Ilegal ✝ Mezcal

Okay, so here’s my first post out of bar show and the bar awards. I’ll start by saying thanks to Dave Spanton and Simon McGoram from Spanton Media, the guys who produce the show, the awards, 4bars.com.au and Bartender magazine.

They sorted me out with press accreditation for the whole deal and seated me at the best table in the building. Phil Bayly from Cafe Pacifico and his crew were awesome.

To my left on the table was Steve from Ilegal Mezcal. He produces an artisnal mezcal that is quite something. The taste is smoky and earthy, but exceptionally refined. Kind of like a Talisker scotch without the attitude.

There’s a lot of crap online rubbishing mezcal in favour of tequila, largely due to a big amount of mezcal being produced for the wanker tourist market that comes down from SoCal to see a donkey show and cut loose. There are differences, tequila can only be made from the blue agave, and must be from Jalisco province. Most Mezcal comes from Oaxaca province, and mezcal can be made with other agave varieties. Where tequila producers roast the pina in an oven, mezcal is baked in a ground oven, like a hangi or umu in the pacific.

The result is magical. I will be tracking Ilegal Mezcal. check out the webiste, it speaks to a small scale production, a passion for the spirit and its handcrafted nature.

I can’t wait to be able to add a bottle to my liquor cabinet.

Filed under: Spirit

Australian Bar Awards

A short run through of my predictions proves that I really don’t know all that much about what’s going on in the Aussie bar industry. I obviously need to visit Melbourne, and Brisbane as well.

At least I got a couple right.

A full debrief of my experience will follow along shortly, but right now its all about the winners.

The 2009 Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards Winners

BARTENDER OF THE YEAR
1st place – Chris Hysted, The Black Pearl, Melbourne
2nd place – Sebastian Raeburn, 1806, Melbourne
3rd place – Jason Williams, Seamstress/SweatShop, Melbourne

Bar of the Year
Golden Monkey, Melbourne

New Bar of the Year
Match Bar & Grill, Melbourne

Bar Team of the Year
The Lark, Brisbane

Cocktail Bar of the Year
Seamstress/Sweatshop, Melbourne

Nightclub of the Year
Kit & Kaboodle, Sydney

Cocktail List of the Year
Der Raum, Melbourne

Hotel of the Year
Ivy, Sydney

New Hotel of the Year
Cloudland, Brisbane

Best New Venue Design
Ivy Pool Club/Changeroom, Sydney

Best Drinks Selection
Byblos, Brisbane

Bar Manager of the Year
Tim Wastell, Blue Diamond, Melbourne

Registered Club of the Year
Club Swans, Sydney

Bar Operator of the Year (Multiple Venues)
Vernon Chalker, Collins Quarter, Madame Brussels, Gin Palace, Melbourne

Bar Operator of the Year (Single Venue)
Natasha Conte, Black Pearl, Melbourne

Best Music Offering
The Toff, Melbourne
The Piano Room, Sydney

Best Bar Food
Seamstress/Sweatshop, Melbourne

Small Bar of the Year
Sticky, Sydney

Best Specialty Beer Venue
The Local Taphouse, Sydney

Wine Bar of the Year
Gazebo Wine Garden, Sydney

Outstanding Contribution
Sven Almenning

Training Program of the Year
Diageo’s Alchemy Program
Beam Global’s and CCA’s Mixxit

Brand Ambassador of the Year
Mick Formosa, Club Suntory

Filed under: Uncategorized , Bar Awards, Sydney Barshow 2009, Winners

Red Sky in the morning, Bartenders warning.

Bar Show is rolling to a close today, after a very auspicious start to the day with red dust changing the skies and the air quality very dramatically.

The Bar Show had a great crowd as I walked the floor today, the 42Below Cocktail World Cup Qualifiers were fun to watch, and I tried some excellent products which I’ll document over the next few days.

Bar Awards are tonight, and I’ll be there, seeing if the predictions I made are even close to coming true.

Looking forward to a great night.

Filed under: Sydney , Bar Awards, Sydney Bar Show

Salve, Gruppo Campari

Gruppo Camapri have just announced that they’re opening a Sydney office! They are looking to hire a whole team, from Marketing Director to Logistics and everything in between.

The group owns a largish family featuring a heavier than usual showing of Aperitifs, Camapri (the bitter orange classic), Aperol (made with both bitter and sweet, a slightly smoother experience), Cynar (again, a bitter aperitif, made from Artichokes and featuring one on the label), Cinzano (Italian vermouths across the colour spectrum) & BiancoSarti (the vigorous aperitif, largely unknown outside of Italy). On the spirit side, they’ve acquired Skyy, Wild Turkey, Cabo Wabo Tequlia and a whole range of Brazilian brandies and scotch.

You can find all of the job listings for Campari Australia here.

Filed under: Spirit, Sydney , Campari, Jobs

It’s Bartender Christmas in only one more sleep!

One more day until the Sydney Barshow gets underway and despite the late cancellations of Lorna Vasquez from Ron Zacapa and Ann Tuennerman from Tales of the Cocktail, the lineup of speakers and spirits is looking exciting.

The Smuggler’s Den is looking mighty tasty with donations from around the world rolling in to whet lips and palates.

I’m resting my liver, and looking forward to a couple of tasty days and nights over the next couple.

Filed under: Sydney , Sydney Bar Show

A Dry Friday Fix

Mmmm, sometimes, the classics are the best. ice up a martini glass and metal tin (the boston glass will melt too much ice before it chills.) Add 10mls of Noily Pratt French Vermouth (it’s a bit more floral than the Italian ones like Cinzano and Martini.) Add 70 mls Tanqueray No. Ten Gin. Stir the mixture with a long barspoon, trying to stir the whole mass of the ice all together. Discard the ice from the martini glass and strain the martini in. squeeze the oil from a lemon peel onto the surface and garnish with a beautiful lemon twist.

Repeat until all the troubles of the week disappear. Have a great weekend.

Filed under: Cocktail , Friday Fix, Ice, Noilly Pratt, stirred not shaken, Tanqueray No. Ten, Vermouth

UPDATED: The end of something special.

Unconfirmed report that all the most of the staff at 42BELOW got their marching orders today and that the brand will be rolled into Bacardi Global Brands. The brand team stays but its going to be tough to keep some heart in that big space with only four people.

It was always a danger when the brand was purchased by the Global giant, and after the corporate management failed to either continue the culture of the brand pre-buyout or to activate any new marketing on a global level, this has had a bit of an inevitability about it.

I hope the brand survives. I’m a passionate supporter after my 4 years working with 42 in China and North Asia.

My thoughts go out to the core of true believers that were still slogging it out in the NZ HQ, they’d been there from the start and had a belief most brands can only dream of.

Kia Kaha brothers, you are all fantastic people.

Filed under: Uncategorized , 42BELOW, kaput

Bacardi Reserva Limitada

If you’ve visited this blog before, you’ll know I’m a big fan of a good story and an even bigger fan of using special products to promote a brand.

Last night at the Sydney Rum Club, the boys from Bacardi bought along something that’s pretty special. Bacardi Reserva Limitada.

This rum is the jewel in the crown of Bacardi’s rum empire. Aged rums are blended after as many as 16 years languishing in the Caribbean sun, the result is a rum not quite as robust as Bacardi 8, and not quite as smooth as Ron Zacapa Centenario XO. Reserva Limitada wins the race in terms of how fine a spirit it is. Subtle, with nary a trace of heads nor tails, Bacardi’s masterpiece is comparable to a cognac or a great grappa, it is distillation at it’s finest.

Where can I buy a bottle? I hear your say. This wonderful rum is only available at two locations (although the guys from Bacardi Lion claimed only one.) Both are are fair trek from this, the Lucky Country. Your options are  (1) The Bacardi Distillery in Puerto Rico and (2) The Bacardi Store in Nassau. You will save yourself a whole 5 bucks if you’re in the Bahamas.

I think it’s going to be a while between drinks on this one. I’d love to try it in an old fashioned with some Fee Brothers orange bitters.

Filed under: Spirit , Bacardi, Bacardi Reserva Limitada, Rum, Special Edition Bottle, Ultrapremium

Rum Club Redux

Last night at the Eden Bar and Restaurant in Martin Place, the Sydney Rum Club gathered for a tasting of the Bacardi portfolio. After a refreshing Mojito made by Bacardi Ambassadors’ Jeremy Shipley and Loy Catada.

After a short and somewhat informative presentation on the history of the brand and the innovations Bacardi bought to the rum industry (parallel process, where two base rums are produced at the same time and blended; charcoal filtration, to smooth the rough edges of the Devils Kin; La Levadura, the use of a specific yeast to ferment the blackstrap and water mash & deliberate aging, to add character, body and a smooth finish to the product.) it was time to drink the sweet, sweet liquor.

Starting with Carta Blanca (the famous white rum; banana, almonds and icing sugar on the nose; brunt wheat and vanilla on the palate with a smooth finish,) followed by Bacardi Oro (a gold/yellow rum; green banana’s on the nose; orange peely to taste and a warmer finish,) next came Bacardi Black (a brown/black rum; raisins and paint on the nose; rich caramel to taste running into a smooth finish,) next up was Bacardi 8 (a rich brown/amber rum with a nose to match, the 8 is smooth in taste and finish, perfect in old school cocktails like the old fashioned and smooth enough to drink on its own,) the penultimate selection was Bacardi Limon (clear, flavoured spirit not legally allowed to be called rum in Australia, macerated lemons give the spirit a heady zest, sweetening the final product to an almost liqueur like consistency.) The last rum in the tasting was Bacardi Reserva Limitada. This one was so good, it’s getting it’s own post.

The evening wrapped up with the announcement of the winner of the naming competition for the Rum Club’s barrel. Astonishingly, I carried off the win, a share of the barrel and a Rum cocktail experience at Eden. In 12 months time, the Governor’s Downfall will be ready, bottle with the owners name and serial number. There is enough rum for 33 bottles, and there are still a few left. $50 and a visit to Eden would probably secure you one, or you could email info@edenbarandrestaurant.com.au and make your case.

A quick hand shaken Bacardi Daiquiri and I was out the door before 9pm. A really enjoyable night, highly recommended.

Filed under: Sydney, Training , A great time, Bacardi, Daiquiri, Eden Bar & Restaurant, Martin Place, Mojito, Rum Club, Sydney CBD

Rum Club Tonight!!!

Eden Bar & Restaurant’ Upper Concourse Level, MLC Centre, 19 Martin Place. 6.30pm

Bacardi are hosting, and I hear that there might even be a little Reserva Limitida on the bar.

On Google Maps. 9223 4333 if you still can’t find the entrance.

Further details available here.

Filed under: Sydney, Training , Bacardi, Martin Place, Rum, Rum Club