Bars & Clubs May - June 2017

&clubs

MAY/JUNE 2017

BAR SECRETS

Naren Young from Dante in NYC lets us inside his mind

COFFEE

Moving beyond the espresso martini

MEZCALIERS

Talking agave distillates at Mamasita

ANDREA GUALDI

The head bartender of Maybe Frank and the winner of the Diageo Reserve World Class Australian finals is off to Mexico

PLUS: THE COLOURFUL HISTORY OF DARK BEER – THE PENICILLIN – PERTH’S BARS IN CRISIS?

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CHEERS, PROST, NA ZDROWIE I know what you’re thinking: jeez, Stef looks different!

“Read on, and find out how Aussie bartenders are using coffee beyond the espresso martini, the many virtues of rum, secrets of some of the and the dark history of

world’s best bars, porters and stouts” @BARSANDCLUBSMAGAZINE

MANAGING DIRECTOR Simon Grover PUBLISHER Paul Wootton pwootton@intermedia.com.au EDITOR Tam Allenby tallenby@intermedia.com.au PHOTOGRAPHER Claudia Morgan’s profile: Bon Askew Black Pearl/Speak Low: 50 Best Bars

/BARSANDCLUB

Tam Allenby Editor

@BARS_AND_CLUBS

GENERAL MANAGER SALES – LIQUOR & HOSPITALITY GROUP Shane T Williams stwilliams@intermedia.com.au GRAPHIC DESIGN Ryan Vizcarra ryanv@intermedia.com.au PRODUCTION MANAGER Jacqui Cooper

After two-and-a-half years at the helm of BARS&clubs, your previous loyal editor Stefanie Collins has crossed over to the ‘other side’ – brand management. Jokes aside, we wish her the very best in her new role at island2island. She’s left some rather large shoes to fill.

So from now on you’ll be stuck with me. For those of you I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting, hello again – here’s proof of my legitimacy! And for those I haven’t, I truly look forward to shaking your hand and saying hello, hopefully over a couple of drinks.

It’s been quite a whirlwind for me personally over the last six months. After graduating from the University of Sydney at the end of last year with a master’s, I came on board professionally with Beer & Brewer and National Liquor News (two other publications here at Intermedia) in an assistant editor role after interning at the company during my degree. And when Stef announced she was moving on, it was me that the higher-ups decided to tap on the shoulder to make the big step up.

So here it is: my very first edition of BARS&clubs.

We’ve got some great stories in this issue thanks to our wonderful contributors, and I hope you enjoy reading their features as much as I did. Read on, and find out how Aussie bartenders are using coffee beyond the espresso martini, the many virtues of rum, secrets of some of the world’s best bars, and the dark history of porters and stouts. And that’s just a snippet.

It’s already been quite a ride, and I can’t wait to learn more about this fantastic industry.

Here’s to new beginnings.

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MAY/JUNE 24

Features 17 SECRETS OF BARS Naren Young, formerly of Saxon + Parole and now Dante in NYC, lets us inside his mind.

24 MEZCALIERS Co-owner of Mamasita and Hotel Jesus in Melbourne Nick Peters talks agave distillates.

28 DRINK RUM Joseph Sinagra is a rum aficionado; he explains why it’s one of the most varied spirit categories.

28

32 COFFEE COCKTAILS How are Aussie bartenders moving beyond the espresso martini? Fred Siggins finds out.

36 PERTH’S BARS IN CRISIS? Gary Beadle explores the idiosyncrasies of the bar scene in the world’s most isolated city.

40 BIG, BOLD AND BLACK Stefanie Collins takes a look at the colourful history of porters and stouts.

17

Regulars 8 NEWS What you need to know.

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

12 INSPIRATION Maybe Frank’s Andrea Gualdi has taken out Diageo World Class Australia for 2017.

14 THE PENICILLIN What’s the story behind this modern-day classic?

22 CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT

12

40 14

36

This issue, it’s all about gin.

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BARS&clubs 7

news

ANDREA GUALDI WINS WORLD CLASS AUSTRALIA 2017

Maybe Frank’s Andrea Gualdi took out the Diageo Reserve World Class Australia competition in early June and was crowned Australian Bartender of the Year 2017. His consistency across all four categories impressed the judging panel, made up of local and international experts.

The 20 finalists were judged and scored based on innovation, technique, creativity, presentation, storytelling and artistry. Winners of the four key categories were: • Low ABV: Matthew Linklater, Black Pearl (VIC) • World Class in a Glass: James Irvine, the Swillhouse Group (NSW) • Shared Serve Cocktails: Jake Down, This Must Be The Place (NSW) • Against the Clock: Phil Specter, Bulletin Place (NSW) Overall winner Gualdi will embark on an all-expenses paid trip to the home of Johnnie Walker in Scotland and attend the launch of the first Global World Class Bar in Bangkok. He’ll then head to Mexico City in August to represent Australia at Diageo’s ninth annual Global Diageo Reserve World Class competition.

“This was completely unexpected. I never would have made it without my team and this win is dedicated to them. I’ve dreamed of going to Mexico as a little boy and now it’s finally coming true,” said Gualdi after learning of his win.

Best of luck Andrea – we’re all behind you.

Turn to page 12 for an exclusive interview with Andrea Gualdi.

ARCHIE ROSE HORISUMI Archie Rose Distilling Co. has launched the second in a series of four rare gins that pay homage to Japan’s seasons.

The label for Horisumi - Winter has been designed in collaboration with acclaimed tattoo artist Kian Forreal (AKA Shodai Horisumi), with a falcon perched on a pine tree branch and Mount Fuji as the backdrop.

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PATRÓN PERFECTIONIST Entries are open for the third annual Patrón Perfectionists Cocktail Competition which has extended its international reach this year to 18 countries. Nick Cozens of Eau de Vie was the 2016 Australian winner.

Last year’s global winner Mike McGinty took out the competition with his unique cocktail The Bell of Jalisco (pictured).

HENDRICK’S GIN DEBUTS ‘THE AWAKENING’ IN SYDNEY WAREHOUSE From June 2 to 4, Hendrick’s Gin invited gindrinkers, “genuine free-thinkers” and “pursuers of the peculiar” to the ‘The Awakening’, an immersive and unique theatre experience held in a creative warehouse space in Sydney’s Waterloo. The interactive, hour-long theatrical journey took participants through a series of lavishly designed, spooky sets where they were active participants in each scenario – all with a gin cocktail in hand, of course.

Emerging safe and sound on the other side, guests could enjoy all three of the Hendrick’s cocktails again – which included a classic, a seasonal, and an experimental serve. Kudos to Hendrick’s, the marketing bar has certainly been raised.

ZEBRA BAR Zebra Bar is the newest addition to Merivale’s Queens Hotel in Enmore.

It joins the Smelly Goat cocktail bar upstairs, while Queen Chow restaurant occupies the venue’s ground floor.

Narissa Matthews from Queens Hotel explained that Zebra Bar will focus on group bookings and functions, “freeing up the Goat for walk-ins.”

news BACARDI LEGACY GLOBAL CHAMPION Australia’s Dave Kerr missed out on winning the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition after securing himself a spot in the global grand final. It was instead Ran Van Ongevalle from Belgium who was crowned the winner for his cocktail creation Clarita. Kerr, of Melbourne’s The Beaufort & Ike’s, represented Australia against 37 other competing nations in the weeklong competition in Berlin, making it into the final eight.

WHAT IS BAIJU AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? For the first time since people started counting, baijiu now accounts for greater brand value share than any other spirit type, with the Chinese spirit overtaking whisk(e)y for the first time. Here are the facts:

VIVID GIG IN SYDNEY SHUT DOWN AT 9.30PM In a new low for Kings Cross, a once vibrant part of Sydney’s nightlife, a music gig at the Kings Cross Hotel that was part of the Vivid festival had to be shut down before 9.30pm following a number of noise complaints. The area has seen a drastic drop in foot traffic since the lockout laws were introduced in 2015. Keep Sydney Open’s Tyson Koh said it highlights the importance of his campaign in stopping Sydney’s nightlife becoming “an irrelevant snoozefest.”

MARTINI SERVICE REVIVED Eau De Vie in Melbourne have partnered with Star of Bombay to bring back to life the ceremonial ritual of the martini service, with the launch of an exclusively designed martini trolley. The iconic cocktail bar is serving re-imagined martini trolley cocktails from iconic hotel bars throughout history, served directly from the trolley and created in the bespoke, theatrical style that is the Eau de Vie trademark.

Name: literally means “white spirit” Origin: Sichuan and Guizhou provinces of China History: there is evidence of production dating back over 1000 years What is it? Baijus are a blend of distillates from sorghum, wheat, rice, sticky rice, and corn Tradition: after drinking your shot you should shout, “Ganbei!” which means, “Dry the glass”

10

%

The number of Australians who never drink, according to ‘Australian Consumer Drinking Habits 2017’, a report published

by Intermedia.

HAVE YOU SEEN BARS&CLUBS ONLINE?

All the latest industry news, along with features, tips and tutorials.

Cocktails: the tropical fruit and floral notes work well with a range of flavours, and baiju cocktails are becoming more prominent in bars in China ABV: usually sits just over 50%, but that’s not a hard and fast rule Stats: A sharp increase in baijiu brand value in 2016 saw its value increase to 37.5 per cent, while whisk(e)y fell to 28 per cent. Baijius now account for four of the top 10 most valuable spirit brand according to Brand Finance, with Moutai out in front as the most valuable spirit brand.

BARS&clubs 9

openings

T

THREE BOTTLE MAN

hree Bottle Man, located in Bulletin Place at the Sydney Harbour Marriott in Circular Quay, has opened its doors as Sydney’s only bar to stock all Australian beverages and produce.

With an all-Aussie wine and beer list, specialty cocktails made with only Australian spirits and ingredients, and exclusively local produce used in its all-day menu, the venue’s offering reflects the quality of our country’s gourmet output.

Open from breakfast to dinner, the morning café transforms into a lunch and dinner spot, offering a carefully curated selection of all Australian cocktails, fine wines and beers alongside an a la carte menu that focuses on share plates.

“In terms of beverages, Australia has so much to offer now,” bar supervisor Kartik Chaudhri told BARS&clubs. “There’s so much going on in the beverage scene in Australia, of course [there’s] Aussie wines but also Tassie whiskies and all the spirits – even when you’re

looking just at Sydney, you’ve got Archie Rose distilling its own gin.

“So we thought ‘let’s do something unique’.

Plus, we’re in Bulletin Place where there’s one of Sydney’s best cocktail bars and we needed something interesting to hang our hat on – so we decided to do an all Australian bar. We believe Melbourne has one such bar but in terms of Sydney we’re the first.”

Three Bottle Man is also working with leading Aussie spirits distributor Nip of Courage, ensuring that the drinks program promotes a number of smaller, boutique Australian distilleries.

The bar is named after William Pitt, the late18th century British Prime Minister who earned the name ‘Three Bottle Man’ for famously carrying three bottles of liquor with him at all times.

And as Chaudhri explained, this ethos has also carried over into the bar’s day-today program.

“Everything we do we do in threes, so for

each day we’ve got three whiskies, three vodkas, three gins, and there’s no published cocktail menu – every bartender comes in with their own three specials for the day.

“We’ve got 14 bartenders to work with and they do their own twist on things, so if they’re doing an Old Fashioned, rather than doing it with whisky they’ll do something with Australian rum. Our espresso martini with cold drip coffee has also been really popular.

“As for the wines, the wine menu is everchanging; every two weeks we revisit our wine list, so the idea is when you walk into the hotel you will have the option of six red and six whites by the glass, and every two weeks we go back and change it.”

Three Bottle Man is part of Sydney Harbour Marriott’s $15 million renovation, delivering what is a brand new food and beverage concept for the hotel.

Address: 1 Bulletin Place, Sydney NSW

BARS&clubs 11

ANDREA GUALDI:

DIAGEO’S AUSTRALIAN BARTENDER OF THE YEAR 2017 while four other top Aussie n early June, Andrea bartenders won each Gualdi of Maybe Frank individual category, it was in NSW was crowned as Gualdi’s consistency that the winner of the Diageo earned him the overall title.

Reserve World Class Speaking after the Australian finals. Awarded announcement, Gualdi the title of Australia’s 2017 described his win as ‘Bartender of the Year’, “completely unexpected”, Gualdi will embark on his modesty somewhat a once in a lifetime, allbelying the fact that it was a expenses paid trip to the result earned through hard home of Johnnie Walker in work and total dedication to Scotland and attend the his craft. BARS&clubs caught launch of the first Global The Diageo Reserve World Class Australian finalists World Class Bar in Bangkok. up with Gualdi the morning He will then travel to Mexico City in August to represent after his triumphant night to congratulate him on the Australia at Diageo’s ninth annual Global Diageo Reserve win and hear this exciting young bartender’s story.

World Class competition.

In order to claim the coveted national title, Gualdi FIRSTLY, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE WIN ANDREA – competed against 19 of the nation’s best bartenders YOU MUST BE A LITTLE HUNGOVER THIS MORNING? across four cocktail challenges: Shared Serve, Against Not really, I went home early and woke up at seven this the Clock, Low ABV and World Class in a Glass. And morning, fresh like a flower!

I

12 BARS&clubs

inspiration I’M IMPRESSED! HOW’S IT FEEL TO WIN? It feels amazing – before I moved to Australia, all of the people that I was competing against were just people I saw on the internet who were kind of my idols, and today I’ve realised that I’m part of that group now, it’s just crazy! I had the two owners of Maybe Frank there last night who have always supported me, as well as the other people in my team who I dedicated the win to, because it was all about the teamwork we have done together before the competition, behind the scenes.

HOW’D YOU END UP BARTENDING IN AUSTRALIA? My background is Italian, but in Italy I didn’t really have much cocktail experience. I used to work in cafes and bars but it’s a classical place where we basically only do aperitivo all day long, Negronis and these kinds of drinks. The biggest step that brought me into the world of cocktails was working at Artesian in London.

That was where I learned everything and it made me who I am today, where I worked with Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, who have been my biggest mentors.

From there I started out on my journey as a bartender as an individual.

I only actually came to Australia two years ago. My first workplace here was Palmer & Co., where I met Stefano who is one of the owners of Maybe Frank. Last year was my first ever World Class, where I won a category, which made realise that it was actually possible, and I spent the last year practicing for this – it was a lot of hard work.

YOU DESIGNED THE COCKTAIL LIST AT MAYBE FRANK – CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK THERE? It’s challenging because it’s completely different from all the other places where I’ve worked. It’s not a cocktail bar, it’s a bar inside a pizza place. Also the cocktails have to be different because when people eat a pizza they’re not going to want an Old Fashioned or a super boozy drink.

They want something more fresh, so you have to try and build the cocktail list around the style of the place.

The big opportunity that Maybe Frank gave me is because it’s a smaller place, it’s more my vision of hospitality. I can talk more with the people, I can tell them more stories behind the drinks, and its more personal the relationship I have with the guests. The most beautiful thing for me is to see people who really didn’t expect to find a bar, they just came for a pizza. And then they have a pizza, but a couple of cocktails too!

WHEN IT’S QUIETER, DO YOU HAVE MORE TIME TO WORK ON YOUR DRINKS? Because it’s a bar designed for one bartender, it means that when there’s 120 people in the venue I have to push out drinks for everybody by myself. But also once everybody has their drinks, I can leave the bar, and chat to them. The biggest difference in terms of practice for the World Class competition and all the other bars I worked at is I don’t finish at 5am, at 11pm we close so I can manage to study more and spend more time working on my drinks.

WHAT WAS YOUR STRATEGY GOING IN TO THE DIAGEO WORLD CLASS AUSTRALIAN FINALS? If you look at previous years of the competition almost all of the winners didn’t win one specific challenge, but they were consistent in all the challenges. I didn’t win a category, but I was very happy with my ‘Shared Serve’ cocktail. It was one cocktail, but from one cocktail it turned into four different cocktails.

There were four judges, and they were talking about originality and sharing, and I wanted to make four different drinks and not just pour the same drink in four different cups. I decided to do four different drinks, so they have to behave like in a ritual – each judge had a sip and passed it around.

WHO DID YOU SEE AS YOUR MAIN RIVALS? From Sydney I was looking at Michael Chiem from PS40, and Orlando Marzo who is another Italian guy from Melbourne – I didn’t really know him before but we became really good friends, but I still really wanted to be the first Italian to make it so it was a good rivalry.

Christian Blair is a kind of veteran of this profession so he was someone I was looking at as well.

YOU MUST BE EXCITED TO BE GOING TO MEXICO? HOW WILL YOU PREPARE? Mexico has always been my dream – tequila is my favourite spirit and I’ve always been fascinated with that culture. So when I heard that this year that the finals were in Mexico, I thought well that’s an extra reason to try to win!

As soon as I will get the challenges I will start training straight away. I noticed the difference between this year and last year, the reason why I think I won, is preparation. It’s going to be a very intense couple of months.

NOW THAT YOU’VE WON IN AUSTRALIA, DO YOU BELIEVE IT’S POSSIBLE TO WIN THE GLOBAL FINAL? Now I realise that I’m going to compete with another 50-60 bartenders who are just like me. I didn’t think that I could make it before I won but now, I’ve started to think “you know what? It is possible”. All of this year has been about the competition. So now that I feel that I’ve made it this far, I really feel calm. I also really want to thank all of the people that have sent me messages, helped me out, supported me – they can all have a free drink if they come in to Maybe Frank!

LAST ONE – WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE COCKTAIL TO MAKE OR DRINK? They’re different. To make, it’s a drink at Maybe Frank called Sophia – named after Sophia Loren. It represents how I think a kiss from the most beautiful woman in the world is going to taste if you put it in a glass, and is made with Don Julio tequila, Cocchi Americano Rosa, some sherry and some roses – it’s very floral and light.

To drink myself, I’m a huge fan of tequila and I’d go for a classic Margarita.

BARS&clubs 13

classic cocktail

THE PENICILLIN THE PENICILLIN Glass: Old Fashioned Ingredients: • 50ml Dewar’s 12 • 22ml Lemon juice • 22ml Honey and ginger syrup • 5ml Laphroaig/smoky whisky • Crystallised ginger Method: Combine Dewar’s 12, lemon juice, and honey and ginger syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice. Top with Laphroaig.

Garnish: Crystallised ginger.

14 BARS&clubs

sponsored content

T

he Penicillin has become so ubiquitous on drinks lists at bars around the world that it’s very easy to forget the fact it only came into existence in 2005.

And unlike many cocktail classics that were invented so long ago that the actual inventor has been well and truly lost to the sands of time, you can trace the smoky, lemony elixir back to one person: Sam Ross.

While working at New York’s famous speakeasy Milk & Honey (now Attaboy), Ross did a riff on the Gold Rush cocktail, a honey-laced whiskey sour, which was one of the bar’s top sellers. Though he initially didn’t think much of it, staff and eventually customers began asking for the concoction. The name was inspired by chicken noodle soup or ‘Jewish Penicillin’, a home remedy to cure any number of ailments.

And although The Penicillin was born in NYC, it was in Los Angeles that the cocktail was fully embraced. In 2007, Ross was hired to consult on the drinks list for Comme Ça, a new brasserie opening in West Hollywood.

He trained staff on how to make The Penicillin, a feature on the brasserie’s cocktail list, and as the LA bar scene grew, many of these bartenders opened venues of their own taking the drink with them.

The cocktail then spread to all corners of the bartending globe, thanks in part to its simplicity, and was a major factor in opening many eyes to the wonders of single malt in whisky cocktails.

VARIATIONS Though young in age, the popularity and pervasiveness of this modern day classic has spawned a number of variations. One famous (and spicy) example is The Penicilina, one of the favourites at Lobo Plantation, which is made using Espolón tequila, a spicy and housemade ginger and jalapeno syrup, fresh lemon, a pinch of salt and finished with a spray of Laphroaig single malt.

Other international variations include the ‘Penichillin’ at Brooklyn’s Diamond Reef (owned by the Attaboy team), which is made in large batches in a slushie machine; The Braveheart, created by Devin Espinosa at The Tasting Kitchen in LA, a non-smoky variation with a dash of Angostura bitters; and Rouge Tomate in New York City’s spin on the drink which adds fermented local honey, bee pollen garnish and a spritz of jasmine-infused mezcal instead of peated Scotch.

BARS&clubs 15

Have you seen our FREE digital edition?

&clubs

MARCH/APRIL 2017

MIXERS

James Irvine on using cream and Mikey Nicolian on creating shrubs

SCOTCH WHISKY Don’t be a blend snob!

ACHING JOINTS?

Why it’s time to look after your body

JAMES CONNOLLY

The Beverage Director of Long Chim on management clichés, working across state lines and how he staffs his venues

PLUS: GETTING SOUR BEER ON THE MENU – THE OLD FASHIONED – SOURCING ETHICAL INGREDIENTS

CHECK IT OUT ONLINE AT barsandclubs.realviewdigital.com

NOW

secrets of bars

SECRETS OF THE WORLD’S BEST BARS

Naren Young has some secrets to tell. Under his guidance, New York restaurant Saxon + Parole was crowned Best Restaurant Bar in America at Tales of the Cocktail in 2013 and 2016, while his new bar Dante currently ranks #34 on the prestigious list of the World’s 50 Best Bars compiled by Drinks International. He lets us inside his mind.

BARS&clubs 17

secrets of bars

W

hen my friend Linden Pride tapped me on the shoulder to help curate and run the bar at Saxon + Parole, which opened in lower Manhattan in September 2010, I knew I was ready to finally create something truly world class. I had plied my trade in this business for almost two decades by that stage and the influences and philosophies that I’d collated in that time were ready to find an outlet. I was prepared, mentally at least, to bring these ideas to life and I knew that it would be an unwavering and acute focus on excellence that would bring success (and profits) to this hip new restaurant/bar that had a crack team behind it.

KEEP IT FRESH I clearly remember my first day, looking through the downstairs storage freezers. Most of it was filled to the brim with frozen and pasteurized lemon and lime juices. Oh dear! Cue the eye roll.

I threw the entire contents straight into the garbage where they belonged and from that moment on, I would insist that every single juice, puree and syrup would be made by us, on the premises and fresh daily. That means that we didn’t stock cranberry juice, because we couldn’t make it ourselves.

That caused a bit of a stir with the owners who had never hired someone with this maniacal eye for detail who simply refused to cut corners. Their argument was that every bar in the world had cranberry juice and therefore, we also had to stock it. My succinct response was, “I don’t want to be like every bar in the world. I want to be unlike every bar in the world.”

Think about that for a minute. This philosophy would become one of my guiding mantras to this day. Each bar and every bartender needs to find their own voice, and you should never do anything because you feel obliged to, or to be accepted as part of the status quo. Where’s the originality in that?

This dedication to freshness might sound obvious – even rudimentary – to many of you. But keep in mind that

18 BARS&clubs

Dante in New York City

“It is by taking a thoughtful,

analytical approach to every part of a bar’s operation, focusing on the small details and always asking “why?” that can set you on your way to developing a world class bar program.”

BARS&clubs 19

secrets of bars

very few bars in America (where I’ve been based since leaving Australia in 2006) actually serve fresh juice. Sure, most of the modern craft cocktail bars do, but even many of them follow this pursuit haphazardly.

I’ve worked in some of the most high profile bars in America where we squeezed our own citrus juices daily but our pineapple, cranberry and apple juices were all generic bottled brands, made from concentrate. I’m sorry, but that is NOT a fresh juice program.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL My biggest inspiration was actually an iconic restaurant called the Gramercy Tavern here in New York, a place that would teach me many lessons and still informs many of the decisions that I make today.

I never actually worked at the Gramercy but by spending countless hours (and money) at their long, legendary bar, there were many tiny details that made me realise what it would take to create one of the world’s best bars. The Gramercy isn’t on the radar of the cocktail geeks that descend on New York every day of the year, and that’s a shame.

The main thing I took away from my experiences there was that they seemed to pay inordinate attention to the smallest details in everything they did. This is not as easy as it sounds.

20 BARS&clubs

“I don’t want to be like every bar in the world.

I want to be unlike every bar in the world.”

I’ve often called it the ‘complete bar’, even though there are many better places around town to find intricately crafted cocktails. But that’s not the point; it is their adroit focus on the minutiae that led me down the path to look at every tiny detail of a bar operation and implement that philosophy in every venue I’ve worked at to this day.

MORE THAN JUST DRINKS Truth is, it’s not the cocktails themselves that separate a good bar from a great one anymore. There are wonderful drinks being mixed all over the world now; more than any other time in history.

It is by taking a thoughtful, analytical approach to every part of a bar’s operation, focusing on the small details and always asking “why?”

that can set you on your way to developing a world class bar program.

It is the bars that provide consistency across all levels, whether it be drinks, service, whatever, that will always rise above the pack. To do so on a daily basis requires ongoing training and discipline and I cannot overstate the importance of both of these enough.

By providing your staff with the tools and knowledge to execute your vision, you will create a positive and dynamic culture among your team and create a sense of loyalty. They’ll know they work in an environment with very clear goals and an underlying focus on higher learning.

This should never be measured by what and how many awards you win. The Artesian Bar in London was crowned the world’s best bar four years running, but I don’t believe it was necessarily their drinks that won over the judging panel (though in their drinks were very good).

What they did better than anyone else, according to many accounts and not just my own, was coddle their guests. Greeted with a glass of champagne on arrival, it was a regal touch that certainly never went unnoticed. And it these small gestures of hospitality that create memorable experiences for our guests.

And really, isn’t that the whole point?

FOR BAR PROFESSIONALS WHO WANT MORE

NOW WITH GREATER REACH THAN EVER &clubs

MARCH/APRIL 2017

MARCH/APRIL 2017

&clubs

MIXERS

James Irvine on using cream and Mikey Nicolian on creating shrubs

MIXERS

James Irvine on using cream and Mikey Nicolian on creating shrubs

SCOTCH WHISKY Don’t be a blend snob!

SCOTCH WHISKY

ACHING JOINTS?

ACHING JOINTS?

Don’t be a blend snob!

Why it’s time to look after your body

Why it’s time to look after your body

JAMES CONNOLLY

JAMES CONNOLLY

The Beverage Director of Long Chim on management clichés, working across state lines and how he staffs his venues

The Beverage Director of Long Chim on management clichés, working across state lines and how he staffs his venues

PLUS: GETTING SOUR BEER ON THE MENU – THE OLD FASHIONED – SOURCING ETHICAL INGREDIENTS

PLUS: GETTING SOUR BEER ON THE MENU – THE OLD FASHIONED – SOURCING ETHICAL INGREDIENTS

PRINT MAGAZINE

DIGITAL MAG FOR TABLET + MOBILE

AUSTRALIAN DRINKS FESTIVAL

editorial: Tam - tallenby@intermedia.com.au advertising: Jacob - jgawlik@intermedia.com.au | 02 8586 6123

ARCHIE ROSE DISTILLER’S STRENGTH GIN MANLY SPIRITS AUSTRALIAN DRY GIN Manly Spirits Australian Dry Gin showcases a bright, fresh citrus nose, balanced with gentle peppery notes on the palate to deliver a rounded, lingering finish.

Perfect in a G&T with a slice of orange. Made with ten botanicals including orange peel, sea lettuce, finger lime, anise myrtle and mountain pepper leaf. manlyspirits.com.au

SHOT AT

Café del Mar PICTURED: The Spanish G&T – Premium Spanish gin, rosemary, black peppercorn, lime, juniper berries

22 BARS&clubs

An overproof gin, packed with sixteen individually distilled botanicals, including fresh pears from Orange in NSW, rose petals, elderflower, pronounced juniper and distilled honey direct from the distillery’s rooftop beehives. Distiller’s Strength Gin takes cues from Navy Strength gins but has been made to the tastes of the Archie Rose team.

Distinguished, complex and intense, with a higher ABV of 52.4 percent, this is a gin for those who love bigger, bolder flavours while retaining balance. archierose.com.au

gin promotion

GIN-UINE MONKEY 47 SCHWARZWALD DRY GIN

GENEROUS GIN Imagine a gin like a perfect garden or a dream grove. Rich with multiple essences: citrus, pink berries, blood oranges, grey pepper, elderberries, lime and juniper. A new French gin, Generous is elaborated and bottled near the city of Cognac. cerbaco.com.au

HERNÖ GIN Hernö Gin is a round and smooth London dry gin, with a juniper character, fresh citrus notes and a floral complexity which makes the gin very enjoyable on its own. Hernö gin is a one-shot-gin, only diluted with water from Hernö’s well, and is not chill filtered. The most awarded gin in Europe for the last four years running. vanguardluxurybrands.com

With the distinct and pure scent of juniper, a tangy and crisp citrus note, a sweet floral aroma, a hint of peppery spices, subtle bitter fruit, and a deep and harmoniously balanced complexity with a tremendously racy finish.

Whether with tonic, as a sling, martini, or gimlet, the unique and complex taste of Monkey 47 is an ideal basis for both classics and more eccentric cocktails. pernod-ricard-australia.com

BARS&clubs 23

MELBOURNE’S MEZCAL MAESTRO Nick Peters is co-owner of Mamasita and Hotel Jesus in Melbourne, and is a certified Mezcalier. He shares with us his strategies for introducing his customers to the wonderful world of agave spirits.

W

hen Mamasita opened in 2010, selling 100% agave spirits was tough. People were scared of tequila, and as for mezcal, forget about it. There weren’t that many great products around – Jo Crow still ruled the roost, and still does to a degree – and the

24 BARS&clubs

good stuff that was available was, comparatively, too expensive.

Thankfully, the last seven years has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of people interested in agave distillates and the amount of hooch they’re imbibing, which is a great thing.

Suppliers and importers are also on board and what’s on offer in Australia now is fantastic. The majority of importers are passionate about the industry, and are more than willing to work with venues to provide support through training, incentives, marketing and events.

mezcal & tequila

OPENING EYES TO AGAVE DISTILLATES When I’m asked to give talks about agave distillates I always start off by asking participants to raise their hand if they’ve had a bad experience with tequila. You guessed it, 99 percent of people shoot their hands up straight away – I figure the other one percent just drank too much tequila that night and have blocked it out of their memory!

Back then in 2010, and still today, the question we ask ourselves is: “If everyone has had a bad experience with tequila, how can we get past that?” Initially we relied on our beverage list to do the talking by simply listing our tequilas and mezcals and hoping people would bite, which was pretty slow going.

Then we added in some more details: aging processes, legalities,

Mamasita Mezcalier Luis Herrera and Nick Peters

“The Mezcalier program has been running strong for almost three years, and we’re seeing great results.”

oak treatments etc., but we went too far. It was too confusing for those trying to get into it for the first, second or even third time.

Through the bev list we were trying to educate people about spirits that, comparatively, are only aged for five minutes, but demand a similar price to a 21-year old whisky.

People couldn’t justify the cost, regardless of the fact that the plant takes eight years to mature (and in cases such as Tepextate, up to 35 years). We still needed to offer more.

STAFF TRAINING Matt Lane (my business partner), our amazing staff at both venues and myself all love agave distillates, and we want the customer to enjoy them too – so what’s the most effective way to get people to try them?

We’ve always pushed staff training, and were happy that the staff loved the product. Some of our staff were confident and able to pass on their knowledge and talk about their favourite products with customers, but no matter how much training we did, others just couldn’t get across the line. What were we doing wrong? Again, we came back to training.

We attached a sales component to each and every tasting or training session; mezcal-focused or otherwise (when I say mezcal, this encompassed all agave distillates).

Our emphasis was on trying to provide the customer with the best possible experience, every time, rather than just trying to get them to buy things they didn’t want.

We pared back the information in the bev list – not an easy task with around 150 mezcals – to make it easily decipherable. We want customers to have a good time, not to have to pore over an encyclopaedia just to order a bevvy.

We started to see some progress, but we knew that we needed something to really drive this thing. Read: Agave sommeliers, aka Mezcaliers.

MAMASITA MEZCALIER TRAINING I was lucky enough in 2014 to participate in a Mexican BARS&clubs 25

mezcal & tequila

Government-accredited Mezcalier course in Oaxaca – the only person outside of North America to do so.

The course was devised and run by the inimitable Doug French, an Oaxaca veteran, all-round good guy and mezcal guru, and it opened my eyes even further to the immense world of mezcal, which to me is kind of like life: the more you know, the more you realise you don’t know.

Following on from this training, Mamasita manager and mezcal aficionado Luis Herrera and I put together our version of formally-structured, internal Mezcalier training and trained our inaugural Mamasita Mezcaliers. The course matter was solid, and then when Luis attended a Tequila course at CRT (the Mexican Tequila Regulatory Council) last year we were able to ramp up the program again.

So what does it take to become a Mamasita Mezcalier? Once accepted, the students are guided through a number of sessions about the culture, history and processes of mezcal production. It’s romantic – families in the hills produce mezcal from plants that take over 10 years to grow, and often don’t make it to sell, but to supply to the village for religious celebrations, fiestas, weddings and funerals.

We also spend a lot of time discussing the future of agave distillates, as well as partaking in (obviously) a large number of tastings. The students are then subjected to a variety of exams – there’s not a multiple choice question in sight – and a pass mark of 80% is needed to progress further through the program.

PATRON PERFECTIONISTS COCKTAIL COMPETITION

SONG OF THE SEA Nick Cozens from Eau de Vie (Melbourne) was the 2016 national winner for Australia. Here’s the drink he won with: Ingredients: • 45ml Patrón Silver • 10ml Vanilla washed Lillet Blanc • 15ml fresh lime juice • 15ml black pepper and coriander shrubs • 15ml fresh pineapple juice • Salted Agave air sprayed over the shell Method: Add all ingredients except the air into a boston and shake hard. Double strain in a large sea shell and ladle Salted Agave Air over the top of the shell and plate.

26 BARS&clubs

Entries are now open to become the next Patrón Perfectionist for 2017, challenging the world’s best bartenders to create a cocktail worthy of a perfectionist and showcasing the versatility of tequila. In pursuit of perfection, Patrón Tequila will search through four continents in 18 countries, tasting cocktails created by thousands of bartenders, each displaying their cocktail knowledge and craft using the world’s finest ultra-premium tequila. Last year’s global winner, Mike McGinty from the Voyage of Buck in the UK, took out the competition with his unique cocktail creation The Bell of Jalisco.

Details: Bartenders can enter at www.patronperfectionists.com until midnight on 21st July when entries close. The top 18 cocktails in Australia will be selected and invites will be sent to the three regional heats, which take place on 4th, 5th and 11th September – location TBA. Six regional winners will then compete at the Australian finals in Melbourne on 14th October; the Aussie winner will then head to Mexico for the semi-finals on 17th January 2018 and if successful will go through to the global final on Thursday 18th January 2018.

mezcal & tequila

“We pared back the information in the beverage list – not an easy task with around 150 mezcals – to make it easily decipherable. We want

customers to have good time, not to have to pore over an encyclopaedia just to order a bevvy.”

MEZCALIERS IN ACTION We have a Mezcalier in the restaurant, dedicated to discussing all things agave seven nights a week. The Mezcalier program has been running strong for almost three years, and we’re seeing great results.

We currently have five Mezcaliers at Mamasita, one at Hotel Jesus, and two in training.

With input from our Mezcaliers at both venues we are able to offer a mezcal of the month, numerous mezcal cocktails, mezcal flights, matched drink options and packages, afternoon masterclasses, mezcal-based events, and more.

Our Mezcaliers also run staff training sessions – with sales training attached – and now the overwhelming majority of our staff feel confident enough not to have to shy away when asked about mezcal.

It took a while, but in trying to increase the awareness of this wonderful category I feel it has benefitted all involved, with our customers being the ultimate winners – which, after all, is the whole point.

Our mezcal sales are strong, and getting better every quarter. Our team of Mezcaliers are set to hit budget this year, which was set significantly higher than the last year, and the year before that.

At Mamasita our spirits category is our biggest seller, which we’re really proud of, especially given that people think of us first and foremost as a restaurant. Our backbar is amazing – come in for a drink some time! We also run training sessions every Thursday afternoon, where all are welcome.

BARS&clubs 27

rum

AND A BARREL OF RUM Rum is perhaps the most varied of spirit categories. Made on almost every continent in a myriad of different styles, there’s a rum out there to suit every palate, writes Joseph Sinagra.

W

ith the ongoing trend towards consumers drinking less but better quality, aged rums provide an opportunity for venues to offer guests a wide variety of new and different experiences. The challenge for venues, and indeed myself as bar manager of Bobeche, lies in stocking a range that covers a majority of styles and tastes across different price points.

When it comes to quality aged rum, it’s all about balance, and the influence of time spent in barrel working with the base spirit, whether it is fresh cane juice, cane “honey” or a molasses-based distillate. The way in which the end product is balanced can often give a good indication as to the style of rum.

28 BARS&clubs

FLAVOUR PROFILES Different styles of rum can provide savvy bartenders with a huge array of different flavour profiles: from drier and more barrel/spiceinfluenced rums to sweeter, richer rums, to those that draw lightly from the barrel and express much more grassy and floral notes of the sugar base. The right rum selection can play a crucial part in the balance and flavour profile of a cocktail.

The key to finding the right rum is about understanding what each rum brings to a cocktail and how it interacts with the other ingredients.

A cocktail culture and style that has taken this to the next level is (of course) Tiki culture.

Pioneers like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic had keen understandings of different

rum styles and what each could provide to a cocktail. Often these Tiki legends would take multiple rums, in varying quantities, and mix them together to provide the perfectly balanced base for each of their cocktails.

COLONIAL ORIGINS While originating around Indonesia in the 14th Century, rum has spread widely across the globe thanks, in part, to western colonisation.

The English, Dutch, French and Spanish colonists all helped spread sugar, and in turn rum, everywhere they travelled from the early 15th century onwards.

History and colonialism is one way to separate rums stylistically, while also offering historical insight to customers and provide a selling

NOW IN 750ml

“Different styles of rum can provide savvy bartenders with

a huge array of different flavour profiles:

from drier and more barrel or spice-influenced rums to sweeter, richer rums, to those that

draw lightly from the barrel and express much more grassy and floral notes of the sugar base. The right rum selection can play a crucial part in the balance and flavour profile of a cocktail.”

BARS&clubs 29

rum

JOSEPH'S

RUM

RECOMMENDATIONS: ANGOSTURA 7YO Loads of barrel spice balanced beautifully with the right amount of sweetness. This really is a rum that can do everything from complex, spiritforward sipping cocktails to standing out in a fruit laden punch.

APPLETON RESERVE Classically Jamaican. Loads of tropical notes and sweetness in this rum.

Balanced nicely on the finish with just the right amount of barrel notes. A great rum for a cocktail brimming with little umbrellas and a neon red cherry.

BACARDI 8YO Perfect to sip on neat and still priced to be able to use in cocktails. Bang for buck, this is one of the best performing rums on any back bar. Sweet but not overly, giving way to warm spices and pleasantly lingering finish.

PLANTATION OFTD Old Fashioned Traditional Dark (OFTD): it’s a rum that does what it says on the bottle. The higher ABV of this rum really helps to carry the flavour through in cocktails. Don’t be shy though, even at 69% ABV it’s still beautifully sippable.

RHUM J.M XO An elegant and sophisticated rum.

Beautifully fresh and floral sugar cane notes are complemented with a hint of orchard fruit and Christmas spices.

Like most French style rums this is all about terroir and beautifully balances the character of the base cane with just the right amount of wood influence.

RON ZACAPA CENTANARIO 23 After dinner in a glass. This sweet, rich, dark and fruity rum makes a great recommendation for the guest who loves fortified wines. In cocktails, try to accent the richness without adding too much sweetness.

30 BARS&clubs

point and a story to heighten the experience on offer. When thinking of styles in this way, rums can be broken down into English, French, Spanish and Jamaican styles.

The English style carries with it an association with The Royal Navy.

Carrying rum at sea for long periods of time, the English style of rum developed into a drier style with a lot of barrel influence. Classically English style rums are a column distilled, molasses spirit, balanced towards spice and woody notes attractive to whisky drinkers. When mixed in cocktails, English style rums provide wonderful backbone and depth without a huge amount of sweetness.

The French style developed to closely resemble their beloved brandies such as Armagnac. The French terroir-driven approach utilised fresh cane juice spirit and balanced this with barrel notes, addding complexity and depth to

the grassy and floral base of the liquid. French style rums, like fine brandy, are layered with flavour and give a specific impression of where they came from. Mixing with these French styles is a fine art, and the real challenge is to maintain that all-important sense of terroir within the cocktail.

The Spanish colonists attempted to encapsulate the Sherries popular in Spain, developing rums that were blended to be sipped and enjoyed.

Many Spanish-influenced rums draw heavily on solera systems and ex-sherry barrels to create rich and opulent sipping-style rums, perfect for after dinner. These rich, velvety rums require a delicate balance to maintain their character while avoiding becoming overly sweet and intense.

Jamaica developed under unusual circumstances, and was originally colonised by the Spanish before being “liberated” by the English in

BINGO, BANGO, BONGO 1655. The Jamaican style took the rich, heavy Jamaican molasses to produce a base spirit that was full of residual flavours, and is often characterised by tropical fruits and a rich sweetness. These tropical characteristics lend themselves to fruitier drinks that can carry through alongside sweet tropical fruit and stand up to the acidic cleansing profile of citrus fruit.

OVER THE BAR Using this as a base of understanding, it becomes easier to find the perfect rum to match with almost every guest. When recommending rums the bartender can ask questions to lead the guest on a journey to find the rum that will suit them. Do they prefer sweeter, heavier rums or drier, medium weight rums? Are they looking for something to mix in a cocktail (and what kind of cocktail) or a rum that will be enjoyable when sipped neat or on ice?

The key here is to have an understanding and then help steer the guest. Leading them to a choice of a few options with a brief description (accompanied by a recommendation based on the interaction) will not only provide the guest with a great drink, but also gives the guest a memorable service experience.

Being such a wide and diverse spirit category, rum really does have something for everyone. This variety of styles lends itself to upselling premium rum offerings to be enjoyed with a mixer or indeed sipped neat, and enjoyed as a unique and entirely new experience for the guest.

Rum's potential when it comes to cocktails is really that of a ‘do everything’ spirit. From spirit forward, classically styled sippers to fruity and fun tiki-style punches, rum offers bartenders and venues the opportunity to further personalise the guest experience.

This cocktail highlights the balance of sweetness and barrel influence perfectly. Le Birlou’s apple and chestnut flavour matches well with the warm maple, dry coffee and toasted Christmas spices of the Angostura 7yo. The sweetness from the liqueur is all that is needed to help balance the addition of the bitters and dilution. A simple yet complex cocktail designed to showcase the main event: rum.

Ingredients: • 40ml Angostura 7yo • 20ml Le Birlou • 6 dashes Angostura bitters Method: Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with an apple ball.

BARS&clubs 31

coffee cocktails

COFFEE GOES CRAFT

Fred Siggins takes a look at how Aussie bartenders are updating the espresso martini.

A

ustralia’s dual obsessions with coffee and cocktails continue apace, the two converging into our nation’s favourite tipple: the humble espresso martini. But after twenty years of strict adherence to the 1980s recipe popularised in Australia by waves of ex-pat British bartenders, the coffee drink we love to hate is finally getting an update.

While Eau De Vie’s longstanding Espresso Zabaione is now entrenched as one of the most ‘instagramable’ #cocktails in the world, the rest of us have been a little slow on the uptake, preferring to stick to the combination of fresh espresso, vodka, coffee liqueur and sugar that’s helped us stuff so many pineapples in the till over the years.

But recently we’re seeing an uptick of creativity as our national cocktail is elevated to the status of craft.

32 BARS&clubs

ESPRESSO MARTINI ON TAP At Melbourne’s Black Pearl for example, six months of trial and error has finally led to an espresso martini on tap. The crew at BP wanted to do a tapped version due to the overwhelming popularity of the drink, and a desire to make their most-ordered cocktail faster and more consistently.

According to manager Chris Hysted, they were also “really excited by what we could achieve texturally, and getting the head right was the toughest part.”

“Beer has more protein than coffee and protein is what allows bubbles to hold, so it was difficult to nail.

But we did get it right and we’re really happy with the results,” he explain.

“We had a customer in a couple weeks ago who was a bit skeptical, but once she’d tried it, she said it was like the difference between a shitty airport espresso and the one you get when you come home to Melbourne – we use that line a lot now!”

It is a drink of simple beauty, settling in your coupette as swirls of tiny bubbles coalesce into an ultra creamy head, like storm clouds forming in a Guinness sky. Nutty, fruity and slightly acidic like high cocoa chocolate, it’s drier but also less astringent than the traditional version, as all those tiny bubbles carry every flavour note from the excellent espresso across your palate without a hint of oxidation.

The Pearl crew are keeping up the quality, and also helping to close the loop, by using waste espresso from Plug Nickel café up the road. Most cafes will always pull two shots at a time, even if they’re only serving one, creating a lot of excellent espresso that usually goes down the drain.

And as Hysted says, “they make better stuff than we could ever make anyway.”

The project aims to bring bartenders and baristas together to combine each other’s craft in innovative coffee cocktails that go beyond the iconic espresso martini.

Flavio Lasalandra, International Marketing Director at Tia Maria, says, “There’s an increasing love for coffee cocktails, which can be seen at world-class bars in key cocktail cities, while artisan coffee houses are now serving cocktails through the night as a café nightlife culture continues to emerge.

“The bartender and barista play a very similar role so it’s no surprise we’ve brought the two together to drive this new coffee revolution.”

RISING POPULARITY For further evidence that coffee cocktails are more popular than ever, you only need look at the packed out espresso martini festivals recently held in Melbourne and Sydney by Mr. Black, whose brand ambassador Malcolm Gandar says both punters and bartenders are realizing that it doesn’t have to be a shitty drink.

Gandar and his team have created a custom cold drip specifically for use in cocktails.

“Coffee is either made cold or hot,” he explains. “What most people do is hot brewing, like espresso, plungers, etc. and the advantage there is that you can make a lot very quickly.

“The problem is that it oxidizes very quickly too, so from a bar point of view that’s not very helpful. We wanted to replicate the texture and bold flavour of espresso, but do it cold so bars don’t have to worry about it going off. So we do an intense cold brew with a very high coffee to water ratio, and we use a wine press to extract the oils from the grounds.”

According to Gandar, coffee is far from a monolithic flavour, containing over one thousand aromatic compounds (compared with two hundred in wine, for example). As such, there’s a whole world of flavours to explore and match, with different coffees pairing well with certain spirits, much the way you might choose a particular vermouth or garnish to match a specific gin.

“We wanted

to replicate the texture and bold flavour

of espresso, but do it cold so bars don’t have to worry about it

going off.”

Malcolm Gander, Mr. Black.

TIA MARIA GETS ONBOARD The trend towards craft coffee cocktails isn’t isolated to Australia, either. Coffee liqueur brand Tia Maria has recently launched the Tia Maria + Coffee Project Down Under, a global initiative uniting coffee culture and the cocktail hour.

34 BARS&clubs

coffee cocktails

COCKTAIL CREATIONS Tim Phillips of Sydney’s Dead Ringer is famous for mixing simple, razor sharp cocktails designed to highlight carefully selected ingredients. For his Obligatory cocktail, he opts for a South American single origin cold drip.

“We generally stay away from the more caramel/ citrusy African styles of single origin,” he says.

“Colombian is fruity and chocolaty; an ideal paring for Don Julio Anejo tequila and the fruit and bitterness of Punt e Mes. We use cold drip (not cold brew) as it’s more concentrated but without the bitterness of an espresso.

The bitterness all comes from the Punt e Mes, and we add sweetness with smoked maple syrup.”

Local is in, too. For the recent 25th anniversary of the Melbourne Food and Wine festival, I created a signature cocktail to show off what my city has to offer, using only locally made ingredients for my riff on the espresso martini, combining Starward single malt, Melbourne Moonshine Cascara Liqueur (made with coffee berries), Melbourne Rooftop Honey infused with wattleseed and locally roasted cold brew by Little Drippa.

Others are taking a more lo-fi approach, like the crew at Seymour’s in Brisbane bringing the Irish Coffee back to its rightful place among cocktail royalty with a big ‘ole jug of American diner-style drip coffee.

Yao Wong at The Elysian, Melbourne’s new rare bottling whisky bar, has gone campsite couture, combining instant coffee (Blend 43 of course) with Milo powder, condensed milk and Glenfiddich for a silly, delicious and wildly popular take on the coffeebased cocktail.

‘Coffee is the New Black’ is another great example of flavour matching in a cocktail, created by Thor Bergquist of Sydney’s PS40 in his role as consultant for the espresso martini festival. This clarified milk punch takes inspiration from how the coffee trade has developed over the last couple of years. “Now when you walk into a café,” he says, “all the single origin coffees have profiles as diverse as wine or whisky, so there’s an amazing range of flavours to play with.”

The ingredients in the drink match the tasting notes of a single origin from Colombia; clarified milk, banana, pineapple, rum, coconut, coffee liqueur and a spice/ coffee bean mix for a light and tropical twist on coffee and milk.

A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY We’re currently experiencing an incredible mind expansion within the Australian food and drink industry, with an air of collaboration and experimentation pervading among bartenders, chefs, baristas, winemakers, growers, brewers and distillers.

Coffee is an integral part of the trend as roasters and baristas share their knowledge with the rest of the industry and find ways to bring their craft to bear on everything from whisky barrel aged beans to coffeeinfused micro-brews.

There’s a huge world of flavours to be explored, and an immense wealth of knowledge to tap into here in one of the world’s great coffee loving nations, so next time someone asks you for an espresso martini, feel free to blow their mind.

As well as updating its bottle design, a major part of the Tia Maria + Coffee Project is the creation of six innovative coffee cocktails:

Tia Mint Americano:

Tia Mint Frappé:

Tia Cappuccino:

Iced Popcorn Frappé:

Tia Espresso Martini:

Flat White Russian:

A refreshing Tia twist on the classic Americano. 50ml Tia Maria, double shot of espresso, 10ml sugar syrup, 6 mint leaves, splash of sparkling water

A delicious mint frappe perfect for a refreshing moment. 50ml Tia Maria, shot of espresso, 6 fresh mint leaves, 50ml milk

An indulgent foam topped coffee cocktail. 30ml Tia Maria, 30ml Vodka or Rum, shot of espresso, salted caramel foam

An indulgent iced coffee frappé with a popcorn twist. 50ml Tia Maria, double shot of espresso, 50ml milk, 20ml popcorn syrup

A classic in the evening for a little pick me up. 30ml Tia Maria, 30ml Vodka or Rum, shot of espresso, 5ml sugar syrup

Tia’s spin on this favourite little tipple. 30ml Tia Maria, 30ml Dark Rum, shot of espresso, 5ml sugar syrup, cream

For more, see tiamaria.com/coffee-cocktails BARS&clubs 35

PERTH: OPENING A BAR AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD 15 of Gary Beadle’s 30 years in hospitality have been spent in Perth, running his business Blinding. He designed, built and ran one of Perth’s first small bars, 399 Bar, and as a partner he currently operates Five Bar and Lot 20. He recently opened a new venue in Northbridge, Tiki as FK, and is as well placed as anyone in the industry to explain the idiosyncrasies of opening and running a bar in the world’s most geographically isolated city.

36 BARS&clubs

perth

H

aving lived in Sydney and Melbourne before moving to Perth fifteen years ago, it is my opinion that Perth is unlike any other Australian capital city.

There are many factors that influence this. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 26% of Australian residents were born overseas; in Perth, this statistic rises to 33%. Perth is a mining town and the whole economy of Perth, and indeed the state of WA, is based around the rise and fall of this one industry. The state government of Western Australia has also had no real visible forwardplan for our city to be anything other than a mining town.

Perth has endless potential in terms of space, beaches and sunshine. It is the sunniest capital city in the world, with an average of 8 hours of sunshine per day, almost 365 days per year.

There are one hundred and forty local councils covering the state of Western Australia, which equates to an average of one council for every 17,000 residents.

To say Perth has an excess of government would be an understatement to say the very least.

There are 2.5 million residents of Western Australia, with 1.8 million living in what is described as Perth.

However, the actual City of Perth—which covers twenty square kilometres—has just 21,000 residents. Compare this to the City of Sydney which covers twenty-five square kilometres and has 205,000 residents.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR BARS? If there is a game of football on at Subiaco, or a couple of summer festival events, the city is like a ghost town – there just aren’t enough residents to go around. Quite often I walk down William Street on my way to Lot 20 based in the Perth Cultural Centre, the busiest foot traffic thoroughfare in Perth. On a weekend when there are other events on, you can easily walk past no more than twenty people on this route, which on any other day would be teeming with people.

By comparison, a little while ago I was in Melbourne with a friend for a few days. As you do, being in hospitality, on a Tuesday afternoon we decided to wander around and visit a few bars. We headed to the rooftop bar

BARS&clubs 37

Lot 20

Tiki as FK Goldilocks – it was about 12 degrees, overcast and drizzling. When we got to Goldilocks the lift was out of order so we walked up the stairs – about five floors I believe – enough for me to need a cigarette to straighten me out after the ascent. When we finally got to Goldilocks, the place was full.

If this had been Perth, all the factors we encountered en route would have resulted in a fail.

Tuesday afternoons in Perth don’t have an abundance of people looking for places to go. Factor in 12 degree temperatures, overcast skies and drizzling rain, and the Perth public would be heading straight for a night in with Netflix and takeaway.

And five floors of stairs – you’ve got to be kidding!

This is not a slight on the Perth population, it is simply an observation of how our environment affects the Perth mindset, which in turn affects our industry. Perth residents are used to amazing weather and they are used to everything being in working order and easily accessible.

A CRISIS? WELL… So, are Perth’s bars in crisis? No, they’re not, it’s just the way Perth is. Perth is just different to the rest of Australia’s capital cities and 38 BARS&clubs

Tiki as FK therefore when operating a venue here you must take these local factors into account.

When I model a business in Perth, I consider the local dynamics and hurdles as I would in any other city I have operated in. I walk away from potential venues where I consider the rent to be too high, or the lease term too short, or the potential fit out costs too much. I work out staff members to customer ratios to determine whether ongoing costs will be too high. I walk away if all these numbers don’t add up, because I am a 'career hospitality human'.

I see shops for sale now that I walked away from because the rent

was three times higher than I was prepared to pay. I take into account there are only 21,000 residents in the City of Perth, of which – on a good day – I can probably only entice 2 percent of them to come to my venue (at best). So, I have to consider ways of attracting customers from surrounding suburbs by making my offering more appealing to them.

THE GRASS IS GREENER A while back I met a builder who built himself a bar in the city and spent a lot of money on it, and I asked him earnestly if he needed anything, or any kind of help. I was offering my time for free just because he seemed like a nice guy

perth

and I wanted to see him do well.

He declined my offer with a casual “how hard can it be?”

A couple of years later he called to see if I wanted to buy his bar for 20 percent of what he spent on it.

He was good enough to admit that he was wrong in thinking it would just be a case of putting some booze behind a bar. I never took up his offer as the rent on the shop was simply too rich for my liking.

I’ve worked in hospitality for thirty-three years, in many countries and many cities. No matter where I've been or what the economy was like, I have heard numerous times – as has everyone who's spent any length of time in this industry – the same comments from people outside of it: “I’d like to have my own bar one day”, or “you’re so lucky, it is so easy what you do”. I take no offence to these comments, it's simply ‘grass is always greener’ commentary. And while a small number of these commenters may actually get into hospitality venues, they rarely do well.

This, however, can be seen as a positive in the longer term. When these non-hospitality types chase a dream, most ultimately fail, and they leave behind venues which often give young hospitality workers a chance to get into the industry when they wouldn’t normally be able to afford to. This has the long-term effect of enriching our industry.

PEAKS AND TROUGHS I have a friend in London who is a bartender and he and a couple of friends recently bought a failed venue and turned it into a beautiful and profitable business. So, this is not an occurrence unique to Perth, cities all over Australia and the world have been through cycles like this a few times.

Is the Perth economy on a slide because the mining industry has stopped its build phase and gone into a production phase? Most would say yes. it is. Is this a surprise to anyone? No, it isn’t, things have been this way in Perth as far back as most current operators can remember.

Lot 20 So, the natural cycle of things as the economy slides is for these venues to come up for sale and young hospitality workers (who wouldn’t normally get such an opportunity) get the chance to start a venue. This, I believe, has the end result of creating better venues.

RED TAPE On the topic of excessive government, we recently picked up a licensed bar on James Street for a very reasonable price, refurbished it, and opened as Tiki as FK in March.

The whole process from buying the bar to the venue reopening was just over 3 months.

If we’d had the money to start the project from scratch, the local council development application would have taken three to six months, then the state government liquor license application would have taken up to twelve months.

The cost of these two applications plus the pre-lay (plumbing and electrical) alone would have been the same as the entire Tiki as FK refurb project.

Perth’s 1.8 million residents are spread out in the longest urban sprawl of any city in the world outside of LA, which has a population of 3.4 million. There are a lot of similarities between LA and Perth: the residents of both love their cars and are shy of going

places they can’t drive to. Both are west coast cities with endless coastlines, and the people that are attracted to living in these places are drawn to the coastal life, not the ‘downtown-in-an-apartment’ style of living.

I have lost count of the times I have met an expat in Perth who has come to chase their dream of living by the beach – and why shouldn’t they? In contrast to the red tape hurdles created by local governments to set up hospitality venues, they seem to have a real inability to come up with plans to create urban density, possibly because their employees want nothing less. The lack of urban density is also a factor of geography; Perth is flat and long, with no geographical boundaries (like in Sydney) to stop the endless sprawl.

So, the combination of Perth’s let-downs of government, along with the other factors discussed, mean we will never achieve a high-density population in the immediate future. This needs to be given shrewd consideration too.

Perth is unlike any other Australian capital city, and so are the people who live here. If you want to succeed in hospitality in Perth, all of these factors must be taken into account when opening your own bar or venue.

BARS&clubs 39

40 BARS&clubs

beer

THE DARK SIDE

Porter and stout can lay claim to lots of things, such as being the first industrialised beer style or flooding a slum in London. Stefanie Collins investigates the history of dark beers.

L

ike a lot of history, there are many stories of the origins of porter and its cousin, stout. Also, like much of history, the majority of the stories are fabrications that have been repeated so often that they’ve become part of the origin myth by default.

The first mention of porter came during the 18th Century in London, and the most popular story names one Ralph Harwood, a local brewer who in 1722 created a beer that was originally called ‘Entire’. It was a brewerymade version of the beer mix that was being sold over the bar called ‘Three Threads’ (local vernacular for ‘three thirds’ because the blend the barkeep poured on request was one third each beer, ale, and strong beer).

However, beer historian Martyn Cornell believes that that whole story is rubbish, and the brew was in fact named after the street and river porters that drank it en masse. These workers would have required a staggering number of calories to get through a hard day of labouring in a time when nutrition in the lower classes was severely lacking. Hence calorie-dense, dark beers would have sustained them.

Let’s not forget about stout. The term ‘stout porter’ was applied to stronger versions of porter through much of the 18th Century, as indeed the term ‘stout’ just implied ‘strong’. It was applied to other beer styles as well – during the same era you could order a ‘stout pale ale’ and no one would think you were strange. It was only later that it became synonymous with dark beer styles.

Eventually, stout became its own distinct style, helped along by a little brewery known as Guinness, though there is still some debate on whether stouts and porters can really be considered different styles. More on that later.

THE DEATH & REBIRTH OF PORTER While brewers continued to make stout unabated, the porter style began to die out under pressure from the rise of lager and the dark beer slot increasingly being filled by stout, leading to the cease of production of porter in the UK by the 50s. Funnily enough, Guinness brewed its last official porter in 1974.

BARS&clubs 41

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

There are a multitude of divisions inside the porter and stout categories according to the official canon of the BJCP. Here are some of the key styles out there: • BALTIC PORTERS: the hybrid lovechild of English porter and Schwarz bier, but with a higher alcohol content and more complexity. Unsurprisingly they were originally brewed in countries bordering the Baltic Sea. • IRISH STOUT: more than just Guinness, with regional differences existing – Dublin-type stouts use roasted barley and are more bitter and drier, while Cork-type stouts are sweeter, less bitter, and have flavours from chocolate and specialty malts.

• SWEET STOUT: an English style developed in the early 1900s, historically known as Milk or Cream Stout because it was brewed with lactose. Interestingly, these beers were originally marketed as tonics for invalids and breastfeeding mothers. Seriously.

• OATMEAL STOUTS: typically very dark and full-bodied, with little to no hop character. Their defining feature is the addition of oatmeal to create a medium-full to full body, with a “smooth, silky, velvety, sometimes an almost oily slickness from the oatmeal”.

• IMPERIAL STOUTS: intensely-flavoured, big, dark ales with a wide range of regional interpretations. They feature roastedburnt malt with deep dried fruit flavours, and a warming, bittersweet finish.

• AMERICAN PORTERS AND STOUTS: similar to most American permutations of craft styles in that they are bigger, stronger, bitterer and hoppier. The BJCP guidelines note that the “hop flavour can vary from low to high with a resiny, earthy, or floral character, and balances the dark malt flavours. The dark malt and hops should not clash”.

42 BARS&clubs

It was the Americans that rejuvenated the style, with Anchor Brewing Company becoming the first American brewery to create a porter since Prohibition, in 1972. The revival in the UK began when the Penrhos microbrewery (founded by Monty Python member Terry Jones) introduced a Porter in 1978.

IT’S COMPLICATED Porter and stout were for a long stretch of brewing history interchangeable. According to the late, great Michael Jackson (the beer writer, just so we’re clear) “lower-gravity porters evolved into mild ales, those in the middle range retained their original designation (only to vanish for decades before their recent revival), and the fuller-bodied versions came to be known as stouts”.

According to Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), English porter is in the Brown British Beer category, while the various stouts are designated Dark British Beer. Porter is classified as “a moderate-strength brown beer with a restrained roasty character and bitterness.

May have a range of roasted flavours, generally without

beer

“I suppose Porter helps to differentiate between a lighter style dark beer and a heavier style but those were back in the days when there was really no hop character and it was all malt driven,” he says.

Ian Morgan, Head Brewer at Mountain Goat, thinks it’s important that the two styles are separated.

“A stout in my mind is a lot drier than a porter,” he says. “The best porters have that really nice ruby colour to them, and to me a porter is much more malt driven, while stouts are more inclined to be hoppy – especially the American styles. The acidity of the underlying beer works better with a big, punchy, resinous dryhopping regime.”

INNOVATION Currently both styles are back in the craft brewing repertoire with whisky and Bourbon barrel-ageing becoming increasingly popular, as well as the addition of fruits, spices and honey (Taverner’s uses Tasmanian Leatherwood to flavour theirs).

“More recently with the increased popularity in sour beers we are seeing more and more sour versions of dark beers starting to appear,” says Harrison.

Locally, Mountain Goat’s Morgan says they have revived their Bigfoot Stout, with a slug of “piney, resinous US hops”, while this year’s Barrel Breed Imperial Stout is aged in fresh Starward whisky barrels, with Morgan commenting that this year’s release has had “a decent residency in the oak” and should have a more assertive whisky character than previous years.

They also have a Coconut Chocolate Porter as their next In-Breed release, care of brewer Alana Rees.

burnt qualities, and often has a chocolate-caramel-malty profile”. ABV sits around 4.0 – 5.4 per cent, while IBU is 18-35. As for stouts, they vary wildly.

As to whether or not these styles can be considered different in modern brewing, Glenn Harrison, Head Brewer at Temple Brewing Company in Melbourne, which brews New World Order Classic American Stout, says it’s the million dollar question.

“Personally speaking stouts must be black,” he says.

“Secondly I feel stout should have more of the roasted barley and dark malt flavour and are generally, for my liking, more heavy bodied. Though, in saying that there are robust porters out there that are thick, alcoholic and black as spades, so I don’t think I have made things any clearer.”

Tim Penton, Head Brewer at Taverner’s Boutique Brewery in Launceston, whose Honey Porter won a silver medal at this years’ Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) – the highest award in that category for 2017 – says that the boundaries in a lot of the style guidelines have been blurring over the last five to 10 years.

LOCAL DRINKERS According to Harrison, dark beer styles are not as popular as he would like them to be, adding that Australians are “still scared of the dark when it comes to beers”. He also believes that porters can be just as refreshing and “thirst quenching” as some of the other normal go-to styles in summer.

“It’s up to brewers and the industry to try and think of new ways to engage people into drinking darker beers outside the winter months,” says Harrison.

Penton agrees that beers are still very seasonally driven despite stouts that are served with nitrogen tending to be popular year round “because the nitrogen gives them a creamy texture it softens the flavour”.

He adds that the popularity of dark beers has been increased in the last five years as brewers have added hop notes and beer style guidelines have changed to reflect that preference.

Morgan says that he has found dark beers to still be almost exclusively seasonal, despite the popularity of stouts year round in some parts of Africa and India.

“It will be a while until Australians think that a cool glass of stout on a warm summer’s day is the way to go,” he says. But times are changing, and it mightn't be too long 'til punters start to ask for dark beers on a hot day.

BARS&clubs 43

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUSTRALIAN PERFECTIONISTS COCKTAIL COMPETITION NICHOLAS COZENS, SONG OF THE SEA

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