There are only a few days left to submit your Fernet Coin design! For years, the Fernet-Branca Coins have been a badge of honour and a sought-after collectable among bartenders around the world. In 2024, Australia will have 8 new Coins, one per State, and it is up to you to come up with the designs! You can submit your designs (a maximum of 3 per person ) to 2024fernetcoin@gmail.com with your name and the venue you work at by 11:59 p.m. on May 15th. For information and rules or if you have any questions, get in touch with your Branca National Brand Ambassador, Federico Malavenda, @freddy.bran ..read more

The Roosevelt Lounge 75 Surf Parade Broadbeach Gold Coast QLD Therooseveltlounge.com.au Lately, we have been shining a light on some of the bars and bar professionals that are outside of the big cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. In this interview, we chat to Pier Muffato, an Italian native who plied his trade as an apprentice in a small town near Venice and then in Amsterdam and London before taking on the mammoth task of running a bustling cocktail bar on the Goldy. Tell us a bit about how you got started in the hospitality industry and where you have worked before. I think wh ..read more

Dynamic Duo – Daisy Tulley & Rocky Hair Story by Cara Devine. Cara is our Melbourne-based drinks writer. She is the manager of Bomba in Melbourne and the face and talent behind the cocktailing YouTube channel Behind the Bar. You can email her at behindthebarchannel@gmail.com If you live in or have visited Sydney recently, chances are you’ve frequented a Mucho venue. Starting with Tio’s Cerveceria and The Cliff Dive nightclub in the early 2010s, the group’s venues have become a defining part of our capital’s nightlife. Whether you’ve pulled up to the psychedelic-galaxy bartop at Bar Planet ..read more

The Perfect Blend is not just a cocktail competition. Across Australia and New Zealand, regional finalists engage in an immersive experience that is unique to their state and provides an educational component to the cocktail challenge. Our SA/NT finalists were treated to a day at The Watervale Hotel and Penobscot Farm, 2 hours north-east of Adelaide CBD, to learn about sustainability and regenerative farming. The Beam Suntory brands, in particular, Maker’s Mark, pride themselves on sustainability and being good stewards of the land, so to lead the educational experience was Rhianna Lucas, our ..read more

The Crypt Ballarat 14 Camp Street, Ballarat Central VIC @cryptballarat Shani and Savannah Stevens purchased the 18th Amendment Bar in Ballarat from industry legend Gorge Camorra in late 2023. Gorge had decided to focus his attention on his two bars in Geelong. Savannah was managing 18th Amendment Ballarat for Gorge and the opportunity to take over the bar was something she could not pass up. In February, the bar started trading under its new name, The Crypt.  It continues to be a unique bar in Ballarat with over 200 whiskeys, signature cocktails and mocktails, and many gins, vodkas, and ..read more

The Basement, 24 Fitzmaurice St, Wagga Wagga NSW @barolivette Last September, Nick King and Anna Wealands opened Olivette, a unique speakeasy in regional NSW that channels the glitz and glamour of the 1920s while celebrating their mutual love for whisky, cocktails, and genuine hospitality. Cities often claim to have the best cocktail bars, so it’s refreshing when great drinking spots (beyond the local RSL) pop up in regional areas. For those unfamiliar, Wagga Wagga is the biggest inland city in NSW. It sits beside the Murrumbidgee River in the Riverina District, boasting wide, leafy streets a ..read more

For decades, Jägermeister has been more than just a drink—it’s a tradition steeped in heritage. Its origins are rooted in Germany, where Jägermeister was enjoyed as a celebratory toast after the successful hunt in the dense forests of Lower Saxony. To this day, the ritual of sharing an ice-cold shot of Jägermeister infuses an exhilarating chill, fostering camaraderie and celebrating adventures as friends, both old and new, raise their glasses to toast life’s unforgettable moments. Rooted in Herbal Alchemy Crafted with unparalleled expertise and meticulous attention to detail, Jägermeister is ..read more

Story by Andy Ratcliff, email him at andrewjohn@me.com Photography by Christopher Pearche @christophernpearce Ramblin Rascal Tavern turns ten this year. To me, they are the groovy indie band that denied signing to a major label and refused to bow to the trends of the time but continued their pilgrimage to obtain a legacy of cheeky greatness. At the heart of this bordello of badass, they are three naughty boys who managed to pool their collective talents and instil an institution where good times reign supreme. Here, I talk to Charlie Lehmann and Sebastian ‘Cosmo’ Soto about the highlights and ..read more

Classic Whisky Sour at Piccolo Bar, Sydney Story by Andy Ratcliff, email him andrewjohn@me.comandrewjohn@me.com The whisky sour is one of the oldest cocktails in existence. It dates back to the 1860s, but sailors had been drinking something similar for long before that. There are a bunch of early references to it, but the first official record of it is from our boy Jerry Thomas in 1962.  It’s also still around today and is one of the most ordered drinks in Australia. I think I’ve made over three thousand of them during my years as a bartender. It’s a simple and delicious cocktail that som ..read more

Photography by Chris Pearce, drinks styled by Cherish Wilkie at Bar Louise 135 Enmore Road, Enmore @barlouise_enmore With our recent interview with Mikey Nicolian, what better time to showcase some of the drinks from his other bar operation, Bar Louise? Opening back in 2022, the team from Porteno, Ben Milgate, Elvis Abrahanowicz, and Joe Valore teamed up with Nicolian of Continental Deli fame to create Bar Lousie, a kitschy and cool Euro wine bar. The cocktail list is small and concise. Nicolian says there are cocktails but it’s not a massive focus, so everything is quality but not takin ..read more