Portfolio Filter Gallery | Drink Melbourne

Your guide to Australian craft spirits & Melbourne's cocktail culture

About Sarah
Copywriting for Bars & Distillers
Sign Up
Want to Be Featured?

Menu

Search for:

XMAS GIFT GUIDE 2020

Continue Reading

Australian Christmas Gin, Whisky and Craft Spirits 2020

Continue Reading

Xmas Gift Guide 2019

Continue Reading

Australian Christmas Craft Spirits 2019

Continue Reading

First Name

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human:

Home
Events
Bars
Sip
The Lush Blog
Bar Guide
About Sarah

drinkmelbourne

By night, advocate for Australian craft spirits & cocktail culture #drinkmelbourne 🥂🍸🥃 By day -> @the_melbourne_edit

This easy punch recipe suits lazy, hot afternoons

This easy punch recipe suits lazy, hot afternoons hanging out in the backyard to a T. Starring a locally-made whisky liqueur inspired by classic ANZAC biscuits – it’s flavoured with golden syrup, coconut and oats – it’s a sure-fire crowd-pleasing thirst-quencher. Don’t forget to scoff the peaches from your glass. They taste sublime soaked in this sun-burnished elixir.

TEA & BICKIES PUNCH

750ml strong unsweetened peach iced tea, chilled

125ml quality ginger beer (I used @SidekickMixers )

1 tsp bitters

1 lemon, sliced

2 limes, sliced

2 ripe yellow peaches, sliced

250ml ‘Golden Bickie’ Whisky Liqueur by @NedWhisky

Lots of fresh ice

Fresh mint springs, to garnish

Place peach tea, ginger beer, bitters, lemon, limes, peaches and whisky liqueur into a large jug. Stir gently to combine. Pour punch into chilled highball glasses filled with ice. Add a mint sprig to each glass to garnish. Serves 6-8

Notes:

For the tea, I cold-brewed 4 ‘Packs a Peach’ tea bags by T2.

For the bitters, I used Aromatic Bitters by Australian Bitters Company.

Increase ginger beer to 250ml if you prefer a sweeter sip.

You can substitute the ginger beer for ginger wine if you want a little more kick (perhaps plan an afternoon nap).

Think you've done every rooftop in Melbourne? Pro

Think you've done every rooftop in Melbourne?

Probably not this one! Dal Zotto on the Deck may only be here for one Summer but it's bringing big Italian fun (and a bunch of Limoncello Spritz) to Blacksmith's terrace.

Jump to my Story to take a look around.

Gone fishing...errr, cocktailing. 🍹🌴🥥 Se

Gone fishing...errr, cocktailing. 🍹🌴🥥

See you in a while, crocodiles.

The croweaters are coming! Don't panic but @maybe

The croweaters are coming!

Don't panic but @maybemaebasement are bringing a bunch of @neverneverdistillingco bottles to The Attic at @blackpearlfitzroy for one night only this Sunday. Cocktails, merch, sights, sounds, tastes that you can't get anywhere else (without travelling quite a few hours west at least).

Jump to my 'What's On' highlight for full details and how you can join in the fun. OK maybe do panic a little: limited seats at the bar for this one.

How cosy does this spot look? This weekend only,

How cosy does this spot look?

This weekend only, @miltonwine is celebrating it's 10th birthday - you're invited. The wine bar team has unearthed plenty of 2014 vintages from the cellar to taste, they're doing BYO for your 2014 bottles with no corkage, and there's a gorgeous new look courtyard and a new wood-fired menu to sample too. 🍷🥂

You can take a closer look - before you grab a date/mate and go - in my "what's on" highlight now.

@farmersdaughters_gippsland has had a glow up. Mo

@farmersdaughters_gippsland has had a glow up.

More cosy. 🔥
More plants. 🌱
More WINE. 🍷🥂🍾

Take a peek around the bar in my 'Now Open' Highlight.

Happy World Rum Day! Did you do anything delicious

Happy World Rum Day! Did you do anything delicious today?

I was spoilt and toasted the occasion at Society with Diplomatico's Maestro Ronero ("Rum Master"), Nelson Hernandez. Jump to my Story for easy ideas on how to make your next rum session extra special. 🥃🥃🥃

---
1. Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, Cocchi Americano, falernum, dark chocolate cocktail with smoked dark chocolate Diplomatico Rum and barley ice cream

2. Hokkaido scallops, preserved lemon, capers, olive oil (so simple!) with Diplomatico Distillery Collection No 1 Batch Kettle Rum.

Looking for somewhere to defrost? Here are the Top

Looking for somewhere to defrost? Here are the Top 5 new Melbourne bars to visit this Winter ➡️ drinkmelbourne.com.au

If you haven't yet settled on something Euro-Summe

If you haven't yet settled on something Euro-Summer-fabulous to do for World Gin Day, Sorolla invites you to sunny "Spain". They're debuting their 2024 season of "Free Flow Fiestas" tomorrow evening with indulgent tapes bites and endless Patient Wolf G&T's in a sky-high setting.

With 3 different G&T flavours to sip, let's agree it's really going to be World Win Day. Search "sorolla" on eventbrite.com to book. 💃

🍸🍸🍸 Link in bio 🍸🍸🍸

🍸🍸🍸 Link in bio 🍸🍸🍸

WIN: want to win 2 tix to a World Gin Day celebrat

WIN: want to win 2 tix to a World Gin Day celebration with Saint Felix Distillery at Maggie's Snacks & Liquor? I got you! 🍸 Link to enter in bio. 🍸

Expect plenty of distillery tastings + spirited discussions + gin-friendly snacks.

📸 Blake Alcock

Your call: does Wednesday count as the pre-kend? 🤔

The eternal struggle: attempting not to wear off t

The eternal struggle: attempting not to wear off the racecar red lipstick between sips of (dirty, Patron, Tequila!) martini. 💋🍸

Under the neon pink lights at @barbambi_melbourne for Grand Prix weekend. Vroom vroom. 🏁

More in my Story now.

Harmony. Balance. High Notes. Low Notes. There’

Harmony. Balance. High Notes. Low Notes.

There’s a common language between how we describe a deftly mixed cocktail and an artfully composed symphony. It’s a coincidence that occurred to the distillers at Patient Wolf as they worked on their latest collaboration with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. They recently invited the MSO’s Chief Conductor, Jaime Martín, into their distillery to taste test “too much” gin and develop a new cocktail. Funnily enough, Jaime’s surname is pronounced just like “martini” as if it has lost its final “i”.

So, naturally, together, they created the Jaime Martín Martini, a bottled cocktail that is a little bit Spanish – in an ode to the conductor’s roots - and a whole lot Melbourne. The base of this martini is Patient Wolf’s signature dry gin (obviously Melbourne) complemented by Maidenii’s Classic vermouth (Melbourne made with a nod to Spain) and, finally, Oloroso dry sherry (very Spanish) in place of the traditional martini bitters which gives the drink a certain glow. Jaime personally recommends garnishing your martini with an anchovy stuffed green olive.

Every bottle purchased supports the MSO. As well as your next happy hour. I know what the soundtrack should be.

📸 @laura_manariti_photographs

A boozy walking tour through the city starting at

A boozy walking tour through the city starting at Little Lon Distilling Co this Wednesday evening? YES, please.

Food writer Richard Cornish and drink writer Max Allen will lead us through "The Drinks That Made Melbourne" as part of the Melb Food & Wine Fest. 1st session is already sold out - only a few tix left at melbournefoodandwine.com.au

‘Like most non-Americans my knowledge of diners

‘Like most non-Americans my knowledge of diners comes from movies, from Hollywood. Really any one of your favourite movies has a diner scene in it. When I got the brief [to create cocktails for Dan’s Diner], I watched three Tarantino movies back-to-back. Because everything happens in a diner in a Tarantino movie! One of the drinks [I created] - the big milkshake - there’s a scene in Pulp Fiction where Uma Thurman’s character Mia Wallace is taken out by Vincent Vega/John Travolta and they have the $5 shake conversation. And that’s was the first thing that sparked, “oh, I get it now”, that 1950s couple at a diner or two teenagers having a milkshake. There’s a certain esthetic to that; there’s a real esthetic to American diners and especially 1950s and 1960s American diners. The other drinks are also just “American” drinks like a Gin Fizz and a Manhattan.’

- Dan Docherty, Commis

This Melbourne Food and Wine Fest, a life-sized, fully-functioning American-inspired diner has arisen in Fed Square. But there are a few local twists. It’s boozier for one. Instead of where you would expect to see a greasy cook flipping burgers while out on parole in the kitchen, there’s a bar showcasing all-Victorian wine, beer and spirits. And at Dan’s Diner – by liquor merchants @danmurphys - everyone who worked on the menu is named Dan: chefs Dan Hunter (Brae), Dan Puskas (Sixpenny) and Dan Wilson (Yakimono), and mixologist Dan Docherty (Commis).

Pull up a red leather stool or a banquette and sip on Danhattans instead of a Manhattan, a gin fizz or rather a Dan Murphizz, the Coffee Up (comes in a retro coffee pot for 4) or Dan’s Super-Extra Ultra-Deluxe Double-Straw Honey Wattle White Light Shake a.k.a the big milkshake.

You can also meet local spirit makers for nix at the diner:

Sun 15 – Four Pillars - 3-5pm

Mon 18 – Wonki Hard Seltzers – 3-5pm

Tue 19 – Melbourne Gin Co – 3-5pm

Sun 24 – Starward - 3-5pm

"What was I doing growing up? I was playing in mud

"What was I doing growing up? I was playing in muddy creeks in the Yarra Valley. It was summer. It was hot. The stones in the river would be hot. The water in the river would splash on your legs and you’d get this amazing smell which is why the drink is named ‘Petrichor’.” - Joel Mckenzie, Bar Clara

It's @barclaramelbourne's 5th Birthday and they've created a strictly limited-release cocktail dubbed 'Petrichor' to mark the occasion. Plus, free cocktails gifted to every 5th visitor to the bar this month! Find all the details at drinkmelbourne.com.au

Gin. Jazz. Canapés. More Gin. There's a new Afte

Gin. Jazz. Canapés. More Gin.

There's a new Afternoon Aperitivo in town. Jump to my Story now to look inside (and drool over barrel-aged chocolate Negronis).

@lucimelbourne & @hiltonmelbournelqs want to help you slip into after-hours the right way every Thursday & Friday 3-6pm this season. Walk in. Cool down. Get jazzed.

📸 @carmenzammit

Gin. Jazz. Canapés. More gin. There's a new After

Gin. Jazz. Canapés. More gin.
There's a new Afternoon Aperitivo in town. 🍸

Pullman Melbourne on Swanston is throwing a one-of

Pullman Melbourne on Swanston is throwing a one-off Gin High Tea as a toast to the new artworks just unveiled at the hotel. Each of the tea’s 4 courses is inspired by a large-scale mural by local artists Lisa King, Minna Leunig, Prudence Caroline or Justine McAllister. And each is paired with a unique cocktail designed by neighbouring Little Lon Distilling Co to create a high tea that is as high-spirited as a bottomless brunch!

Little Lon’s Lyndon says “I did take inspiration from g and ‘tea’ - there is going to be tea in the cocktails.” He begins with a Tom Collins; Miss Yoko lychee gin infused with blueberry tea and accented with oregano syrup, lime juice, and native rivermint. It’s a refreshingly light accompaniment to a first course of gin-anointed oysters.

Next comes a clarified Bloody Mary Martini with clarified tomato juice, verjuice, Unico vermouth, Little Lon’s house-made vodka. It's garnished with cherry tomato two ways - one dehydrated, the other injected via syringe with Worcestershire sauce. Wonders Lyndon, “I did stab myself a few times. Anyone know if Worchestershire is bad in your veins?" There’s Tabasco on the side to taste, naturally. All the better to wash down bush tomato and lamb sausage rolls, and grilled prawns scented with lemon myrtle.

The penultimate concoction is a play on a breakfast martini; the kind that a dedicated distiller might mix up to greet the day. It’s loaded with fresh citrus, Ginger Mick gin, blood orange soda, dehydrated orange, and marmalade. The drink makes for a breakfast of champions with honey and oat scones with gin marmalade alongside, not to mention croissants and finger sandwiches.

The finale cocktail is really another (spiked) dessert to be paired with chocolate mousse flower pots, berry velvet tea cakes, and rose petal macarons. Your cup will be overflowing with good things: think notes of blood orange, cacao, vermouth, blueberry tea and sorbet. Teapots at your table will be involved!

Jump to my Story now for a sneak preview. 🍸

Load More Follow on Instagram

About Sarah
Copywriting for Bars & Distillers
Sign Up
Want to Be Featured?

Your guide to Australian craft spirits & Melbourne's cocktail culture