Your guide to Australian craft spirits & Melbourne's cocktail culture
I hesitate to qualify any drink with less than three ingredients (excluding the garnish) a “cocktail” but there’s still something appealing about the simplicity of Moet-Hennessy ambassador Mick Formosa’s concoctions at Park Hyatt’s recent Melbourne Food & Wine Festival event ‘Crisp Cocktails & Fresh Cuisine’. Served up alongside a seafood-heavy menu […]
From the why did it take us so long files: the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards have held their inaugural ceremony. Over 100 entries underwent a blind judging (tough gig) by experts including those from bars such as Whisky + Alement, Bad Frankie, Gin Palace and Lui Bar alongside magazine editors, brand ambassadors and […]
When you’re sick of sav blanc, totally over cider and not in the mood for beer, your “new” alternative might come from the long, long ago. Angus Smibert is on a mission to make mead happen. His mead company Smoothbeard is barely a month old (having just launched after over […]
Have you been to visit the tres chic Entrecôte yet? The main focus of the new French eatery is to serve up steakfrites (in this instance Hopkins River porterhouse with french fries) but there is much to tempt we barflies too. Aside from the gorgeous old building lovingly revamped by […]
There’s more than just fried rice fit for an emperor (seriously, it’s that good) at modern Chinese eatery Ruyi. There’s a short but sweet offering of cocktails infused with Asian flavours of lychee, lemongrass and green tea too. After just over a year in business, I hear welcome rumours that Ruyi’s […]
In keeping with the trend of opening “diffusion” restaurant spaces, 400 Gradi’s Johnny di Franceso has opened his Venetian 400 Gradi Cicchetti late last year, right next door to the original on the Brunswick end of Lygon. For the unfamiliar, a cicchetti bar is basically the Italian version of a tapas […]
Created by bartender Fred Siggins of Black Pearl from Wine Republic’s craft spirits collection, this drink is named after American writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau but I can’t guarantee drinking it will make you any more cerebral. You may want to skip dessert for this (or have both, I […]
It’s beginning to look a lot like…cocktails. Hopefully your jingle bells are well and truly on by now. If not, here are 12 of the best Christmas cocktails around Melbourne and where to find them. The Magic Pudding at Misty Hennessey VS Cognac. Pedro Ximenez, Falernum, Chartuese They say the […]
Inspired by Wine Republic founder Fiona’s favourite summer cocktail and said bottle shop’s new collection of craft spirits, Fred Siggins from Black Pearl created this ‘Raicilla Shandy’. “Shandies are a great Australian tradition. I tend to judge a venue on whether or not they’re happy to make you a shandy; if […]
In case you missed it, I recently found 11 places to find booze in super-chilled or frozen form for The Urban List. Read on to find out how to stay cool this Summer in Melbourne… — The heat is on. Or at least it will be… So we’ve found the Melbourne […]