have “a wide range of styles such as Kentucky, Tennessee, straight, wheat and rye, as well as blends”.

What makes bourbon so distinctive is its strict production process, and the legal requirements it must meet in order to be officially labelled bourbon. The most notable of these requirements include corn grain accounting for between 51 per cent and 80 per cent of the mash, and the drink itself being aged in new charred white oak barrels. It is an indication of the strength of American whiskey that, in the face of a global barrel shortage, bourbon producers are still increasing output in order to keep up with growing demand.

Within the bourbon category there are distinct styles of production, with different geographic areas leaving their own unique signatures on the drink. One such style is Tennessee, which, of course, must be produced in its namesake state. This style brings a sweeter nose, as the drink is filtered through maple charcoal before bottling – a procedure known as the Lincoln County Process.

Then there are rye whiskies, which while trailing closely behind bourbons in terms of popularity and sales – remain renowned for being the choice drink for industry experts. Typically a bitterer drop, rye often has a

heavier pepper flavour, and was heavily favoured by early European settlers who found rye the easiest crop to grow.

Rounding out the family is white whiskey, or moonshine, and although slightly less popular here in Australia, it is an old favourite in the United States.

Images of glass jars and a good time are conjured around this, often stronger, product – a drink that is defined by its clear colour and pure taste. Bottled immediately after distillation, water is often added to soften the drink affectionately known to many as ‘white dog’.

JACK AND BROTHERS The trend in the liquor industry of favouring quality over quantity has certainly been reflected in the American whiskey market. Ryder recognises that “consumers are searching for small batch, unique and differentiated offerings” – which, in turn, drives creativity and craft within the producer community.

For bar owners it is becoming increasingly important to stock a wide mix of artisanal brands behind the bar, alongside their more wellknown companions. Scolari points towards the Hudson Manhattan Rye as an example of a more niche offering, suggesting that “it’s delicious, boutique and popular among the high end American whiskey drinkers – and sits nicely alongside the big three of Jack Daniel’s, Maker’s Mark and Wild Turkey”.

Ryder has identified the trend

WHISKEY BEHIND

THE BAR

A CLASSIC OLD FASHIONED

too, recognising “the rise of on-premise outlets who are specialising in outstanding cocktail creations”. He points to the response of Woodford Reserve, and how the “artisanal process allows us to craft using all five sources of bourbon flavour”- flavours that can complement the most exotic cocktail ingredients.

BRANCHING OUT Upswings in the popularity of American whiskey have been pushed forward by a renaissance in quality cocktail making, and by the compilation of cocktails lists that offer both innovation as well as comforting familiarity. This is reflected in the bar culture of the modern day, with Lane enthusing that any bar owner should “get their hands on as many American whiskies as they can”.

For Rory Duncan, the general manager at The Glenmore, a “cocktail that sells extremely well [is] the Blueberry Julep, which consists of a house-infused blueberry Bulleit Rye mixed with grapefruit bitters, mint, sugar and served over crushed ice”. This echoes the position of American whiskey as the ‘right hand’ of quality bartenders across the world – a position that was given more formal recognition when Woodford Reserve took out the World’s 50 Best Bars number one whiskey cocktail for 2015.

That is not to say one should stop drinking it straight; Lane even goes as far as labelling Buffalo Trace as the ‘mothers milk’ for staff and patrons alike.

So American whiskey is taking on the world, and winning – that's a first. b&c

5 CLASSICS WITH ROOM TO MOVE: OLD FASHIONED: The safest bet when it comes to a bourbon cocktail. You can’t go past this mix of sugar, bitters and bourbon. Add just about anything as a signature, there have seen lot – from cider through to pumpkin flavourings.

WHISKEY SOUR: Another bankable mix that works with all manners of whiskey.

Get some gomme syrup, egg white and lemon or lime juice and you’re on your way to an all time crowd pleaser.

MANHATTAN: Head to the rye whiskies for the Manhattan – add a sweet vermouth and some angostura bitters.

This old favourite played a big part in the American whiskey boom, its an essential for all serious cocktail lists.

MINT JULEP: Muddled mint, sugar and water – topped off with a good helping of American whiskey. This ‘herbed up’ drink is fresh and pleasing, and can be twisted each and every way depending on the seasonal produce available at any given time.

IRISH COFFEE: Perfect for the winter months, perfect for any time of day.

Every cocktail list needs a heart warmer; try an American whiskey chai if you're in a more venturesome mood.

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BEN CARROLL (L) AND HAMISH WATTS (R)

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OPERATOR PROFILE

k c a j e l p p A y t i l a t i p s o H

T

he duo behind Applejack Hospitality have a fair bit to celebrate, with the recent opening of The Butler in Sydney's Potts Point bringing their venue count to four in four years. However, despite opening some of Sydney's most successful small bars – Bondi Hardware, SoCal, The Botanist and the aforementioned The Butler – Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll aren't resting on their laurels.

Both having come from careers in hospitality – though Watts admits he “flirted with other areas of employment” – and positions in a high profile pub group means that when it came time to bite the bullet and start their own venture the pair had a solid and varied background in most aspects of venue management.

“I think what we learned during our whole careers has helped,” says Carroll. “Hamish did a lot of café work when he was younger, then worked in different bars and restaurants, and we’ve got a really broad range of skills sets and we don’t copy each other in skills.”

Certainly Watts’ experience on the London hospitality scene has influenced the venues that Applejack is running.

“What I learned from my time overseas was the uniqueness that a lot of independent operators can deliver that the larger pub groups couldn’t,” he says. “So what we used when we were opening our venues – and obviously all four of them are very different – was to create unique and individual spaces and to make them feel really creative, and the concept ran right the way from the style of the venue to the name, down to the food menu and the style of service.”

The ‘top to bottom’ approach is one that is evident throughout all of the duo’s venues with every detail thought through before being implemented. According to Watts, they have had the same approach to creating a personality and a customer experience for each venue, right from the beginning with Bondi Hardware.

“A massive part of the experience is to make sure that the overall atmosphere is electric. And we

COCKTAILS AT THE BUTLER

do that by spending a lot of time making sure that the lighting is right, and the music is bang on so it’s got a vibey sort of bustling feel to it,” he says.

WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER Not that everything gelled from the beginning.

Both Watts and Carroll admit that with every venue they open they learn to work more efficiently and more effectively – which has the knock on effect of making the venue more profitable from an operator point of view.

When it comes to specifics, Carroll isn’t sugar coating anything, saying that they learned to do “everything” smarter as they went along.

“What we’ve worked out at every venue we’ve done, is how to make more money as the operator once it’s open,” he says. “And the way to do that is to make sure that it has been set up correctly from the beginning.”

Watts adds that there is a lot to be said for being organised.

“Be organised through the whole build process,” he says. “Having it all ready to go before you hit the start button means you can save a lot of money and time.”

That, of course, means getting the basics right – from the site right through to the financials.

“First things first, find a site and find a site that actually works for you and works for the

SUPPLIERS Supplier relationships are central to running a good business in hospitality, but when Watts and Carroll talk suppliers they are thinking well outside the box of just food and booze. They are talking kitchen equipment, contractors and town planners. And good relationships aren’t going to just save you money. They will leave you with that other valuable thing: time.

“We now have a full array of different suppliers at our fingers tips,” says Carroll. “We know where we can get the best reconditioned fridges or kitchen equipment, if we need town planners, we know how to get them on board, and so the whole process becomes a lot smoother. So then if we need to source better or cheaper furniture we’ve now got a little bit more time to do that along the way.”

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OPERATOR PROFILE

demographic that you’re trying to attract,” says Carroll. “And then you can try to work a concept around that.”

Similarly, Watts is adamant that a concept can’t be locked in until a site has been found, as doing it in reverse is next to impossible.

“We came up with the idea for the style of venue we were after, then shortly after we found a site that ticked a lot of boxes for us,” he says. “Once we realised what the building’s bones had, and what we could turn it into, we came up with the Hardware concept.”

However, Watts and Carroll don’t recommend following in their footsteps and completing a full retail to hospitality conversion on a first foray into operating a venue – it was a lot of work, to put it mildly.

“The first fit out we did was a complete conversion. So that involved extraction, grease arresters, fit out of plumbing, and electricals, which was a fairly ambitious project – probably wouldn’t do that again,” Watts says. “So key for anyone looking to start out is to find a place that already has all your facilities there, somewhere you can just tart up the toilets, where the kitchen extraction is large enough for your requirements.”

Carroll goes on to add that a space with DA approval and a liquor licence already in place will certainly reduce the risk of investment as well.

FOCUS ON THE FINANCE While the duo admit that their initial financial work on Bondi Hardware could have been stronger, they

REAL ESTATE While there are many keys to a successful business venture both Watts and Carroll are adamant that getting on a good lease will save a fledgling bar a lot of trouble as the business progresses.

“Make sure that you’re not setting yourself up with onerous leases,” says Carroll. “It becomes easier when you’ve got a bit of credibility as an operator and the landlord wants you in there.

“But we can now negotiate a lease where we’ve got a good amount of time for the rent free period, we get some capital to put in to fix up all the mechanical services and those sorts of things.

“Making sure you’re not spending too much money – it’s great if you’ve got a venue that is turning over plenty of money but if you’re paying the landlord a large portion of that then you’re setting yourself up for failure.”

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BONDI HARDWARE

approach each of their venues in the same level of care that they’ve developed since. That means planning everything from break even, to best case scenario, through to worst case scenario. Nothing is left to chance, with Watts commenting that a lot of “blood, sweat and tears” went into creating their first venue in order to get it done within their means.

“A lot of guys when they’re starting out want to go and buy the best of everything – they want to buy new and all their furniture needs to be new,” says Watts. “We were very careful and we still are today.”

According to Carroll, Bondi Hardware taught them to be careful financially as they were investing their life savings and had to make it work – and it is an attitude that has stuck with them.

“It’s really important to make sure you don’t over capitalise,” he says. “Work out your return on investment, how much you’re actually putting in to begin with and how long it’s going to take to pay it off. You don’t want to be overinvesting and trying to get your money back in ten years’ time, because the shelf life on a lot of these bars and restaurants isn’t ten years in the current climate.”

GOOD PEOPLE MAKE GOOD VENUES Staffing is important in any venue and with around 120 staff across their four venues, keeping tabs on them can be a little difficult. Not that it fazes Watts or Carroll. They put a lot of effort into being involved with their staff and being seen to care.

“We know most of their names, something about them and we can go in and have a quick chat to them. It’s not just in and out,” says Carroll. “We try to build a rapport. Sounds a bit cliché but we do try to make it like our family with similar family values to what you’d have at home and everyone understands what they are.”

SOCAL

THE BOTANIST

And their response to how they keep their staff motivated and their venues’ service up to scratch is telling of their entire business ethos.

“People often ask me ‘how do you make sure that everyone is getting good service?’ and I say that I know that there’s good people in there and they’re going to be nice to everybody that they’re serving, so that’s key for us,” says Watts. “We make sure that everyone who works for us or who is part of the team, is actually part of the team and gets along. And they either go out together after work, or they stay around and have a drink, and there is a good sort of culture running the whole way through the company.” b&c

BRANDY

BIRTH OF AN

ICON

With the Australian spirits category going from strength to strength, the original Australian brandy from Angove Estate is launching into the luxury market with new XO additions to its portfolio.

W

hile brandy might not seem like the sort of category that sees much movement, Australian brand St Agnes is used to subverting expectations. In August, the brand will launch its first foray into the rarefied world of luxury brandy, with the release of two ultra-premium XO brandies – the XO Imperial 20 Year Old, and XO Grand Reserve 40 Year Old. The two XOs will be officially released at the Top Shelf Festival in Melbourne on 8 August, a date significant as it marks both the birthday of third generation winemaker and distiller Tom Angove, and the brand’s 90th anniversary. The new XO brandies join the already widely popular XO 15 Year Old, a world-class brandy that has already won three Best in World trophies.

Richard Angove of St Agnes Brandy, and Tom Angove’s grandson, says the company is excited to raise and reposition Australian brandy not only in the Australian market, but the spirits market globally.

“My family has been crafting brandy for over 90 years and we’re excited to now be moving into a new territory of rare, luxury and unique goods.

We have a clear purpose, and that is to do one thing brilliantly, to show the world another face of Australian produce excellence by crafting an iconic Australian spirit of world-class standard,” he says. “The team at St Agnes Distillery is exceptionally proud of these new releases. They represent a uniquely Australian take on the timeless luxury and prestige of XO, and we can’t wait to show them off.”

BRANDY BEHIND THE BAR Angove says that the company is working hard in the on-premise sector to breathe life into the Australian brandy category.

“It is a fantastic locally made spirit that mixes really well and through double pot still distillation is a true piece of Australian craft and wine industry history,” he says. “We will be working with key on premise accounts in developing St Agnes-based cocktails and are just in the process of putting a St Agnes cocktail guide together – bringing some of the old school back like The Sazerac, The Sidecar, and St Agnes and dry ginger. These drinks are fresh and full of flavour and, when made with a good quality Australian brandy, they’re even better.”

Angove believes that what is important behind the bar is taste and flavour, and he is excited to be launching masterclasses to educate bar staff around ‘The ABC of Eaux de Vie’ – with the ABC standing for Armagnac, Brandy, and Cognac – as a way to get them talking about the history and flavours of the old school categories.

“Bartenders are very good at identifying what their customers want and making drinks that

taste great, as well as convincing someone to try something new or different that they have stumbled across,” he says. “We plan to start and finish the masterclasses with a couple of cocktails to show the mixability of brandy and get the ideas flowing.”

THE RANGE Originally established in 1910, the distillery has been handcrafting and ageing brandy, in the historic St Agnes Barrel Halls, every year since 1925.

The St Agnes XO Imperial 20 Year Old has a nose that shows crème caramel, toffee apples, and Christmas cake with underlying chocolate, apricots and almonds. The palate is long, with characters of truffle, walnut, chocolate and poached pear.

The St Agnes XO Grand Reserve 40 Year Old is a dark amber in colour, with a nose of dried figs, hazelnut, orange candy and prunes. The aromatics continue with cocoa, vanilla cream and smoky oak from over four decades in small oak. The palate is complex, with chocolate truffles, hazelnut, prune, almond and cigar box tobacco. b&c

Be the first to experience the new range when it launches at the Top Shelf Festival in Melbourne on 8-9 August. See pages 48-51 for more details.

bars&clubs 23

GIN

GIN & Its Botanicals With the gin revolution well and truly underway, the spirit is well on the way to toppling vodka’s position as the white spirit of choice among consumers. So what is it about gin that has turned it around from “mother’s ruin” to the tipple of choice for so many?

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GIN

T

he resurgence of gin can be put down to a combination of factors, not in the least the innovation of a mature category by leading brands, with the likes of Bombay Sapphire, Beefeater, and Tanqueray reinvigorating their brands. However, according to Grégoire Bertaud, owner of Noble Spirits and importer of Fair Gin, the botanical profiles of some gins began to actively target vodka drinkers, with great success.

“Some gin profiles moved closer to flavoured vodkas with more citrus or floral notes or even unusual flavours such as rose or cucumber,” he says. “We also started to see an improvement in the available tonics on the market that delivered a more enjoyable version of the gin and tonic.”

Throw in the resurgence of classic cocktails and the influence of the Prohibition Era, and the trend began to take shape.

According to Andy Harris, of HMH Beverages, the explosion of gin varieties and flavours on the market is also driving the consumer thirst for gin.

“Gone are the days you walk into a bar and see standard cheaper products,” he says. “Now you have an array of standards, premium and ultra-premium gins from all over the globe.”

He agrees that the marketing of the big brands is what has driven the market and made space for more boutique brands such as locals West Winds and Four Pillars, as well as internationals like the France-based G’Vine in his own portfolio.

Sean Forsyth, brand ambassador for Bombay Sapphire, suggests that the gin category is not just interesting, it is inspirational.

“It’s the biggest growth category for spirits in Australia at the moment and this is amazing for our industry,” he says. Consumers are passionate and more educated about the gin category than they have ever been and prepared to pay a premium price point for it.”

Manu Conde, of Cerbaco which

distributes the likes of Whitley Neill and the Melbourne Gin Company, believes that gin is nipping at the heels of vodka.

“People are looking for tasty drinks versus the past when they were interested in boozy drinks,” he says, “This makes gin a potential number one in the white spirit category. The three elements – demand, offering and production – are all there: gin venues are opening everywhere; the category has grown to include many premium and boutique brands; and gin production is increasing.”

BOTANICALS While whiskies, rums and other aged spirits get their flavour from the process of ageing, it is the botanical profile of a gin that imparts the flavour.

“The botanicals give gin its flavour and of course the most important of those is juniper,” says Forsyth.

However, the whole complexity of the botanicals needs to be taken into account while creating cocktails. According to Harris the role they play is huge.

“A gin with a good amount of floral botanicals makes for a great gin and tonic but when you want to have a Negroni you need to have great cut through and taste the gin through the vermouth and Campari,” he says. “Some examples are West Winds Sabre or G’Vine Nouaison as these two gins have a more traditional gin style and are heavily juniper based.”

Forsyth says that the botanicals found in gin are a wonderful starting point to inspire a flavour direction within a cocktail.

“We took this a step further and developed the Project Botanicals pop up, where we developed ten signature Bombay Sapphire cocktails based on the flavour profiles of our botanicals,” he says.

It is about balancing flavours and learning about the different botanicals at play.

“One of the best ways for bartenders to discover the power of flavours would be to make the

Blend your own Gin

BY STEFANIE COLLINS

I was lucky enough to attend a Blend Your Own Gin class at Sydney’s Archie Rose distillery. Apart from being very fun, it also gave me a new appreciation of the effort that goes into creating the blend of botanicals that feature in any gin.

To begin with we were given a lightly juniperflavoured ‘base gin’ on which to work our magic – under the watchful eye of Dave Withers, the production manager in the distillery.

With a mini lazy susan loaded with eight botanical distillations and a quick lesson in spicy vs herbal vs fruity flavours, we were let loose with droppers, two bottle of base gin, and a tasting glass to see what we could create. It was amazing the difference (and damage) that can be done with only one or two drops of a particular botanical.

Playing with flavours and having two cracks at a blending – Dave assures us that everyone messes up their first batch – gives you a new appreciation of how the flavours marry together. Also how they cancel each other out all of a sudden, leaving you with a flat mess of vaguely junipery nothingness – which is surprisingly easy to do.

Obviously, with only eight botanicals there is no chance of creating a gin with the depth of Archie Rose’s offering – it has 14 botanicals, including all eight of the samples spread out before us – however it allowed us to explore the heavier styles of gin with loads of juniper and spice (from cassia, Dorigo pepper leaf, and orris root) as compared to a lighter, more warm weather gin – with stacks of river mint, lemon myrtle, and blood lime for a citrusy, sherbety blend.

Learning the interplay between the flavours and how they work together gives a great insight into how gins can then be paired off with tonics and garnishes to best enhance their botanicals – it’s about understanding all the elements at play, and how to exhibit them to best advantage.

bars&clubs 25

GIN

CREATING A G&T MENU:

Garnishes & Tonics

With James Connolly, Enrique’s School for Bullfighting, Perth Why is the gin category so interesting right now?

Gin is the new vodka, there’s so much more you can do with it now. Gone are the days of walking into your pub and getting some generic gin with some post-mix tonic and a bit of dried-up lemon chucked in. At Enrique’s, our serves take gin and tonic to a new level and it has been incredibly well received. I thought it was a risk when we first did it – I was just back from Barcelona and my boss-to-be said that he was opening up a Spanish pop-up bar and did I have any crazy ideas? So I said ‘what about gin and tonics?’ I explained that you can go into places like Bobby Gin in Barcelona, where there is a huge array of tonic waters and gins, and said let’s do something along these lines. And he said ‘ok, sounds like fun’. I was incredibly nervous but it’s been phenomenal.

We don’t have the biggest gin collection in town, by any means, but I think many people would recognise us as one of, if not the best, gin joint in town.

How should you go about creating a menu of gins and tonics?

I remember being somewhere and it essentially had a list of spirits, then a list of mixers and a list of garnishes, and I thought that was a really smart idea.

And then, I thought why don’t we do that with gins and tonics. In Spain there is something like 42 brands of tonic water available, in Australia, I reckon we’ve probably got six or seven good ones and about 15 in total. Then the trick was with the garnishes to have flavours that you already know work really well with gin. It’s pretty hard to make a bad gin and tonic from the combinations that we have.

What are some think-outside-the-box recommendations?

A personal favourite is Fever-Tree tonic with red capsicum and kaffir lime leaf – it’s a killer combination with a nice London Dry with a bit of punch, like a Fords, or Fifty Pounds or something like that. Obviously we also explain that cucumber goes with other gins and not just Hendrick’s, which is an interesting one. And we’ve had a few failures – we had radish for a while, and I thought it worked really well. It had really earthy sort of flavours and a bit of spiciness, but it was a bit too far for the clientele. Fresh orange and coriander is a really tasty one, and elderflower tonic with strawberry and basil is probably one of our bestsellers.

What is important when matching a gin to a tonic and then adding a garnish?

I would taste all elements separately first. Obviously with gin the botanicals are quite important and finding stuff that matches or complements the botanicals is really key. Obviously the tonic is going to play a really important part as it is around 50 to 75 per cent of you drink so it is just as important as the gin itself. If you’ve got strong flavours then you don’t want a too overpowering tonic water.

What about glassware?

General presentation is very important. If you’re serving it in a rocks glass then it is just another gin and tonic, where if you change the glassware up, you make sure the garnish is prevalent and it has those eye-catching theatrics, people are going to notice and think ‘what is that person drinking?’. We have a lot of people in that haven’t tried a Spanish gin and tonic and they see people drinking them out of White Burgundy glasses – it just creates a different element to the drink and makes it stand out.

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GIN

same cocktail with different gins and see how it impacts the cocktail’s profile and balance,” says Bertaud. “The botanicals used should enhance the flavour in the cocktail concoctions and there are now many talented bartenders creating amazing cocktails thanks to the vast range of classic and experimental gins.”

Harris says bartenders need to engage with new products and speak with the distillers, trainers, and reps for all the different brands.

“A really great thing about bartenders is they are embracing gin and this in turn is showing that they are loving the new and exotic botanicals in the products,” he says. “The amount of times I get asked "what are some of the different botanicals in X gin” – I always have to have the answer.”

Forsyth suggests staying ahead of the game by joining the aroma academy in the UK (www.aroma-academy.co.uk) as well as reading up in books like The Drunken Botanist and utilising gin brands through events like the new House of Bombay Ginstitution. Or just: “Drink more gin.”

Conde also suggests organising staff training sessions with reps.

“Distributors have knowledgeable people who are able to explain what botanicals are used in the gin they represent,” he says.

RE-THINKING THE G&T There are plenty more ways to use gin, outside of the not-so-humble gin and tonic, or even classic cocktails. According to Conde, one of the most interesting combinations he has seen recently, was a bar mixing gin with Mistelle (a traditional French aperitif that see one third brandy aged with two thirds of its corresponding juice), simple syrup and lime juice – “pleasant and delicious”.

"Make the same cocktail with different gins and see how it impacts the cocktail's profile and balance."

What is a tonic syrup?

Tonic water is traditionally a bitter quinine-based drink that was originally used as an anti-malaria treatment. Quinine comes from the bark of the South American cinchona tree (known as the ‘fever tree’ because it helped alleviate malaria’s symptoms) and the tonics of the 1600s – made of quinine, sugar and water – were nothing like what we recognise as tonic water today. While quinine was sweetened to make it palatable, the colonial Brits still disliked it so much they mixed it with gin to make it more appetising.

Actually, what we know as ‘tonic water’ was created in the 1850s when tonic was combined with carbonated water and sold as a mixture by Schweppes.

However, things have now come full circle and tonic syrups now mimic the original combinations of real quinine, fruit, herbs and natural sweeteners.

To create a personalised gin and tonic, simply match your tonic syrup to your gin of choice and add soda water to taste – it gives you complete control over the flavour. Make sure you take take time to choose a tonic syrup that best matches your gin’s botanical profile.

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bars&clubs 27

GIN

While Bertaud notes that the flavour profile of Fair Gin – fresh, leafy, and peppery with a touch of citrus – not only makes for an interesting Negroni, but has made it popular in cocktails that use mint, ginger beer or Fair Goji – including a twist on a mule with Fever-Tree ginger beer, or the “Negoji” with 15ml of Fair Goji, 15ml Fair Gin, 15ml red vermouth, stirred down and garnished with orange peel.

Harris says the fact that he sees more gin cocktails than vodka ones these days is a great sign – and what they’re doing with it is even better.

“Whether it be Barber Shop making their own gin, The Rook having their own spiced Negroni, Gin Palace having five different Negronis and lots of gin and tonic combinations, or The Powder Keg turning gin into smoke. The list goes on,” he says.

Forsyth is similarly excited by what is coming out of the imaginations of the top bartenders.

“One of the most memorable cocktails I’ve tried in the last 12 months is the New Era cocktail created by Sam Ng from Black Pearl,” he says. “A simple and elegant combination of Bombay Sapphire shaken with lavender-infused Cocchi Americano, fresh lemon and white crème de cacao, served straight up and topped with Prosecco.” b&c

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• Angelica root lends an earthy note, balances floral notes with a dry woody taste.

• Orris root has violet notes.

• Cassia brings cinnamon tones.

• Liquorice root, star anise or fennel are sometimes used for the slight liquorice taste.

• Orange and citrus peels add different flavours depending on the choice.

Famous examples: Hendrick’s uses cucumber and rose. Bombay Sapphire uses Spanish lemon peel, and cubeb berries for pine notes. Tanqueray Ten has white grapefruit and chamomile.

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BARTENDERS

THE NEW GUARD We chatted to industry leaders to find out who they thought were the faces to watch on the national scene, then we tracked down those bartenders to find out what makes them tick.

Alan Mulvihill WORKS AT: Thomas Olive, Melbourne BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been bartending for ten years – ever since I left school. I did a course in Ireland on hospitality and I was really bad at it. It was called fáilte, in Irish. They taught us how to make cocktails, incorrectly, and it was pretty funny.

Then I worked in a hotel for a couple of years and just poured pints, and never did any of the things that I learned. When I moved across the seas then I actually realised what bartending is. I’ve been in Australia for two years and I did six months in Perth and then I moved to Melbourne to be with my hipster brethren. It’s like I’ve just come home. I’ve been given full control of the bar by the owners, which is on top of Saint Crispin, a two hat restaurant. It’s pretty cool.

LOVES: I think the people. I know that’s the lame fucking thing that everyone says but that is what keeps me there. That and whisky. I love whisky a lot.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: I like to think I make people feel comfortable.

When they walk in the door I disarm them a little bit by asking questions and having a good time. I find that in a lot of bars in this city people are afraid to ask questions, even simple things, and feel like idiots for no reason. They haven’t been bartending for 10 years, so they’re entitled to ask things like: can I have water in this or should I have ice? People should never feel stupid.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HIM: In that spare 30 minutes I have when I’m not at work, I shower and get ready for work.

SIGNATURE DRINK: Straight whisky. I’m the Victorian trainer for Bruichladdich whisky so I go around drinking Scotch and getting paid. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: I really want to start a second gin-laden apocalypse, where people are so drunk they’re throwing kids out of windows and stuff. Just can’t deal with it any more. I think that would be funny. I’m also planning on ruining hospitality in this city, because people are so up themselves. And I just want to make it fun to drink again. In good bars.

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BARTENDERS

Paige Aubort

Chris Ford

WORKS AT: The Lobo Plantation, Sydney

WORKS AT: Clarences, Perth

BARTENDING HISTORY: I started as a cocktail waitress and as soon as I started working I knew that I wanted to bartend. It progressed from there, but I look back at it and I fucked around for the first two and a bit years, but then I got serious after that – which was about two and a half years ago now.

When I got serious I was working at Lo-Fi in Surry Hills, but working as a manager kind of distracted me a bit. When I left I realised that I wanted to be really good at running a venue as well as being great at being a bartender so that I had all aspects covered.

BARTENDING HISTORY: I started at the beginning of last year. I just fell into it. I was managing a bottleshop and I wanted something new, there was a job available so I applied and I got it. I did a few months at another bar then Chris Watts who was managing Clarences at the time put something up on the WA Bartender Facebook page, so I went down for a chat and I got the job. No CV, nothing. It sounds like typical bartender ego but I’d been to a few cocktail bars that were shit and thought I could do better. It wasn’t really arrogance, just people are paying $20 and it isn’t any good. At the time I knew nothing about cocktails but I was sure they weren’t good ones. So I started buying books and I now have a mini library.

LOVES: The huge sense of family and camaraderie.

I think it’s such an amazing industry. It pulls people from all walks of life definitely, but they are all creative, passionate, a little bit weird and quite excessive and that culminates in everyone being kind and generous with their time and selves.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: Genuinely loving people. I really love people and when I ask how their day is, it’s because I legitimately want to know and I’m really interested in meeting new people. Your own world is only so big and I have such a great opportunity to interact with people who have so many life experiences that I will never have so it’s that.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HER: Eating.

If I’m not at work I will be trying new restaurants and experiencing new food. I like going into a venue and looking at everything from the way it’s laid out, to the way the food is presented, to the way the servers are. But, food. I’m very passionate about food.

SIGNATURE DRINK: Has to be a Hemingway Daiquiri.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: I don’t even have plans for the future. That sounds awful.

But I believe that when you want something you put it out there and the universe gives it to you. So I never really think more than five steps ahead of me.

But I should have a plan. I’m getting old.

LOVES: Lots – it’s a great chance to meet new people and Perth has an amazing nucleus of super passionate bartenders. There is that whole thing that Perth is trying to be like Melbourne, but I think we’re good enough to stand on our own and the bartenders are super passionate and super inspiring.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: I like to think that I’m quite knowledgeable about a lot of products and I always think, if I was the customer what would I expect and that’s what I try to bring. The team I’m with are great guys, so I got taught by some guys who I think are quite good at their job so I emulate them.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HIM: I like to go to bars. That’s all I do. I love Clarences, but I’m biased, and the Dominion League.

SIGNATURE DRINK: I love Manhattans – along with everyone else. We’re working with Whipper Snapper Distillery and my whole ethos is local and seasonal so we’re doing stuff with their Moonshine right now.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: It will involve whisk(e)y, an ungodly amount of nudity, and Bill Bewsher.

Thalita Alves WORKS AT: The Gresham, Brisbane BARTENDING HISTORY: I started as a cocktail bartender in February of last year. I was studying to become a teacher in Australia – I was a teacher at home in Brazil in a primary school. So I started bartending as a way to save some money but I loved it that much that I can’t imagine going back to teaching.

LOVES: I love the idea of how different it is. It changes everyday.

If you check the magazines in the last fives years, it’s incredible how all these drinks have changed and they evolve. It’s amazing how complex it can be – using techniques that people 10 years ago wouldn’t have even thought of.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: I think a big smile is still the biggest thing, and it’s important to listen and observe more than you talk.

Customers have usually finished work and are ready to talk.

Especially if they are that guy who sits at the end of the bar all on his own with a drink – he either wants to be heard or he wants to he left alone. In either case you shouldn’t be talking too much.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HER: I love dancing. All different types of dance – I’ve been doing that all my life. I love to go to the beach, and go surfing – even though I’m horrible at it. I like just being outside.

SIGNATURE DRINK: I really like a good Old Fashioned.

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BARTENDERS

Jourdan Siyal WORKS AT: Eleven, Brisbane

Cody Beck WORKS AT: Loch & Key, Melbourne BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been bartending for seven years. I started in New York City, kind of on a whim, I’d never worked in a bar before and had never thought about it – it happened after the first time I realised what a ‘bar’ meant. I walked into this bar and the guys were all 35 years and older and they were hosting a room, and they were making these really, really great cocktails. So I went in there over a month just asking all the questions.

‘Why are you stirring a Manhattan and not shaking it?’

‘What even is a Manhattan?’ I’d only been in New York for two months at the time, and the third time I went in over this month, one of the guys was sitting down at the bar and he said that he had been looking out for me because he owned the bar, and did I want to start working for him? So they took me in and they showed me everything done right – no fuss. I’ve been in Australia for six months [at the time] now and I picked up work at Le Bon Ton and that’s where I got to know the scene – and it’s so welcoming, it’s been much better than my expectations.

BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been working since 2012, I got started as a glassy and worked my way up – got to put in the hard yards.

Word of mouth sort of got me where I am, Eleven were looking for staff so I put my hands up a couple of months ago. I liked working at The Bowery because it really took me from serving just basic drinks and educated me about everything. A lot of people want to get from the point of ‘this is a bourbon’ to ‘let me tell you three or four things about this bourbon’.

LOVES: I like having people walk away from me happy with the drink I’ve made them. I like fitting a drink to a person. It’s great because in Brisbane the scene is so close, you can say hi to someone and two hours later you can just hang out.

It’s much more tight knit and everyone knows everyone.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: I remember my customers. I remember what they drink. It’s great to make it a bit more personal and take them on a journey instead of just treating it like a transaction. Developing relationships with people so they come back is so important.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HIM: Probably on the other side of a bar drinking, somewhere. Trying to wake-up during daylight. I play pickup basketball down at the local courts. I also like to read books and magazines too.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: I'd assemble an army of bartenders, steal all of the aging spirit reserves of the world, create a monopoly, and ration it out to anyone who joins the cause. A booze filled army will not be messed with.

Matt Linklater WORKS AT: Bulletin Place, Sydney

LOVES: My thing is the family. Hospitality in general is one big family and we’re all doing the same thing – serving people – and it’s just a great experience overall.

As a bartender who goes into a bar, you know I love that family feel. Feeling like you’re at home. It’s what I get excited about, even now. Here in Melbourne, seeing how close the scene is, it’s a real community. Everyone knows about everything that is going on – which can be good or bad depending on what you’re up to. It’s definitely why I thought bartending was home for me. It’s about hosting people and giving that experience to everyone else who walks in – whether it is your first time or hundredth time as a regular.

BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been working in hospitality for round about 10 years, but I got into cocktails about six years ago when I started at The Ivy as a barback and worked my way up from there. Through The Ivy I met Tim Phillips [co-owner of Bulletin Place], and because we became friends he asked me to work with him when the idea for the bar first came up – it wasn’t because of my knowledge, because I knew nothing at the time, but more because of my ability to talk to people.

SIGNATURE DRINK: I’m all about the daiquiri.

LOVES: I like the pace behind the bar, especially at Bulletin Place. We have a really tight knit team so working with people and flowing as one ‘organism’, I get off on it. On a really busy night where everything flows and we don’t even really have to talk to each other – that is what I love. The teamwork.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: I’m looking to open a bar and start brewing. Open a couple of bars, actually, then charm the pants off everybody.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: Partly my speed and efficiency behind the bar, but in terms of service, my empathy with customers’

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: Definitely that welcoming thing – no matter who comes in, it’s the same excitement.

But I reckon a lot of it is just my style – I never know what is about to come out of my mouth. The banter is there for anyone who walks through that door.

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needs. I try to predict what a customer needs before they even know it themselves.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HIM: I like to eat, drink and cook. At the moment I’m cooking spaghetti Bolognese. I love anything homely and hearty.

SIGNATURE DRINK: It changes depending on who I’m serving but I would order a wet Tanqueray martini with a twist.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: It will involve a hive mind. I would take advantage of my hospitality network and the idea that I’m a friendly person – then I would suddenly turn.

BARTENDERS

Kristien Sykes WORKS AT: The Loft, Sydney BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been working as a cocktail bartender for about two years. Before that, for about two years I was just serving vodka sodas and beers. I was working in Bungalow 8 and The Loft was short staffed, so I got a call from the head bartender at the time and he said, he’ be happy to have me upstairs and that they would start teaching me how to make cocktails and things like that. I was pretty nervous and I had absolutely no idea – but my first cocktail was a mojito and it was all sweet.

LOVES: I love the creativity. Before you start making cocktails, you’re just doing mixed drinks and it's fun but when you switch it’s so much better. You get to start making drinks specifically for people. Someone comes in and has absolutely no idea what they want and they say ‘I like this’, so that’s where we come in and say ‘ok, I know the perfect drink for you’.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: I work in a bar with a lot of corporates and they’re so regimented, they sit in the office, they finish work at five o’clock and then go home, or, hopefully, they come into the bar and we can provide a service that isn’t so regimented. You don’t need to be so proper, the service needs to be personal – you know straight away if someone wants to talk to you. And if someone doesn’t want to talk, you just leave them alone. Most people want to talk though – so being personal and talking to them all in different ways.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HIM: I love food so going to restaurants is up there. I love taking my dog out and I used to be a swimmer so anything outside and in the sun.

SIGNATURE DRINK: I’m into classic rum daiquiris, and twists on Negronis.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: I would be happy to not be the centrepiece but to be the neck that controls the head. I’ll be the puppet-master of the person who rules the world. I don’t know how I’ll get there – I’ll have to invent an app that controls everyone through their phones.

Matt Cameron WORKS AT: Canvas, Brisbane BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been working for about three years now. I made coffee for about four years then the opportunity came up to work the floor and barback a bit at a really cool bar at The Laneway and I just worked my way up from there. My brother works as a bartender as well and he called me up one afternoon after a long shift and basically told me not to pass the opportunity up. And I never looked back. I started at Canvas after my friend Nick needed someone to replace him behind the bar when he left to start Maker.

LOVES: Every day is different. I’ve got a very short attention span and like just waking up knowing that every day is different. If there was a bad day, it’s going to be different the next time. I couldn’t sit at a desk – I’ve got creative freedom and get to have fun.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: I’m laid back. I’m all about knowing what someone likes and making them a drink. My last bar was a bespoke bar and I learnt my way around the questions to personalise the experience – that’s what I’m about rather than a history lesson.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HIM: I sleep a lot. But other than that I hang out with friends and just chill out and do normal adult stuff.

I work quite a bit so I don’t do much other stuff.

SIGNATURE DRINK: Something with smoke – a smoky Martinez or a gin Old Fashioned with smoke.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: Mezcal. Just a cheeky five mil of mezcal into a lot of drinks. That is all.

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BARTENDERS

Rollo Anderson WORKS AT: The Rook, Sydney

Will Sleeman WORKS AT: Black Pearl, Melbourne BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been working for almost five years, but Black Pearl is the first standalone bar I’ve worked in – I had always been in restaurant bars before. I was in the right place at the right time when I was working at Gazi restaurant with Caitlyn who is engaged to Chris Hysted, who was the bar manager at Black Pearl for years. So I was serving Chris one night and he said there were a couple of vacancies and offered to pass on my details, and it all just happened.

LOVES: It’s just a lot of fun. You have your moments where people are a little unfavourable, but for the most part everyone is there to have a good time, and we’ve got such a good little family that we work with and a lot of good friends – people we get to see every night – and we’re there to have a good time and enjoy some good drinks and some terrible banter. What’s not to like?

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: It’s a mentality that everyone I work with has – to make sure that everyone is very comfortable. When you walk into the bar you should be greeted, and when you leave you should get a farewell. A focus that I have is to make everyone feel like they’re my mate. Even if I don’t know them when they walk in, you say hi and ask them how their day was as if it was your best friend walking in. It makes people feel comfortable and once they feel comfortable they can enjoy themselves a lot more.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HIM: I come in on my nights off to enjoy the bar from the other side. And I started playing mixed netball – on a Monday my ritual is to not drink anything, play sport, watch Game of Thrones and go to bed early.

SIGNATURE DRINK: One of mine from the menu that’s getting served at Tales of the Cocktail – The Early Bird, a mezcal, maraschino, lime drink with a stout and black peppercorn syrup.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: It’s not a secret if I tell you. But I don’t want to be in charge – I’ll get a friend to dominate the world and be their minion.

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BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been working for about eight years. I fell in love with cocktail bartending from the get-go but I hadn’t been involved in that real blacktie service before. I had always worked in small bars that were quite relaxed and fun and the focus was on music. So it wasn’t until I’d been at The Rook for the last three years that I’ve refined my cocktail bartending to the point of taking it to the next level.

LOVES: It incorporates all the things that are most important to me in life – people, music, drinks, and chatting. I get paid to do what I would be doing at home anyway, it’s fantastic.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: I think I have a really informal and casual way of interacting with people. I try to make people feel totally comfortable and totally at home straight away – like we’re already mates as soon as we say hello. I think people enjoy the fact that they can ask me anything and just have a chat. Plus I’m really passionate about the history of spirits and cocktails, so I always try to share that passion and people respond to my enthusiasm.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HIM: I play music a lot, I do a lot of hip hop and play in a band – it’s one of my big passions. I also picked up a book for the first time in two and a half years – it was so good. I used to read all the time.

SIGNATURE DRINK: One I made for World Class, the Tijuana Diplomat – Reposado Tequila, Amer Picon, Cocchi Americano, and Hellfire Bitters.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: I would get into a position of power and restructure the working week into a fortnight block. It would be, from Monday: four days on, three days off; two days on, one day off; two days on, two days off. The three days means you can get away and come back totally refreshed and hammer out your two days then have a breather, then do your last two days. And the reason I would take over the world is that people would be so productive and happy, they would decide to crown the inventor the ruler of the world. And that would be me.

Rachelle Hair WORKS AT: The Baxter Inn, Sydney BARTENDING HISTORY: I’ve been working for just over two years now. I was running music venues and I kind of rage quit on that. I thought I would go travelling so I thought I’d just bartend for a little bit. I got a job at Frankie’s Pizza and I never looked back. I’ve been working at Baxter for a year now. I did some serious time at Frankie’s, and it’s a tough venue to work at with the hours. When Anton and Jason sat me down for my yearly appraisal, I told them that I’d been offered jobs in more cocktail style bars, and I wanted to do that. Obviously Baxter and Shady Pines had never had a girl work for them before so I didn’t see any progression for me there. They were like ‘no, no, no, don’t do that we have something for you’. Then they came back and said ‘you’ll be at Baxter next week’. I was shitting myself. It’s cool and it’s very tough at the same time – but I’m very passionate about the bar there. We have the new Whisky Room, and when you can take people in there and sell them a 1962 Dalmore and you’ve got the skills to really impress people who know their shit about whisky, I think that’s what drives me.

LOVES: Human interaction. The ability to interact on a daily basis with so may different people. I think it’s the best thing.

SECRET SERVICE WEAPON: I like to be very service focussed.

People are going to order whatever they want and at the end of the day, you’re going to make all sorts of drinks, and I get requests for absolutely everything, but I think lot of people behind the bar have judgements, I’m not about that. I just like to be humble and treat everyone else as human. If something is going to make them happy, I’m going to do it for them. That’s my core influence.

WHEN NOT AT WORK YOU WILL FIND HER: Sleeping. That is literally it. Truly that is all.

SIGNATURE DRINK: Because I have a whisky focus, I have to say whisky.

SECRET PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION: I would rather become a recluse. Buy ten dogs and live in the country. Just buy hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of whisky and store it in a shed, then someone will find it ten years after I’ve died. b&c

Naren Young looks how a well-constructed – and well-written – menu can sell more drinks in your bar

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THE KNOWLEDGE

W

hen I lived in London some moons ago, I would frequent a rather famous bar called the Lab. Many of that city’s finest bartenders (many of whom are now well recognized brand ambassadors) came out of that venerable institution. What they were perhaps most famous for – besides their liberal use of crushed ice, passionfruit and vanilla sugar – was the length, breadth and creativity (at least for its time) of their cocktail menu. It topped out at a whopping 162 drinks.

Now if that sounds like a preposterous number of mixed drinks to populate a menu then you would be correct. But this was a certain time and place in our recent history when this wasn’t unusual. ‘Bigger is better’ was the mantra of some bars, consistency be damned. And as I write this article about creating a world class cocktail menu, perhaps the first and arguably the most important factor I should highlight is consistency, something we should all be striving for with unwavering precision.

It doesn’t matter how good you think your bartender (or you) are, your drinks will never be as consistent on a massive drinks compendium as they will be on a short, succinct menu.

Times are indeed changing, especially in America where I now ply my trade and have done so for over a decade.

Smaller, more balanced lists are the norm and it’s much harder to create a small, curated list of mixed drinks than it is to add dozens and dozens of twists on a single theme. Do you really need ten mojitos on the menu?

For me the most important thing to strive for is balance and this is pertinent whether you choose to list 12 or 200 cocktails on your menu. Is there a solid mix across the board of spirit categories, colours, glassware, garnishes, fruits or juices and drink styles? Is your list too heavy on any of these?

If so, time to re-work it. Several bartenders, such as Joaquin Simo, the proprietor of New York’s Pouring Ribbons, which has one of the most thoughtful menus I’ve seen has a simple and very effective way he approaches each new menu.

Once the drinks have gone past the first phase of testing, he writes out the recipes of each drink side by side. Next to each, he draws an icon for the type of glass each will go in and writes the colour of the drink also. He looks across the page and looks to see if there’s too much repetition of any aspect I described above. Are there too many bourbon drinks? Oops, there’s three drinks with pineapple juice.

There’s too many that are served in a rocks glass.

WORD UP

MENU OPTIONS AT THE LOBO PLANTATION

Language is a powerful tool. Especially when reading a menu.

I’ve long been a student of menu psychology, especially as it is something that not enough people in our bar industry think about a great deal. Which seems silly to me given that the menu – or the cocktail menu in this case – says a lot about a venue and is often the first thing people see (or want to see) when they enter. You can tell a lot about a bar immediately by glancing over their cocktail list and other beverage offerings.

Every single word, comment, image or gesture on a menu sends a message. Sometimes that message is clearly transparent, while at other times it’s more subliminal and may need some further explanation from the staff. Either

bars&clubs 37

THE KNOWLEDGE

way, don’t underestimate how different people decipher and interpret your menu.

The message you are trying to convey might not always come across how you intended.

Ambiguity is a bitch.

That’s why I never use the word ‘syrup’ on any of my menus. It immediately conveys that the drink is sweet, even if it isn’t. For example, if a drink has raspberry syrup in the recipe (such as a classic Clover Club), I would refer to it as ‘raspberry cordial’ on the menu, or simply, ‘raspberry’. The dark disco era of the 70s and 80s ruined many a cocktail for people and they still assume that the majority of drinks are sweet. This is why we need to be even more cognisant of this on our menus and how we word certain ingredients.

Always use words that sound enticing and leave out any that are superfluous or uninspired. There are two schools of thought here: go simple, listing a drink’s ingredients with extreme minimalism, such as this: blanco tequila + mezcal + yellow chartreuse + lemon + chili tincture + yellow bell pepper. The drink certainly sounds tasty, right? This angle certainly frees up room on the menu but it does rely on staff who can articulate the flavor profile of the drink and expand on this brief description when asked. Know what words and ingredients to leave off or find alternatives that sound enticing. Less is sometimes more.

I do like this approach but I also appreciate those bars that provide a more detailed description, an approach that was very big in London from the late 90s to the mid 2000s.

The Lab was probably the most famous exponent of this. Each drink was described in such a fluid, poetic way that each and every one sounded exciting and delicious. That was a very creative time where a drink might read something like this: “A mouthwatering mixture of Stolichnaya Oranj, raspberry cordial, Lab vanilla sugar, fresh watermelon & lemon juices, muddled with a whisper of Campari & ginger, served tall & charged with Champagne”. Now doesn’t that sound inviting?

As you can see from this description, a guest can get a pretty clear picture of the drink: how it’s made, how it’s served and most of the ingredients, yet using evocative words that help bring the drink to life. This angle takes a lot more work and does require the person compiling it to have some skills in writing. I employed this angle for many years at several bars and with great success. If you can also keep it cheeky, humorous and light hearted like they often did in London, then even better.

38 bars&clubs

GOT A GREAT DRINK? MAKE IT SOUND INVITING

THE KNOWLEDGE

“You can tell a lot about a bar immediately by glancing over their cocktail list and other beverage offerings.”

MOVERS AND SHAKERS Whether you own the bar you work in or not, if you are at all responsible for implementing cocktails, you should take an interest in which cocktails are selling and which are not. It is very easy to print a report that gives you such information. If a particular drink is not selling, try moving it to the top of the menu and then see if things change (or look at the way it is written on the page). The order in which drinks are listed can also be very important to their success.

Not every drink has to be a big mover. I’m not a big proponent of those high octane cocktails that were all the rage a couple of years back (and still are in many places), but that’s just my palate. I think it’s

ENRIQUE'S GIN MENU

fine to have a couple of drinks that fill this gap (such as a Vieux Carre or an Old Fashioned), as long as they’re balanced by a series of crowd pleasers that are your big sellers and have the best profit margins.

Cocktail names are also something to consider. I’m tired of seeing cryptic cocktail monikers that take a dissertation and a PowerPoint presentation just to understand what the long-winded and unnecessary explanation actually means. Keep names short and punchy that arouse interest but can be described quickly during a busy service. I am a big proponent of adding slight and subtle touches to classic drinks and therefore they sound familiar to people. People like familiar: Celery Gimlet, Rhubarb Daiquiri, Shiso Collins, Lavender Fizz, Our Summer Julep, Sherry Cobbler.

Of course there are an infinite number of tricks and tips – far too many to mention here – to help make your cocktail menu more exciting, while still being original, eye catching and user friendly. As long you’re aware that language plays an important role in the success of your menu and that some simple changes can make a big difference, especially in terms of consumer perception and how they read and comprehend your cocktail list, then you can certainly count on greater sales. And wouldn’t that be nice? b&c

NAREN AT TOP SHELF Naren Young is one of the leading bar managers and drinks consultants in the US today. You can see him at this year’s Top Shelf festival, where he’ll be presenting two keynote talks on the main stage: ‘Aperitifs’ and ‘The Five Senses’.

To see Naren at Top Shelf, visit www.topshelfshow.com.au to buy your tickets now.

bars&clubs 39

A CLASSIC TIKI VESSEL AT HULA BULA

40 bars&clubs

TIKI BARS

’It s Tiki Time

With the work ‘tiki’ conjuring the dual visions of classic boozy cocktails and free-flowing rum, alongside crazily kitsch bars decorated in skulls and island holiday-esque paraphernalia, there is something inherently fun about the style. So how can you bring elements of that fun into your venue, without a full-scale renovation?

E

ver since the days of Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber, there has always been something inherently fun about sipping tropics-inspired cocktails in a bar that vastly resembles the Caribbean island most people would rather be on, as opposed to merely snatching fantasy moments in a bar in their hometown in the midst of a crowded weekend.

According to Peter Long, of Hula Bula in Perth – what may be the only really authentic tiki bar in Australia – tiki will always be relevant as it symbolises this escape from reality.

“Tiki takes you to a place where you can put down your work-worries and just get away from the rush and feel like you're on a little holiday,” he says.

It’s an idea that is echoed by Tomas Vikario, of Monin.

“It’s an escape from the pressures of your daily life,” he says. “Unfortunately, that fantastic tropical island doesn’t actually exist, but a long legacy of entrepreneurs have spent most of the 20th century trying to create an approximation of it for those of us who are landlocked.”

THE BEGINNING OF KITSCH The tiki subculture found its way into being – very long story short – after the servicemen from World War One returned home with memories and tales of distant lands with strange cultures, and rum. A lot of rum. Pile on top of that the cocktail golden age of the 20s and 30s, followed by yet another massive war – with a lot of American troops stationed in the South Pacific region – and tiki became a major trend.

“It was a place where the Mad Men-style executives and businessmen of the time could escape the concrete jungle and feel a million miles away,” says Peter Long.

That’s why tiki bars shouldn’t have windows, people want to forget about what is outside.

CREATING THE DREAM With tiki so clearly aimed at being an escape from the dreary reality of nine-to-five life, there are a few key aspects to making the tiki dream come to life.

“What the travellers brought back with them was a feeling of the primitive, raw, hassle-free existence of these places,” says Long. “Which is captured in the animal print designs, miles of bamboo and Polynesian inspired carvings.”

Long also suggests a fair wack of old school naval paraphernalia, think glass buoys in nets, and as many plants and knick-knacks as you can fit.

“Tiki is kitsch,” says Long. “It's an allencompassing plastic/bamboo illusion that transports you decades back and miles away. It can be suggested in less obvious ways but there has to be a limit where that bar is no longer a tiki bar, but a bar with some tiki in it.”

Linus Schaxmann, of Melbourne basement bar Aloha Sailor, believes that the drinks, first and foremost are what makes a tiki bar ‘tiki’.

bars&clubs 41

TIKI BARS THE SEXY CO

LADA

“Quality rums, house-made syrups and fresh juices,” he says. “It’s also about the vessel that the cocktail comes in. We spend so much time trying to source the right vessels, to thepoint that we actually had some of them made for specific cocktails.”

Though he does concede that you’re probably not doing it right if you don’t have a rum god behind your bar.

Aloha Sailor itself is more of a paired-back style of tiki bar, albeit one with a meticulously created skull wall, care of owner Daniel Lemura.

“Tiki means different things to different people,” says Schaxmann. You can take out the parts of tiki that resonate with you and bring that to life. There’s no tiki blueprint that you have to follow. At Aloha Sailor, we coined the term “tiki chic”. We wanted to create a tiki lounge bar, with that theatrical, tropical, quality drinking experience but without being overly kitsch. It’s a fine line to walk but we feel that we’ve pulled it off.”

Rather than show its hand through a load of decorations, the drinks really do the talking with bubbling treasure chests and solid frozen skulls coming over the bar thick and fast.

That brings up the other important feature of tiki – the theatrics. For Loy Catada, brand ambassador for Bacardi, the staging is what it is all about.

“The classic tiki experience is about the theatre,” he says. “What the bartenders wear, the music, the look and feel. Like using flames to burn spices for the aroma and effect. All these components are vital in creating a fun and memorable atmosphere. It is really up to the venue and the bartender’s imagination.”

DRINKING, TIKI STYLE According to Vikario the ultimate tropical drink experience should feature drinks that are complex, layered, subtle and voluptuous, with a delicate balance between sweet and sour, strong and light, fruit and dry.

And there is plenty of inspiration to be had from the classics – the original secret recipes of Don the Beachcomber have been decoded

by US tiki icon Beachbum Berry and they’re an

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HULA BULA IS A CLASSIC TIKI VENUE

TWISTED TIKI

A SOLID RUM COLLECTION IS A MUST

While Schaxmann has what he calls the “ultimate tiki cocktail” (so far) on the menu – The Royal Treasure Chest features eighteen different house barrel-aged rums (lengthened with house-made syrups and fresh juices) and is served (smoking) in a purpose-made treasure chest, crowned with a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque – there are plenty of twists on traditional tiki cocktails to liven up your approach to the art of kitsch. Catada has helped us out with his Sexy Colada recipe to start you off.

SEXY COLADA RUMS AT HULA BULA

Serves 2 Glass: Hollow Pineapple Ingredients: • 80ml gold rum • 5ml ginger syrup • 30ml coconut cream • 40ml coconut water (no added sugar) • 60ml pineapple juice (no added sugar) • Juice of half a lime • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters • 1 barspoon sea water (or a small pinch of salt) Method: Shake with crushed ice or make in a slushie machine. Serve in a pineapple.

Garnish: Pineapple leaves, fresh flowers.

TIKI BARS

excellent place to start. Though, as Long points out a “banging rum collection” and loads of plastic animal garnishes don’t hurt either.

“You need to consider the classics that you already know about that are quintessentially tiki; the daiquiri, pina colada, mai tai, zombie, hurricane, planter’s punch, ti punch, and the painkiller,” says Long. “Read up as much as you can then decide whether you want to take it in a new direction or if you want to follow on. We do a bit of both, with some timeless classics and some bonkers, out-there mixes of our own that exude fruity rum goodness and look ridiculous.”

However, if you do decide to launch off the reservation, remember to keep part of your menu accessible to everyone – and that means a rumfree section.

“It’s a shame that in the 1970s and 80s tiki drinks got a bad reputation for being too sweet.

Everyone used artificial, pre-made juices and now most folks associate tiki drinks with fake, sugary stuff. That’s not what it is, though,” says Vikario.

“At the very least, good tiki cocktails require quality rum, freshly squeezed fruit juice, and top quality syrups as well as fresh fruit decoration.”

And it goes without saying that they should be made to order or, in the least, use a high quality pre-mixed option.

Catada adds that while focusing on good quality and fresh ingredients are also essential, there is more to consider.

“The most important factors in bringing a touch of tiki to drinks are the bartenders skill and knowledge,” he says. “The stories about the drinks they tell the guests are as good, if not better than any garnish, cocktail umbrellas or tiki god vessels around.”

A TOUCH OF TIKI Realistically, most bars aren’t going to suddenly turn into tiki dens overnight, but there are plenty of ways to embrace tiki without a full on renovation.

Jonny Croft, of Cargo Cult rum, believes that while it’s important to give a nod to the past, trying to faithfully recreate something that has come and gone can easily look tacky.

44 bars&clubs

THE ROYAL TREASURE CHEST AT ALOHA SAILOR

TIKI DOESN'T REQUIRE FAUX RELIGIOUS ICONS

BEWARE OF ZOMBIES Take care with your measures as most of the original tiki recipes are more potent than your guests might realise. However, they can either be toned down to safer levels, or you will have to be sure to lay down some very strict house rules for your staff around how you handle that level of alcohol in the hands of your customers. Long says that Hula Bula has a strict policies in place to maintain responsible enjoyment of these “absolutely necessary but insane cocktails”.

LOTS OF GARNISHES ARE A PLUS

“It can easily look kitsch, out-of-date and less premium,” he says. “The solution is in mixing it up – juxtaposing contemporary with authentic elements of the past. Get your crew to wear Hawaiian shirts but they don’t need the matching rolled up pants and thongs.”

And while switching up the uniforms for the night might not be an option, there is plenty that can be tweaked on the cocktail front.

“Tiki cocktails are not exclusive to tiki bars with ‘kitsch’ themed decorations, and it doesn’t have to be too lavish with garnishes either,” says Catada.

“A new appreciation for tiki cocktails has opened up with bars having extensive rum collections and a devotion to all things ‘craft’ – such as house-made syrups, good quality ice and freshly squeezed juices.”

It always pays to start slowly as well – it’s important that your clientele are on board.

TIKI BARS

“Start by incorporating a few tiki drinks onto your cocktail list and test the waters,” says Schaxmann. “We started with a ‘tiki shelf’ behind the bar, with a small rum god, a few select rums, a couple of tiki mugs and three tiki cocktails.”

Long agrees that tiki flavours can be celebrated without the overbearing theme, it's all about the influences to your cocktails and how you serve them.

“Tiki cocktails are all about rum, fruit juice, thick syrups, and tropical spices and over-the top presentation in big volume,” says Long.

“Grab a bottle of rum and get to know it, then throw it together with whatever the rum tells you – fresh seasonal fruit, zingy citrus, deep spicy notes. Make some fruity syrups. Throw it heavily in one direction and have fun balancing it back out.”

He also points out that a classic of modern style bar can play around with serving vessels like tiki mugs, stocky wooden cups, and copper bowls, or just “stick it in an old boot, light it on fire and garnish with a fruit basket and a ninja turtle”. b&c

THE CULTURAL QUESTION There has been lots of chatter around the traps about cultural appropriation in all areas of society, so naturally the question of the appropriateness of tiki bars in relation to Polynesian culture has popped up. A recent Vice Magazine article tackled the issue quite succinctly, interviewing authorities on the topic and laying out the potential issues within the tiki bar style.

Born from the Caribbean-island-hopping imagination of an oil baron’s son in the 1920s, and latched onto with gusto by the post-World Wars crowd who were keen to drown their horrors, tiki is essentially the commodification of the ‘exotic’ Polynesian and Caribbean cultures.

Only the good bits though – think constant sunshine, free flowing rum, and scantily clad women. It’s an idealised, homogenised vision of a complex culture that is simply referred to by the word ‘tiki’ – blurring the edges and causing potential sensitivity issues.

Eventually, as with a lot of trends, tiki passed

into kitsch territory, becoming a bit of a joke – outside of the classic venues such as Jeff Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 in New Orleans.

However, a recent revival has seen a return of tiki bars, and – as Vice points out – potentially problematic imagery – think the Fu Manchu and head-hunter tiki mugs that are still easily found online, and occasionally in bars.

Speaking with Vice, Berry makes the point that the trend has to be updated to the 21st century as not all the associated details from 80 years ago are okay to promote. The potential to offend via cartoonish copies of cultural iconography and ethnicity mirrors the issues that sprung up around the use of ‘golliwogs’ in popular culture not so long ago. As Berry says, if you’re going to have tikis in your bar, make sure they’re the right kind.

Despite the potential pitfalls there are plenty of tiki bars in Australia and around the world that are getting it right – think skull mugs and floral emblems instead of corrupted religious iconography and racist caricatures.

SHOW US YOU’RE U.G.L.Y. [Understanding • Generous • Likeable • You] Registrations for the Leukaemia Foundation’s fun and funky hospitality fundraiser, U.G.L.Y. Bartender of the Year, are now open.

Nominate a bartender in your venue to be the face of U.G.L.Y. and raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation over October and November this year.

Each state’s highest fundraising bartender will win a $3,000 travel voucher and their venue will win Hoshizaki Ice Machine or Lancer Beverage Systems products and services to the value of $7,500.

AMAZING INCENTIVE PRIZES FOR OUR U.G.L.Y. BARTENDERS • • •

Raise over $1,000 and win a fabulous Überbartools™ Kit Raise over $5,000 and win a JB Hi-Fi gift card worth $500 Raise over $10,000 and win your boarding pass on the U.G.L.Y. VIP Cruise

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bars&clubs 45

A

SMALL BATCH IS THE NEW BLACK

ustralian spirits are on the up and up with new distilleries popping up all over the country, following on from the well-worn path of the craft beer and cider industries. And much like those craft brewers and cider makers that have gone before them, the craft spirit makers across the country have seen a corresponding upswing in the demand for their local, and unique products.

According to Kathleen Davies, Sales & Marketing Manager at Australian craft spirit distribution company Nip of Courage, there has been a constant ground swell of small distilleries turning up all over Australia in response to the growing demand for local products.

“Gen Y loves that craft spirits all come with a unique story about the distiller or process that they can share with their friends,” she says. “To them 'small is the new black', which is why small craft distilleries and spirits have so much more appeal as opposed to commercially produced spirits.”

With Australian spirit companies faring well in international competitions, it isn’t just the local market that is sitting up and paying attention – Australian spirits are now being shipped all around the world.

“Most Aussie craft spirits are produced with quality ingredients and strict production methods,” says Davies. “And a lot of Aussie distillers are inspired by Australian native botanicals which have already given Australian distillers a bit of a unique edge on the global stage in world spirit competitions.”

Richard Angove of St Agnes Brandy is optimistic about the future of craft spirits, citing the fact that all the distillers have “skin in the game” and are all incredibly passionate about their cause.

“The Australian spirits category will continue to grow as consumers seek out locally grown and crafted produce,” he says. “Australia is a clean and green place to make spirits and the industry is united in a clear objective to make quality products we stand behind.”

It is impossible to discuss the Australian spirit industry without mentioning the godfather of Australian whisky. Or more specifically, Tasmanian whisky. Since 1992, when the ban of craft distilling in Australia was lifted, Bill Lark has been at the forefront of producing world beating drams. Though he is now well established in the industry, Lark was initially nervous about kicking off his whisky quest.

CONVERTING THE MASSES According to Davies, research shows that a significant proportion of Australian shoppers and consumers have a strong preference for buying locally made and locally owned spirits. So while converting them to local spirits might take a bit of effort, chances are they’ll happily go along for the ride.

“There is a degree of patriotism and growing urge to support Australian made and Australian owned craft spirits,” she says. “A lot of Australian products need hand selling because the owners don't have the funds to market their products like global brand owners. However, when bar staff hear the stories behind our local brands they get really excited to share this knowledge with their customers over the bar.”

Angove agrees, saying that it is also about taste and flavour – and utilising the skills you already have.

“Bartenders are very good at identifying what their customers want and making drinks that taste great as well as convincing someone to try something new or different that they have stumbled across,” he says.

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AUSTRALIAN CRAFT SPIRITS

“I thought people might think we were trying to teach the Scots how to suck eggs and they would think, ‘what are you doing, you silly colonial?’” he says. “But in fact it’s been exactly the opposite. We have had tremendous support from the single malt industry worldwide, and from consumers. They were always a little nervous at the start, but it really didn’t take long for the market to truly grab hold of the fact that Tasmania can produce stunning single malt whisky.”

Lark wasn’t the only one to realise that everything you need for a world-class whisky is in

Tasmania – other distilleries in the southern state include: Sullivan’s Cove, Hellyers Road, Heartwood, Overeem, Nant, Redlands, and William McHenry & Sons, to name a few.

The idea of a gin renaissance is hardly a new one, the other white spirit has been in a boom for a good few years now. The craft end of the spectrum has heated up as well. With the Poor Toms in Sydney crowdfunding their way to a sold out first batch of gin, Young Henrys installing a distillery in their brewery, and The Melbourne Gin Company rapidly expanding outside its home state, the gin distilling scene has

expanded exponentially in even the last 12 months.

One of the most successful local brands to come out of the gin renaissance has been The West Winds out of WA, with co-founder Jeremy Spencer asserting that, after over 200 years of good food and wine, it's finally time for Australia to show the world about local Australian spirits.

“Gin lets us truly express Australian native flavours without the shackles and chains of history, tradition, appellation or restriction,” he says. “Australian and proud without the shadows of cringeworthy export and duty free pasts." b&c

WEST WINDS GIN FROM WA

WILLIAM MCHENRY OF MCHENRY DISTILLERY SUNDAY ROAST OLD FASHIONED AT BAD FRANKIE

PETER BIGNELL OF BELGROVE DISTILLERY

THE BAR AUSSIE SPIRITS BUILT With the Australian spirit boom well underway, it is almost odd that someone hadn’t founded a bar which poured only Australian products – enter Sebastian Costello, owner of Bad Frankie in Melbourne. Named for the infamous Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, John Franklin, who outlawed small pot stills in the early 19th century, Costello’s bar aims to showcase the cultural richness of Australia through the products ranged behind the bar – and jaffles, lots of jaffles. It’s a place for both the bartending industry and the community to learn about the impressive range of local spirits on offer in Australia.

“We’ve found the majority of Australian products to be extremely high quality and customers are increasingly interested in where the products they are buying come from,” says Costello. “As the world becomes more global we see people looking closer to home for products that are a part of their own local community.”

Stocking no international spirits might seem like a bold move, however Costello is adamant that Australian offerings can easily match up to their better known international counterparts.

“The benefit of having a comparatively young industry to some other countries is that there are less traditions and rules handed down over the generations,” he says. “That means Aussie distillers get to play with new techniques all the time to facilitate the best flavour profile for each and every product. In some products, such as gin, the use of local botanicals such as perpperberry, lemon myrtle and strawberry gum give the products a distinctly Australian flavour.”

To help engage with drinkers Bad Frankie offers tasting flights and master classes so that customers can get acquainted with the full range of products and develop their own knowledge.

When it comes to staff training, the bar is just as thorough.

“We get distillers in once a week and go to the distilleries every couple of months,” says Costello. “You often learn quicker when you engage in tactile methods of learning through seeing the stills in production and talking through the process with the distillers.”

Cotello is keen for other bars to be proud of Australian spirits as well.

“They’re high-quality, rare and an interesting addition to a bar,” he says. “They also provide a talking point with customers who are new to the world of Australian spirits.”

Costello’s collection gets pretty obscure too, creating plenty of interesting potential for the cocktail menu.

“We have the Tamborine Mountain Distillery’s Quandong and Gentian Bitters Liqueur, which we combine with Madenii sweet vermouth and West Winds Sabre gin, makes our own take on a Negroni,” he says.

“We also use TMD's Wattle Toffee Liqueur with 666 Butter vodka and egg to make a sweet and delicious flip.”

bars&clubs 47

TOP SHELF

WHAT’S IN CARLTON STORE AT TOP SHELF 2015

ROYAL EXHIBITION BUILDING Saturday 8 August (12-7pm) & Sunday 9 August (12-6pm).

Save $15 on the ticket price when you pre-buy online from www.topshelfshow.com.au.

Advance tickets are just $25.

A

round 100 companies will be showcasing their products at Top Shelf, including spirits suppliers, wine makers, brewers and cider makers.

Sampling is free, while longer serves are available at competitive prices, and bottles can be purchased to take home. With more than 60 spirits suppliers and over 25 beer and cider companies on board, there are plenty of creative activations planned.

Market newcomers Ink Gin will present its colour changing gin and run a competition to win the first bottle, Bottle 001, from its

48 bars&clubs

very first batch of the spirit. Ink will also offer a happy hour special from 5-6pm when visitors can purchase $5 cocktails and examine all 15 botanicals used to create Ink. At the Eau De Vie pop-up, the bar’s signature Blazer cocktails will be served throughout the day, and they’ll also sell their bottled cocktails for visitors to take home.

Want some entertainment? World class flair bartender and mixologist Clinton Weir, from Barmazter, will be performing and mixing drinks on the Finest Call stand.

On the beer front, Colonial Brewing’s

Small Ale cans will play a starring role on its beer pong table while members of its Beer Department will be on hand to chat about their mission to “save the world one beer at a time”.

Visitors to the DrinksRus stand will be able to sign up for a 10 per cent discount on online sales – and they’re running a mystery competition for guests as well.

There’s heaps more planned for Top Shelf, including ice carving displays, egg and spoon races, and you can even bottle your own gin.

There are plenty of other exhibitors signed up for the festival, including the likes of Berry Bros & Rudd, Campari, Diageo, Forty Spotted Gin, Giffard Liqueurs, Hawthorn Brewing, Kangaroo Island Spirits, Monin, Neat Spirits, Nip of Courage, Northdown Craft Beer Movement, Pernod Ricard, SouthTrade, Sullivan’s Cove, Uber Bar Tools, Vok, and William Grant.

Great food will also be available, with the likes of Huxaburger, Meatmother, Frencheese and Paco y Lola offering burgers, lobster rolls, slow cooked brisket and more.

TOP SHELF

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8-9 August 2015

Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton VIC 3053

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Please Don’t Tell

JEFF BELL INSIDE PDT

Jim Meehan, renowned author, and founder of New York City’s famed speakeasy Please Don’t Tell, will be presenting two seminars at the festival along with Jeff Bell, US World Class Bartender of the Year 2013. The duo will be presenting as part of a national World Class Drinking incentive – Steeped & Spritzed – encouraging bars to create their own batched cocktails with spirits such as Ketel One Vodka and Tanqueray Gin. Propelled by industry leaders such as Bell and Meehan, batching is a trend that has taken hold of the US bar scene for obvious reasons – it allows bartenders to pre-make batches of signature cocktails, freeing them up to serve guests more efficiently. Bell, who has been managing PDT since 2010, believes that while batching creates efficiencies behind the bar, it is not about cutting corners, it’s about spending more time with patrons. Meehan agrees that once batching is mastered, life behind the bar can become a lot simpler, however it’s not just a matter of pre-mixing drinks. And it is these techniques that the duo will be sharing in their seminar.

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TOP SHELF HOP ON THE CIDER BUS

The Somersby Cider bus will be pulling into Top Shelf again soon, but this year, with the weather in mind, it’ll be parking up inside the Royal Exhibition Building.

Purchased from the RAAF in 2012, the 1960 Bedford SB3 bus has had a total refit and is now a fully-operational bar complete with draught system, fridges, cool room and generator – and it's totally roadworthy.

Cider lovers will find plenty more options to quench their thirst at Top Shelf, with the likes of The Apple Thief, Frank’s Cider, Batlow, Spanish Cider, Flying Brick Cider and Custard & Co. all coming along.

WORLD’S SMALLEST BAR Monkey Shoulder will be pouring cocktails from the World’s Smallest Bar (self-contained and fullyfunctioning!). It’s a fun, interactive experience, and rumours have it that visitors to the bar exit through the fridge…

FIRE AND WOOD

Australian distillers Jimmy McKeown (Whipper Snapper), and Brian Hollingworth (Black Gate) will conduct tutored tastings as part of the Best of Aussie Craft Spirits sessions across the two days, while Peter Bignell (Belgrove Distillery) will give a number of coopering demonstrations at the event, showing how to char the barrels in preparation for the ageing of the whisky.

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Whisky Lovers Unite If you’re a whisky lover, you’ll find some extra special treats at this year’s Top Shelf, whether Scotch, Irish whiskey, bourbon or good old moonshine is your tipple of choice.

Laphroaig will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in style, sampling the 15YO created for the bicentennial celebrations, pouring cocktails and offering visitors the chance to win a whisky cabinet worth $10,000.

Over the two days off the show, Laphroaig will build a large white wall from 1,000 stones to resemble the iconic white walls of the distillery in Islay, Scotland. They’ll also be giving away 1,000 anniversary whisky marmalades in goodie bags.

Irish whiskey Tullamore D.E.W. will be highlighting beer and whiskey pairings with tasting paddles as part of their Dew and Brew promotion.

They’ll also be running a competition on their stand, involving a very special typewriter.

Tasmanian whisky Sullivan’s Cove will be sampling its Double Cask (a delicate blend of American and French oak casks), American Oak (double gold at the San Francisco International Spirit Awards) and French Oak (voted best single malt whisky in the world at the London Whisky Awards).

Other whiskies that will be available for sampling at Top Shelf include The Glenrothes, Glen Grant, Nikka, Russell’s Reserve, Whistle Pig Straight Rye and Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine. A number of local craft whisky producers will also be represented including the Whipper Snapper Distillery in Perth and the Black Gate Distillery in Mendooran.

BEER FOR THE PEOPLE

Beer lovers are in for a treat this year, with many of Australia’s finest brewers exhibiting their wares. Western Australia’s award-winning Feral Brewing will be pouring their exceptional Hop Hog IPA, which regularly tops the charts as Australia’s favourite craft beer; the Australian Beer Co.’s charming caravan will be on site offering the full range of Yenda beers; while Asahi’s Cricketers Arms craft beer selection is sure to bowl over a few punters as the Ashes gets into full swing.

Among the other brewers and beers exhibiting are: Beaumonde Boutique Beer; Hawthorn Brewing; Edge Brewing Projects; Kaiju Beer; Kronenbourg; Cavalier Brewery; Young Henrys; Good Brew Co; and Temple Brewing.

If you’ve ever considered joining the ranks of Australia’s craft brewing industry by opening your own brewery, there will be a free seminar offering advice from brewers who have been there and done it already. Or, if you’re new to beer, a special session on how to taste beer will provide the perfect introduction.

International Guest Speakers Charlotte Voisey, the award-winning company mixologist with William Grant USA, is flying in from the US to present.

Voisey, who has consulted on many of the world’s most prestigious bars and appears regularly on American TV, will present two talks on the main stage, demonstrating some of the drinks currently trending in the US. Her talk on Clarified Cocktails will be of particular interest to the trade.

Joining her from the States will be Naren Young, the former Sydney-sider who has carved out a reputation as one of America’s foremost bartenders and drinks consultants. Naren will present seminars on both Aperitifs and Secrets of the World’s Best Bars.

There will be some great talent from closer to home also presenting this year. Educator extraordinaire Jason Crawley will again grace the main stage, there will be a plethora of Australian craft distillers conducting tutored tastings, and the launch of St Agnes 20YO and 40YO will be celebrated with a brandy and chocolate pairing session, hosted by Richard Angove himself.

G 1&9 third Bars & Clubs:Layout 1 17/07/15 11:51 A

*Schedule is subject to change

SATURDAY

MAIN STAGE 12.45pm Ice Carving Display With Uber Bar Tools 2pm A Guide To Irish Whiskey 3pm The Essential Guide To Cocktails With Charlotte Voisey 4pm Batching Cocktails with Jeff Bell & Jim Meehan, PDT 5pm Aperitifs With Naren Young 6pm Drinks To Try Before You Die With Jason Crawley

G GIN

Seminar Schedule

Le Gin 1 & 9 Your Martini friend.

London Dry with Jamaican Pepper and Chinese Ginger.

Made in France - selected for Australia by Cerbaco Distribution

TASTING DEN 1pm Homebrewing – An Introduction 2pm Gins Of Australia – A Tasting With The Gin Queen, Caroline Childerley 3pm How To Taste Craft Beer With Stefanie Collins, Editor b&c 4pm Party Cocktails 101 5pm The Best Of Aussie Craft Spirits Part 1 With Stefanie Collins, Editor b&c 6pm Rums Of The Caribbean THE LOUNGE 1pm So You Want To Be A Sommelier? With David Lawler, Rockpool 2pm Meet The Distiller - With Tequila Tromba 3pm Brandy And Chocolate - A Match Made In Heaven With Richard Angove 4pm Wine Tasting 5pm Vermouth 6pm Craft Cider - A Comparative Tasting

SUNDAY MAIN STAGE 1pm Batching Cocktails With Jeff Bell & Jim Meehan, PDT 2pm Drinks To Try Before You Die With Jason Crawley 3pm Clarified Cocktails – All You Need To Know With Charlotte Voisey 4pm The Five Senses With Naren Young 5pm Cocktail Competition – Boys Vs Girls TASTING DEN 1pm How To Launch A Brewery With Stefanie Collins, Editor b&c 2pm Gins Of The World - A Tasting With The Gin Queen, Caroline Childerley 3pm Best Of Aussie Craft Spirits Part 2 With Stefanie Collins, Editor b&c 4pm Whisky: Deconstructed Blending 5pm Brandy And Chocolate - A Match Made In Heaven With Richard Angove THE LOUNGE 1pm How To Write A Profitable Wine List With David Lawler, Rockpool 2pm Meet The Distiller - With Tequila Tromba 3pm So You Want To Open A Bar? Advice From The Frontline 4pm An Introduction To Mezcal With Nick Peters, Mamasita 5pm How To Open A Distillery

TASTING NOTES Colour: clear; sparkling.

Nose: aromatic, delicate, very elegant.

A rich aromatic bouquet which is most refreshing, blended with subtle tones of juniper enhanced with a touch of citrus, angelica and coriander, slightly smoky and spicy.

An incomparable Gin for excellent cocktails and intense sensations.

For more information contact Cerbaco Distribution: 0396468022 or cerbaco.com.au

CIDER

Cider ALONG CAME A

It’s one of the fastest growing alcohol categories in recent times, and with more drinkers flocking to the category outside of the traditional summer cider season, it’s time to dive into the cider pool.

W

hile cider might still cop a bit of flack, the huge international market for it means that it’s time to sit up and take notice.

Alcoholic beverage industry research specialists Canadean released a report this year stating that it expects global consumption of cider to grow around 5 per cent annually. That means by 2020, the global cider market will potentially reach over three billion litres.

So what is driving the growth? In a move that is following on from the premiumisation of spirits and the “craft-ification” of beer, the cider market in Australia is also being driven by those two factors. According to Canadean, the Australian market should expect an average annual growth rate of 12 percent between 2015 and 2020. While a lot of that is higher priced imports, craft cider produced by apple growers is also on the up and up.

Cam Pearce, of Thatchers Gold, believes that cider drinkers are now becoming more sophisticated in their choices, as the market matures.

“There is a move away from the sweet stuff to craft brands,” he says. “Non-traditional ciders that incorporate other flavours appear to have peaked and are now declining. The market is also increasingly looking for more authentic, balanced flavours.”

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Rich Coombes, of New South Wales’ Batlow Cider, concurs, adding that the crafteffect is becoming more apparent than ever.

“The on-premise cider market is going from strength to strength, particularly at the craft end of the spectrum with it benefitting from the strong growth in cider in general and other ‘craft’ or small batch products including beer and spirits,” he says.

He also believes that having one or more ciders on tap in any venue is now not only common but also expected.

GETTING CIDER LITERATE What does that mean for venues? Well, expect the numbers of cider drinkers to increase, even outside of the traditional summer drinking season. And with expansion comes education, with more consumers aware of the variety of cider styles on the market and actively looking for new brands and types to try. Fleur McKenzie of the Adelaide-based Hills Cider Company believes that as Australians become savvier about their beverage choices, craft cider will continue to see sustained growth and expansion.

“As consumers become more educated, cider has fortified its place in on-premise drinks lists as a year round beverage,” she says. “The global movement to actively seek out and support companies that

CIDER

Common Cider Styles Farmhouse Cider – refers to natural or "real" cider made with as little impact from the producer as possible. These ciders are often fermented with wild yeasts and possess higher alcohol levels, up to 12%. Can have a challenging earthy or almost sour character to them.

Australian & New Zealand Apple Cider – characterised by fresh, clean and floral flavours.

Mainly made with traditional eating or cooking apples such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith or Golden Delicious. With a dry, acidic and crisp edge, they are usually clear filtered and carbonated.

French & English Apple Cider – France has two main cider producing regions in Normandy and Brittany, which have been producing cider for over 1500 years. Traditional French farmhouse cider is commonly cloudy, excessively astringent, and very complex. They match very well with cheese, and can be consumed as an aperitif. English cider hails from Somerset and Herefordshire and is generally vat aged, artificially carbonated, slightly astringent, pasteurised and filtered. Single apple varietal ciders are also very common, like Kingston Black, Dabinett, Yarlington Mill and Somerset Red Streak.

Scrumpy – a historic term meaning to steal or gather old apples that have begun to shrivel. The style can be traced to the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Usually higher in alcohol, bottle conditioned, astringent, volatile and very cloudy – though the term can be bandied around to simply mean ‘very high in alcohol’, as ABVs can reach 15%.

Fruit Flavoured – trendy with young drinkers, flavours also extend to ginger, vanilla and cinnamon. The term ‘cider’ is used fairly loosely with these products as they are technically classified as fruit wine if there is no apple or pear present. Stylistically, they are very sweet, and lightly carbonated.

Pear/Perry – more delicate than its apple counterpart and usually slightly lower in alcohol due to higher levels of non-fermentable sugars.

Traditional perry dates back to the fourth century and shows earthy characters, juicy sweetness, complexity and tannins. Australian and New Zealand pear ciders show crisper and cleaner features, with subtle pear aroma.

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CIDER CIDER MIXOLOGY WITH

represent the values and ideals of consumers looking for authenticity and traceability, and the desire to seek new and local flavours, continues to drive trends in the cider category.”

Pearce believes that it’s important for bartenders to be able to educate consumers around nuances in cider styles for a lot of reasons.

“It’s crucial to have educated bar staff, who can engage consumers with new and relevant product information,” he says.

“The cider making process is similar to that of wine, but the nuances are relatively unknown in the Australian market. There is

a great opportunity to educate consumers more about cider.

After all, the more consumers know, the more engaged and discerning they become.”

That means getting across cider in the same way that you now need to be across beer – and that means being about to talk styles, apple varieties, and facets such as tannin levels. The more staff are educated, the more they can pass on to consumers, and so create more positivity around a category that has suffered a little neglect when compared to craft beer or boutique wine. The key is to make positive choices when stocking the fridge then

getting customers excited about new options.

“Not all cider is equal,” says Coombes. “Consumers need to know what they’re putting in their body, so take some time to understand the product and what goes into it. If you’re selling a local craft product and a consumer is paying a bit more for it, let them know why. It’s all about delivering value.”

And don’t forget food matching – just like wine or beer cider makes for an excellent food pairing. The team at CUB are adamant that as the rise of culinary culture continues, so too will the rise of matched ciders –

JOEL PERSSON WITH HIS CIDER COCKTAILS

PUTTING TOGETHER A CIDER RANGE Cam Pearce: Look to add an authentic cider of quality, while still delivering a taste that is accessible across a broad range of drinkers. A cider that is unique with a balanced taste profile is perfect in appealing to a broad consumer subset and keeps consumers coming back to their venue. As such, a quality crafted cider should be a foundation of the range.

Fleur McKenzie: As with putting together wine portfolios, we suggest comparative tastings as the most important step bar operators can take when creating a cider portfolio. We also recommend engaging in category trainings or masterclasses to understand the many nuances and styles of cider to be able to present a balanced offering.

Rich Coombes: Look for complementing styles and try and cover a few bases as there is a huge diversity in ciders available now. Start with a solid easy drinking fruit driven style and work around that. It’s nice to offer sweeter and also drier styles and it helps to flag the differences based on this, as sweetness level can be a determining factor in preference at the bar.

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Joel Persson (REKORDERLIG BRAND AMBASSADOR)

How can bartenders use cider to create interesting cocktails?

Try it, taste it and let your creativity guide you. As cider is light and bubbly it works really well in combination with a spirit or liquor and a soft drink.

Flavoured ciders are so versatile that using them in cocktails is an excellent opportunity to turn classic short cocktails like Daiquiris, Margaritas or Gimlets into tasty long drinks by topping them up with cider in a highball glass with ice.

What are some of the ways you've used cider to create cocktails?

I’ve created blended, stirred, shaken, muddled and even thrown and set on fire cocktails during my three years with the brand, each and every one inspired by the flavours of Rekorderlig. There really isn’t any end to the possibilities.

We work a lot with punches and pitchers as it’s easy to use the whole bottle or can of cider serving several guests at the same time however, I’ve created a large amount of short cider cocktails too and even one or two mixed cider shots.

What sort of contrasts and complements does cider work well with?

It really depends on the flavour of the cider. Some spirits have a tendency to work better with a particular flavour from our range but there are many combinations I’ve developed through experimentation. If you want to try something for yourself I would recommend using Aperol or American whiskey with our Strawberry and Lime, or even put a dash of Absinthe into our Passionfruit Cider.

How do you convince people to try a new cider?

The interest in ciders is rising, and people are already out there broadening their cider portfolio which is great for the category and I don’t foresee this will change or slow down. Soon bars will have as many ciders on their bar menu as they have beers or wines – or at least that’s my hope.

CIDER

MARTIN THATCHER IS A FOURTH GENERATION ENGLISH CIDER MAKER

CIDER LIKE WINE According to Wormley “education, education, education” is the key to being able to develop your bar’s cider menu and keep people interested in exploring it and drinking their way through it.

“It starts with cider apples,” he says. “Do we drink wine made from supermarket grapes? No. The Europeans – and lately the Americans – have been making cider using cider apples for thousands of years for a reason.”

He suggests educating yourself on apple varieties in the same way that you would educate yourself about grape varietals.

“Discover the true characteristics of cider through the myriad of cider apples and their individual elements,” he says. “All of these apples produce flavours across a plethora of facets in a way that is not dissimilar to wine.”

whether it is a classic pork pie and cider combo or something more intriguing like cider sorbet with warm apple pie.

It all comes down to individual taste, and working out what it is that your customer likes in terms of flavour is just as important when it comes to cider as any other category. Whether they are after something at the lighter end – a Pink Lady apple-based cider is an example – or something that is dry on the palate and packs a tannin punch – a cider with a high percentage of Kingston Black apples in the ingredients list will knock a customer’s preconceived notions about cider out the window.

“We see consumers actively seeking out more traditional style ciders, bottle aged ciders, funk or oak aged ciders, and a generally drier, more refreshing style of cider,” says McKenzie.

Contrary to the popular misconception that all cider is sweet, there are plenty of local Australian ciders that would give the current sour beer trend a run for their mouth puckering money – from aged in oak barrels to wild fermented, there really is a cider for every taste.

“The cider category includes entry level sweeter style ciders, crisp fresh ciders that are perfect for hot sunny days and traditional style ciders celebrating aged funk flavours,” says McKenzie.

CIDER IS NOT JUST FOR SUMMER Cider provides a middle ground between beer and wine, and is becoming a staple drink for many consumers regardless of the season. That said, there are ways to make it more

accessible on a bitterly cold winter evening.

“Get to know the cider styles that feature a weightiness of heavy musky flavours, as these carry so well into colder winter months,” says Peter Wormley, of Westons.

It’s well-known that nothing beats the smell of heavily spiced mulled wine as you walk through the door of a bar on a cold night. So why not mix it up a little with mulled cider.

“Throw some cider in a soup urn together with some fragrant spices and other bits and pieces and mulled cider becomes a great winter warmer,” says Coombes.

If all else fails, the CUB team note that ensuring your cider is well-positioned in the fridge never hurts – according to their research, it is the largest category impulse purchased by consumers.

CIDER AS AN INGREDIENT Rich Coombes of Batlow says that he is seeing cider increasingly being used in cocktails and cooking, demonstrating a unique versatility compared to other categories.

“Cider can be a great addition to a cocktail, especially vodka and gin based cocktails,” he says.

“We have also put cider twists on classics like gin and juice, mojitos, even a cider sangria.”

“Cider spiders, mulled cider, cider granitas are just some of the inventions we have seen and tasted recently,” says McKenzie.

CUB recommends, at the very least, upping your garnish game – experiment with flavours, colours and presentation, with garnishes including fruit, vegetables and more. b&c

bars&clubs 55

FOUR

ONE

TWO THREE

5

BEHIND THE BAR THE PRODUCTS EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS MONTH

1PUNI ALBA

The first whisky distiller in Italy, Puni, was founded in 2010 by father and son team Albrecht and Jonas Ebensperger. Their first release is a two year-old Italian Malt Spirit. They malt together lowland barley, local wheat and rye. The resulting spirit emulates the richness of Scotch malt, with sweetness and complexity.

The whisky ages in WWII bunkers that mirror the ageing conditions of the great single malts. Released just two years after the stills were turned on for the first time, Puni Alba is the result of a meticulously planned marriage of spirits aged in ex-Marsala and pinot nero casks.

Distributed by: Spirit People info@ spirit-people.net

JAPANESE 2HIBIKI HARMONY

The whisky is a blend of more than 12 malt and grain whiskies from Suntory’s Yamazaki, Hakushu and

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Chita distilleries. The whisky pays homage to the original Hibiki blend with the distillers using the exact malt and grain whiskies that went into the first Hibiki blend – American White Oak malt whiskies for the base, accentuated by rare Mizunara (Japanese oak) and sherry malt whiskies. The whisky has aromas of rose and lychee, with hints of rosemary and sandalwood. The palate has honey-like sweetness, candied orange peel and white chocolate, with a long, subtle finish.

Distributed By: Suntory (02) 9663 1877

3FIREDRUM VODKA

Fire Drum was created by Amanda Beck with the aim of producing a sophisticated vodka that showcases the natural elements of Tasmania. It is small-batch copper pot distilled by the team behind Sullivan’s Cove, using two of Tasmania’s finest ingredients –

Tasmanian barley and Tasmanian mountain water – to ensure the flavours of the ingredients are retained. The minimalistic approach to distillation produces a fullbodied spirit that is expressive and very smooth. The vodka is double distilled, single non-chill filtered gently through charcoal, and blended with pure Tasmanian mountain water.

Distributed by: Savant Spirits sales@savantspirits.com

4MONIN FALERNUM

Falernum syrup is a subtle, balanced mix of spices, perfectly combining lime acidity with mellow almond notes – the essential ingredient for any tiki cocktail.

Falernum has its origins in Barbados, with recipes dating back to the mid19th century. A staple for vintage cocktails, Monin has developed the first, uniquely consistent-tasting Falernum syrup. Ride the tiki cocktail

revival and plunge into Polynesian drinks with Monin Falernum syrup.

Distributed By: Stuart Alexander & Co 1800 225 417

5RANSOM DRY GIN

Fashioned after Holland’s renowned malt wine genevers, Ransom Dry Gin combines the maltiness and hop aromas of the style with a decidedly more intense botanical infusion. The result is an aromatic gin with the attributes of both genever and dry gin styles, playing up to both its Dutch heritage as well as its Oregon, USA, provenance. The gin begins with a base wort of malted barley and rye, which is mashed and fermented before being infused with botanicals, distilled in corn spirt. Only the “heart of the hearts”, the very best portion of the gin distillate, is retained for bottling by the distillers.

Distributed by: Savant Spirits sales@savantspirits.com

SIX

LONDON 6BLOOM DRY GIN

Bloom is triple-distilled using honeysuckle, pomelo – a citrus similar to grapefruit – and chamomile in addition to juniper, angelica, and cubeb berries. The light, delicate and floral gin has a unique slightly sweet taste created by the bespoke blend of botanicals. The gin is very delicate on the palate, with floral notes of before the citrus taste of pomelo and a touch of earthiness complete the flavours. Bloom was created by Master Distiller, Joanne Moore, one of the few female master distillers. It is best served with fresh strawberries and tonic water to highlight the floral botanicals.

Distributed by: Direct Brand Distributors 13004347328

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POOR TOMS GIN

Poor Toms began life in a Sydney kitchen before a 200 litre German copper still (named Jane)

8

came on the scene. The brand has created a gin that is “an idiosyncratic expression” of their city – a Sydney Dry Gin. Poor Toms is distilled with ten botanicals, including fresh green apple, native strawberry gum, and chamomile. Their German still has a three-plate rectification column, which allows them to be precise and get really clear and bright flavours, meaning the gin has a fresh, floral, delicate fruit profile. With funds raised through the Pozible crowdfunding platform, the first batch of Sydney Dry Gin, has already sold out, with more to come.

Distributed by: Poor Toms Gin contact@poortomsgin.com.au

DRY 8DOLIN VERMOUTH

Dolin is based in Chambery, in the French Alps where the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée regulates the production of vermouth. The familyowned company uses the same recipe

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from 1821 to make their range. Dolin Dry Vermouth is known for its balance and gentle herbal aromas. The recipe uses wines from the south west of France, together with 17 botanicals and spices, and only 25 grams of sugar per litre. It has a full, intense nose of citrus peel, underscored by menthol and balsamic notes. Slightly bitter citrus base underlines and balances this lively vermouth.

Distributed by: Cerbaco (03) 9646 8022

THE GLENLIVET 9 FOUNDER’S RESERVE Created as a tribute to founder George Smith’s original vision to craft the definitive, smooth single malt whisky, The Founder's Reserve sees the house style complemented with a creaminess and sweetness from the addition of first fill American oak casks, resulting in exceptional smoothness. It has

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delicate aromas of citrus notes, notably sweet orange on the nose, while the palate displays sweet, fruit notes of zesty oranges and pears, with a hint of candy and toffee apples. The finish is creamy and smooth. It will replace the 12 Year Old. Distributed by: Pernod Ricard (02) 8874 8222

10TAITTINGER MILLÉSIMÉ 2008

The Taittinger Brut Millésimé 2008 is blended from first press wines and consists of 50 per cent chardonnay and 50 per cent pinot noir. The Millésimé 2008 shows intensity and mineral characters, the nose combines that of both fresh floral and citrus notes, in particular lemon and grapefruit. On the palate, the fruit, vinosity and richness predominate from the first sip to the lasting finish.

Distributed by: McWilliams Wines (02) 9722 1200 b&c

bars&clubs 57

BE SEEN AT THIS YEAR’S TOP SHELF!

Boutique Drinks Festival

HUNDREDS OF BRANDS FREE SAMPLING • CRAFT BEER Cut-price cocktails • Premium spirits • Boutique wines • Pop-up bars Free seminars • Ice carving • Great food • Games and prizes

ROYAL EXHIBITION BUILDING CARLTON GARDENS Saturday 12-7pm • Sunday 12-6pm

“One of the top two food and drink exhibitions I’ve ever been to” Melinda Smith, Collingwood

Last year’s show was a smash hit! Don’t miss out on 2015!

SAVE $15 www.topshelfshow.com.au

when you buy online: tickets are just $25!

WANT MORE? http://tiny.cc/qf40yx