Lush Life Productions - a New York based production company that shoots video for the major bar, mixology and spirits conferences around the world such as Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans and New York’s Manhattan Cocktail Classic - have confirmed that they will be covering Sydney BarShow.

Lush Life’s Lindsey Johnson says they; “love to cover all of the world’s premiere cocktail and bar shows, and the Sydney BarShow is obviously no exception. We are most excited to see innovations from our cocktail brethren from down under since they are some of the most talented and creative bartenders in the world.”

Lush Life’s presence at Sydney BarShow will promote Australia’s dynamic and ever growing bar industry to the world.

“Sydney is a place like no other- with the bartenders to match,” adds Johnson. “So, we want to capture that to share with the rest of the worldwide bartending community.”

Visit www.barshow.com.au to make sure you don’t miss out on the biggest week for the business of bars.

An Old Pal makes new friends

By Simon McGoram

Photography by Steve Brown

Who ever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Well, this month’s How To proves the naysayers wrong by teaching an aged cocktail - The Old Pal to be precise - how to bust a move in the 21^st Century.

The original concoction reportedly makes an appearance in Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails, in 1922, making it one of the first cocktails to list Campari as an ingredient. However, more recent editions of the work claim the recipe came from “Sparrow Robinson, Sporting Editor, New York Tribune, Paris, 1929″. Despite conflicting information as to the drink’s conception, the formula is simple - equal parts Canadian whisky, dry vermouth and Campari. The resultant potion is an intensely flavoured aperitif.

“The Boulevardier was conceivably a modernised version of the Old Pal - the inspirational substitution of sweet vermouth perhaps taking its cue from the rising popularity of the Negroni.”

In 1927, Harry McElhone - the author of Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails and bartender/owner of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris - produced a recipe entitled the ‘Boulevardier’. Printed in Barflies and Cocktails, the recipe is notable for its similarity to the Old Pal. Canadian whisky is substituted for Bourbon - which wouldn’t have been easy to come by during the height of Prohibition when this drink was created - and dry vermouth for sweet. The Boulevardier’s specs deliver a drink which is more rounded than the Old Pal - the sharp edges of whiskey and Campari smoothed by the sweet vermouth.

The Boulevardier was conceivably a modernised version of the Old Pal - the inspirational substitution of sweet vermouth perhaps taking its cue from the rising popularity of the Negroni.

Using Harry’s example we’ve also decided to make what’s old new again. Presented on these pages is The New Pal. The formula we’re working with comes from the Absinthe Brasserie & Bar in San Francisco. It is readily accessible to enthusiastic mixologists thanks to the venue’s barkeeps - Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz - who listed this recipe in their beautiful book several years back called The Art of the Bar. Their New Pal employs a couple of old skool additions like a dash of Herbsaint (we’ve used absinthe) and Peychuad’s bitters. Like the Boulevardier, Hollinger and Schwartz have favoured sweet vermouth over dry, but opted for a straight rye whiskey as opposed to Canadian. Adding a dash of absinthe to a cocktail is a decidedly 19^th century trait but the New Pal refreshes McElhone’s recipe by citing resurging popular ingredients (at least amongst bartenders) namely the rye whiskey component.

So what is the result? A friendly little number though only a new acquaintance you’ll soon find you’ll be getting along like a couple of old chums.

The New Pal

(Recipe adapted from The Art of Bar by Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz)

30ml Rittenhouse straight rye whiskey ‘Bottled in Bond’

30ml Campari

30ml Cinzano Rosso vermouth

1 Dash Peychaud’s bitters

½ Barspoon Lemercier Abisinthe 72%

Add a friendly measure of Rittenhouse straight rye whiskey, Campari and Cinzano Rosso. Add a dash of Peychaud’s bitters and your absinthe.  Stir in a clockwise direction whilst sporting a smile for your chums. Strain into a chilled fancy cocktail glass and garnish with a piece of orange zest.

Oneperth.com.au, a Western Australian based news source, has printed the comments of 399 co-owner Gary Beadle under the slightly sensational heading “Small bar guru slams Perth pubs”.

Beadle, described by the site as a trailblazer of Perth’s small bar scene, has slammed some of Perth’s hippest nightspots and damned others with faint praise in his license application for new venue The Duyfken at 560 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley, Perth.

Targets of Mr Beadle’s criticism include well known establishments such as Luxe Bar and The Brisbane Hotel - regular finalists and awards recipients at the Australian Bar Awards.

Beadle was particularity scathing of  Luxe Bar of which he was a stakeholder until 2007.

“A late night nightclub sailing under a special facility license, Luxe in its day was the venue that turned the corner in the standard of hospitality to be expected,” he starts. ”But sadly since Geoff Hayward and partners have moved on it has started to get left a long way behind.”

“Opening late, charging an entry fee, and concentrating on big weekends, this venue is sadly nowadays nothing other than an early closing nightclub,” he concludes.

In his application Beadle also makes veiled criticisms of The Brisbane: “An amazing venue run by an amazing team of hospitality staff but sadly as it is such a big venue in the old style beer barn, the sheer volume of customers that have to be let in for this venue to exist financially does not always lead to a pleasant going out experience.”

According to oneperth.com.au the Brisbane Hotel General Manager, Mark Patterson, said the criticism was “water off a duck’s back”.

“I think he’s trying to make a point about how he’s offering a different service,” Mr Patterson said.

What are your thoughts? Are Beadle’s comments out of line or does anything go in the bar business?

Darlinghurst’s swank cocktail pad, Eau De Vie was named Gourmet Traveller’s Bar of the Year at the magazine’s 2011 Restaurant Awards on Monday night.

Eau De Vie was nominated alongside Brisbane’s Crosstown Eating House and Perth’s Helvetica, but  managed to pip both these bars at the post to claim this year’s Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards 2011 Bar of Year title. Making waves since opening late January this year, Eau De Vie is also nominated for no less than five awards at this year’s Australian Bar Awards including New Bar of the Year, Bar Team of the Year and Operator of the Year (single venue).

Eau-De-Vie  owner, Sven Almenning, who celebrated his birthday yesterday, commented that it was the best present he could have hoped for.

“To be honest it’s quite a humbling experience to be recognised in the company of Australia’s culinary heavyweights,” said Almenning, “and we’re of course both proud and happy… we’re over the moon about it!”

Pat Nourse, Gourmet Traveller’s chief restaurant critic and features editor, says that the awards and, indeed, the magazine itself are all about celebrating quality.

“We’re not just talking about restaurants and we’re not necessarily talking about places where you have to blow a million bucks, it’s just about being sincere and getting it right,” added Nourse.

Almenning says that receiving early recognition from both Gourmet Traveller readers and the bar trade in the venue’s infancy is a little daunting.

“If the award is about recognising a bar that strives to deliver a great drinking experience, and that takes a restaurant’s approach to service and quality products then I believe our team at Eau-de-Vie does this on par with the best in the industry,” explains Almenning.

Nourse is enitrely convinced that Eau-De-Vie is a worthy recipient.

” It’s a bar where talking to the person who’s making your drink is as much a pleasure as the drink itself. Throw in the x-factor aspects - the bar-behind-a-bar location, the unobtrusive live music, the bottle-keep, Sven’s unparalleled collection of cocktail antiques - and you’ve got a bar that shows every sign of being here for a long time and not just a good time,” concludes Nourse.

Congratulations to Sven & Amber Almenning and the whole Eau De Vie team!

Japanese bartending legend, Hidetsugu Ueno has been confirmed in the line-up for this year’s Sydney BarShow Week as a guest of Diageo’s Reserve Brands.

From Ginza in Tokyo, Japan, Ueno-san is one of the leaders of Japanese bartending, with a dedicated following of cocktail aficionados across Tokyo and the world.

Ueno made a name for himself as the head bartender and manager at the renowned Authentic Bar in Star Bar, Ginza, where he entertained the rich and famous with his highly skillful and now legendary  ice diamonds. Today he is now the owner and manager of High Five in Ginza, seen by many experts as one of  the best cocktail bars in the world.

Ueno-San will be presenting The Art of Japanese Bartending in the Mixology Theatre at 2:00pm - 2:40 pm on Wednesday 22 September (Day 2) of the Sydney BarShow exhibtion. Do not miss this amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the world’s leading bartending personalities.

For further information and to purchase your 2 Day Seminar Pass visit www.barshow.com.au

Responding to the huge growth in the Australian cider category since last summer Magners is preparing to release Magners Pear cider in a new 330ml size in time for summer 2010.

Magners have been making apple cider in Ireland for over 70 years and following the successful launch of the Magners Pear 568ml bottles in January this year, Australians will now get the chance to experience this refreshing summer alternative in a more manageable 330ml size.

Magners Pear is made from 100 percent pear, sourced from the highest quality fruit available to create a natural pear taste. Magners pear has a slightly sweeter taste than the original apple cider and also benefits from fermentation in oak matured vats and several months of maturation before being filtered for bottling.

For further information on Magners Pear contact your Suntory sales representative or visit www.clubsuntory.com

The Passage, which is swelling the ranks of Darlinghurst bars, is the first bar venture by Mark Eggers and Andy Emerson and Ed Loveday who have both worked for Keystone hospitality for years. The Passage’s site has has quite a history in hospitality that stretches back three decades. It was the site of the infamous L’Otel during the late 90s and early 2000s and more recently ElBarrio.

A long slender venue, The Passage has three distinct spaces. The first is the Victoria Street dining room featuring a 22 seater high communal dining table and a candle lit exposed brick wall. The second is ‘the passage’ - a long thin lounge room connecting the Victoria Street room to the Darlinghurst Road bar. A long one side of the room runs a nine metre plush chesterfield banquet lounge accompanied by marble topped tables and ottomans. The third room, and perhaps most important room, is the Darlinghurst Road bar - consisting of a long solid marble bar top with low hanging pendant lights complete with a built in DJ booth at one end.

Their wine list features approximately 30 wines in total with12 by the glass and is designed to be kept small, whilst still offering a few interesting varietals such as a Gros Mensang/Sauvignon Blanc from south-western France. Likewise The Passage boasts a simple one page cocktail list that regularly rotates. Favourites include the Coconut & Kaffir Lime Daiquiri and the Professor Plum (a vanilla plum pisco sour). The culinary offering features rustic share plates courtesy of Emmilou’s Chris Cranswick-Smith.

Well, it has been said before, but let’s say it again - Queensland’s Tamborine Mountain Distillery (TMD) is on a roll!  Australia’s most awarded distillery and liquor brand in the new millennium has again been judged as the most awarded distillery in Australia at the 2010 London International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC ).

“This is a particularly great achievement,” said and ecstatic  Michael Ward -Director of TMD, ” as we often enter very challenging flavours for the judges, products they have never tried before and often totally indigenous to Australia. It’s interesting to hear their comments. Some are still very conservative.”

The IWSC is considered to be the most prestigious competition of its type in the world attracting close to 10,000 competitors. To win anything at this competition is no mean feat.

At this year’s IWSC TMD picked up bronze for its Ginger and  Quandong & Gentian Bitters Liqueurs, as well as Bronze medals for their  Eaux de Vie Pomme and Grappa.

Tamborine Mountain Distillery has been awarded 14 medals this year alone including six gold, two silver and six bronze medals at competitions in Austria, Belgium, America, and Germany bringing their medal tally to an impressive 127. What’s even more amazing is the fact that trophy cabinet has all been acquired within the last 10 years!

TMD produces over 77 products and no less than 55 have won International awards.

“The others we have not entered in competitions as yet,” adds Ward.  “The majority of distilleries mainly concentrate on producing a handful of products, so to have 55 of your products recognised by world judges is truly remarkable. Possibly a world first.”

Monday August 9, saw the return of Ruben Aceves, Herradura’s Global Brand Ambassador, to Australian shores. Aceves, who was last in Australia in 2008,  is faced with an action packed itinerary for his stay which includes master classes on the Herradura and El Jimador Tequilas and special awards dinners for Herradura’s Golden Horseshoe awards in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

The Golden Horseshoe awards scheme is aimed at recognising bartenders and venues that not only show great support for the Herradura brand but also for the Tequila category in general.

The News South Wales State Finalists were treated to Herradura Tommy’s Margaritas and a three course meal at Cruise Bar last night with each dish served with a matching Tequila. The New South Wales state winners were Ryan Gardam, from Goldfish for Herradura’s Bartender of the Year, and Ivy for Herradura’s Bar of the Year.

August 17, update:

The remaining  state winners of the Golden Horseshoe Awards  have been announced and are as follows:

Queensland:

• Bartender Award - Ryan Lane

Western Australia:

• Bartender Award - James Connolly
• Venue Award - Benny’s Bar (Fremantle)

South Australia:

• Bartender Award - Owen Colin
• Venue Award - Adelaide Casino: Chandelier  Bar

Victoria:

• Venue Award (joint winners): Railway Hotel and Transit Bar

Over the last few months Schweppes have been on a quest to find Australia’s best G&T. Well their search is almost over after having whittled down a ton of amazing entries from the length and breadth of the country.

The five finalists for Schweppes’ Australia’s Best G&T comp are (in no particular order): Elyssia Wormald, Eau De Vie, Sydney, Tim Greening, Bootleg, Sydney, Chris Hysted, Black Pearl, Melbourne, Barry Shaun Byrne, Gin Palace, Melbourne and Owen Collin, Chandelier Bar, Adelaide. Each of the finalists will receive accommodation and flights to Sydney BarShow plus $500 in cold hard cash. After competing on the Mixology Stage at BarShow the winner will walk away with a trip to London Bar Show 2011 with $5000 spending money to boot!

Michael Da Costa-Alves, National Sales Manager for Schweppes Australia’s On Premise business, was impressed by the quality of entrants.

“I would like to acknowledge the high standard of all the entries, the incredible creativity, and give honorable mentions to each of those on the list below who didn’t make the final five but certainly would have been worthy finalists,” commented Costa-Alves.

Honorable mentions go to Luke Ashton, Corner House, Sydney, Luke Redington, Eau De Vie, Sydney, Reece Griffiths, Victoria Room, Sydney, Hugo Burton, Hippo Bar, Canberra, Warwick Coleman, Double Happiness, Melbourne, Doug Tasic, Botanic Bar, Adelaide, Marco Noe, 399 Bar, Perth, and Bill Bewsher, 399 Bar, Perth.

Make sure you register for Sydney BarShow and purchase your 2 Day Seminar Pass to watch the five finalists battle it out for honour of having created Schweppes’ Australia’s Best G&T on The Mixology Stage, Wednesday 22 September, 3:15pm.