World Cocktail Day has slipped down our collective throats once more, It would be easy to grow despondent at the thought of waiting another annual cycle to celebrate the birth and evolution of finely mixed drinks.
Luckily however, hope as they say, springs eternal. At least on Exhibition St that is, where Sebastian Raeburn has built a stage for the art of mixing drinks, a temple whose rites eek out the fullest balanced flavours and where an uplifted spirit will just as soon be drunk. Named for the year in which the word cocktail was defined in print, 1806 is a must visit destination for anyone who like a great drink.
Step inside the doorway and you’ll be escorted through to the first available seat in the two-leveled theater of drinks. The bar and it’s tenders are very much the feature of the venue, with a backbar rising so high into the stratosphere it must tickle the very nose of God. Appropriate then that the uppermost reaches hold the works of Carthusian Monks, in greater variety than me eyes have laid on before. I’m not so sure the festoon of empty bubbles will have the same effect.
We ordered the Southside and a Clover Club. Both came, well made and silky in their deliciousness. I would have liked to stay and sampled more, but Pumpkin time was upon us and the Hotel bed beckoned. I’ll be back, if only to try the custard.
169 Exhibition Street, Melbourne 3000 -(03) 9663 7722
On Google Maps, here.
Everyday Drinking 