In a Class of Their Own

From three rounds of competition and nine state finals did ten bartenders - strong of nerve and sure of skill - emerge to take on the World Class Australian final.

Cargo’s Freestyle Cocktail Competition Results

Every year Sydney’s Cargo hosts the Freestyle Cocktail Sessions. The annual event features 10 of Sydney’s top bartenders jumping behind the bar at Cargo Lounge for one night only to showcase their very own signature cocktail to full house of budding cocktail enthusiasts.

Eau De Vie Wins Gourmet Traveller Bar of the Year

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 Ambassador Sessions - Installment #2

The first Monday of every month, Eau-De-Vie is inviting a brand ambassador to prove they’ve still got the chops to step behind the bar and shake, stir and strain potent potables for a paying crowd. The first installment saw Nick Van Tiel from Diageo’s Reserve Brands step up to the plate whilst 5 July will see Brown Forman ambassador Shae Silvestro attempt to woo Eau-De-Vie’s guests.

Last Man Standing - The Magnificent 7 Champion Crowned

Last Thursday - World Cocktail Day - saw crowds pile in to George Street’s Ivy to watch the Magnificent 7 Final Shootout and celebrate the anniversary of the cocktail.

After a full day of grueling competition - following a year long program - Sydney’s Luke Redington, from Eau-De-Vie, took out the top honours after an entertaining performance in front of the large consumer crowd.

World Cocktail Week Events Heating Up!

Thursday May 6 officially marks the beginning of World Cocktail Week - the week in which the cocktail loving world will celebrate the 204th anniversary of our favourite drink category being defined in print.

World Class Finds Classic Gin Cocktail Winners

Over February and March bartenders were asked to create a unique twist on a classic cocktail using Tanqueray No. Ten as part of Reserve’s World Class program. The competition was tight and the standard of drinks set a new benchmark for a competition already known to push the boundaries of cocktail innovation.

BB Trivia Finds First Batch of Cocktail Nerds

Behind Bars Trivia has found its first batch of cocktail nerds thanks to heats held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane over the last two weeks.

BLOG: Parched March No. 4

There’s just a week left of our 30 Bars in 30 Days odyssey, and as the journey approaches its end, I’m thinking our final lists will be as much about the bars we didn’t visit as the ones we managed to reach. 30 is a fraction of the bars this city has to offer, and as we hit the home straight, we keep hearing of new places popping up, exciting developments at old favourites and enough bar action to keep us going - well, all the way through to next March.

BLOG: 30 Bars in 30 Days; Simon’s Progress

One of the aspects of Sydney bar culture that we should really be celebrating is its growing diversity. Many attribute this to legislative changes like the new ’small bar license’ and ‘Primary Service Authorities’. Personally I’d like to think that Sydney’s (and indeed Australia’s) drinkers are reaching a new stage of enlightenment. Drinkers are driving change by demanding a new breed of bar.