Boothby is more than just drinks.

Don’t get us wrong: we do like the drinks. But the drinks are just the beginning.

We’re telling the stories of the people who make the things you like to drink. We’re talking to the bartenders and producers that make Australia’s best drinks experiences happen, and learning along the way.

We’ll share great recipes to make at home, point you towards the best bars to hit when you’re out, and dive deep into the world of fine drinking.

To co-opt a line from Hemingway, we believe that if you want to know about a culture, or a city, you should spend a night in its bars. So we’re looking at those bars that are at the top of their game, those who are noteworthy or culturally significant, those that offer a great drink, stellar service, and have something to say about the way we live.

We’re looking for great drinking experiences. Drinks, ultimately, are about people. So we’ll explore the stories of the people behind the drinks. The bartenders, the distillers, the producers who have perfected their craft over many years — those who make our drinking great.

Editorial Policy

At Boothby, we’re not interested in rewriting press releases. We’re looking for what makes a city’s drinking great, and to find it we’re tapping our network of bartenders and in the know drinkers across Australia. If we’re writing about a bar, it’s because we think it’s got something good going on.

We’re committed to always labelling any product placement that is advertising-related — if there’s money changing hands between us and brands we’ll let you know.

If you’ve got an interesting take or a great story to tell, contact us at editorial@boothby.com.au.

For advertising enquiries and a media kit, please get in touch at advertise@boothby.com.au.

About Sam Bygrave

Sam Bygrave is the editor and founder of Boothby Media, where he writes, shoots, and talks about bars, bartenders and drinks. He is the host of the Drinks At Work podcast, and presents the Boothby Drink of the Year awards and the Boothby Best Bars Awards. Sam landed at number 90 on the 2023 Bar World 100, the list of the world’s most influential bar industry figures published by the UK’s Drinks International.

Sam is the Oceania academy chair for the World’s 50 Best Bars, and the Asia-Pacific co-chair for Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards. He has been a spirits judge at Tasting Australia, and head judge at the Perth Royal Spirits Awards and the prestigious Australian Distilled Spirits Awards. He has judged more cocktail competitions than he remembers.

Sam has worked in the drinks and bar industry for over 20 years, as a bartender, a wine and spirits buyer, and for the last decade as a writer and editor having spent eight years as editor of industry monthly Australian Bartender magazine. His work has appeared in international publications Drinks International, The Spirits Business, and Imbibe UK among others.

In 2014 Sam was listed as one of the top 10 cocktail and spirits writers in the world at Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards. He has also hosted the prestigious Bartender Magazine Bartender of the Year competition before an audience of 650 people for seven years, and numerous panel discussions on the spirits and bar industries.

You can reach Sam via email at sam@boothby.com.au.