THESE ARE THE BEST DRINKS IN AUSTRALIA’S BARS — VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE NOW.
Over the course of October, bartenders from bars across Australia answered the call to put their best drinks forward to be considered in the fourth annual Boothby Drink of the Year Awards.
The result? Some very fine drinking from some very fine bartenders. Our Boothby selection panel has assessed the entries — more than 250 this year — and found the 50 drinks that best showcase how we're drinking in 2025.
And now it’s over to you. You can have your say on your favourite drink — voting is open for the 2025 Boothby People's Drink of the Year presented by Club Suntory. Take a look at the drinks below, then hit the vote button to have your say.
Below, organised in alphabetical order by the name of the drink, are the Top 50 Drinks of the Year 2025.
So what happens next?
At the same time that public voting takes place for The People’s Drink of the Year presented by Club Suntory, the Boothby advisory panel of over 200 voters will also be casting their votes for the ranking of the Top 50.
Each of the bartenders with a drink on the Top 50 are invited to the exclusive Boothby Drink of the Year Awards on Monday 1 December at Hacaienda in Sydney’s Circular Quay for one last dressed up celebration of the industry. Save the date, and book your flights.
At the awards night, we’ll be counting down from 50 to 1 the Drinks of the Year, and awarding five big awards along the way: The Drink of the Year presented by Bacardí; The People’s Drink of the Year presented by Club Suntory; Bartender of the Year presented by Glenfiddich; Breakout Bartender of 2025 presented by Hendrick’s; and Drinks List of the Year presented by Perrier.
In the meantime, voting is open for the Boothby People’s Drink of the Year presented by Club Suntory — all you have to do is check out the Top 50 and vote for your favourite below before Wednesday 12 November 2025.
Thank you to all of the bartenders who entered their drinks — you’ve made this country a nicer place to drink at.
The 2025 Boothby Top 50 Drinks of the Year
Africola
Michael Chiem | PS40
A play on hot and cold temperatures, this is a drink by Michael Chiem that even has its own tee shirt — and was named the Drink of the Year in both 2022 and 2024.
Ingredients: Mr Black, native wattleseed cola, coconut foam.
Americana
Jeremy Blackmore | Herbs Taverne
Ingredients: Campari, sweet vermouth blend, orris root bitters, soda, lemon granita.
Another Dimension
James Gentile | Gibney
Ingredients: Absinthe, charred pineapple, cucumber and caraway syrup, lime juice.
Apple Butter
Matt Blackburn | PS40
Ingredients: Calvados, creme de peche, lemon, apple butter.
Appletini
Alex Gondzioulis | Bar Bellamy
Ingredients: Gin, apple-infused gin, calvados, apple vermouth, apple cordial, chamomile.
Birds Of Paradise
Joshua Pahl | Bar Bellamy
Ingredients: Punch, poor man’s curaçao, white cane spirit, orange chamomile soda.
Blood And Ice
Darren Burton | Kiin
Ingredients: Never Never Ginache, cherry-switch sweet vermouth, blood orange sorbet, prosecco, coconut.
Bubble O’ Bill
Luca Baioni | Latteria
Ingredients: Pisco, strawberry, white cacao, aloe vera.
Cafe Frappe
Felix Woods | Reine & La Rue
Ingredients: Vodka, espresso, coffee liqueur, Averna, creme de menthe, vanilla.
Calippo
Ben Hardy | Black Pearl
Ingredients: Gin, raspberry, lime and gin, orgeat, pineapple, lime, orange blossom water.
Campari & Passionfruit
Oliver Gill & Mikayla Adams | Bar Miette
Ingredients: Passionfruit Campari, citrus cordial, chamomile simple syrup.
Carthusian Grasshopper
Loic Mouchelin | Sante
Ingredients: Creme de menthe, Chartreuse, Branca Menta, verjus, peppermint tea, white choclate, vanilla ice cream.
Caspar Milquetoast
Aidan Perkins | Milquetoast
Ingredients: Gin, sparkling wine, pear juice, lacto-fermented pear, vanilla, milk toast.
Czech Spritz
Luke Kelly & Belinda Linton | Pendant Public Bar
Ingredients: Braulio, coffee liqueur, simple syrup, lemon, cucumer slice.
Dante
Josh McElhinney & Alex Johnston | Honeydripper
Ingredients: Bourbon, orange skin amontillado, Aperol, passionfruit verjuice, passionfruit and feta oleo, orange juice, egg white.
Doublethink
Kitty Gardner & Darren Leaney, Tom McHugh | Caretaker’s Cottage
Ingredients: Purple carrot tequila, passionfruit syrup, oat dulce de leche, habanero shochu, lemon juice, saline.
Dr Suzuki
Alex Johnston & Josh McElhinney | Honeydripper
Ingredients: Passionfruit husk vodka, dry vermouth, banana champagne, passionfruit and tonka liqueur, passionfruit verjus.
Ebony’s Signature Spritz
Judith Zhu | Bistro Ebony
Ingredients: Vodka, Rhubi, strawberry wine, champagne acid, hibiscus honey, finger lime soda.
Electric Blue
Elisa Rodrigues | Maybe Mae
Ingredients: Gin, yuzushu, blue curacao, coconut water, verjuice, chrysanthemum tea, hickory smoke, magic acid, carbonated.
First Frost
Luke Whearty | Byrdi
Ingredients: Vodka, vermouth, coconut pine water, liquid nitrogen.
Fuji-Hi
Andy Chu & Jess Iro | One Or Two
Ingredients: Calvados, sake, Le Birlou, verjus, rosehip tea, apple syrup, carbonated.
Gibson Martini
Lachlan Bentley | Apollo Inn
Ingredients: Gin, dry vermouth, cucumber brine, Vichy Catalan.
Green Tree Ant Margi
Jack Connor | Rosella’s
Ingredients: Beudi Margi Spirit, lime juice, green tree ant salsa verde.
Half Time Oranges
Samuel Thornhill | Byrdi
Ingredients: Fermented orange liqueur, distilled cut grass, orange soda, distileld Australian shincha, carbonated.
Hay Fever
George Curtis | Before + After
Ingredients: Basil Hayden Bourbon, Amaro Nonino, lemon juice, peated rice orgeat, bee pollen.
Icebergs’ Sgroppino
Matty Opai | Icebergs Bar & Dining Room
Ingredients: Tequila, lime juice, prosecco, lemon sorbet.
Jalapeno Gibson
Jarrad Byrant | Society
Ingredients: Oyster shell gin, jalapeno distillate, dry vermouth, onion infusion, Chartreuse.
Loose Teeth
Sam Kirk | Pleasure Club
Ingredients: Bacardi, dragonfruit soda, passionfruit syrup., cacao blanc, sugar syrup.
Ma-La-Garita
Oliver Churcher | Bar Demo
Ingredients: Blanco tequila, cucumber, lime, chilli oil.
Recipe to come.
Miami Weiss
Luis Emmanuel & Ben Ingall | The Rover
Ingredients: Aged rum, cachaca, coconut liqueur, pineapple juice, lime juice, strawberry daiquiri foam.
Mr Blonde
Darren Leaney & Kitty Gardner | Caretaker’s Cottage
Ingredients: Scotch whisky, coffee liqueur, filter coffee, T2 New York tea, doughnut cream.
Naughty Affogato
Margot Michat | Waxflower
Ingredients: Single malt whisky, Jamaican rum, coffee, vanilla, coconut cream, hazelnut, sugar, lemon, pandan.
Oyster Shell Martini
Samuel Cocks | Saint Peter
Ingredients: Dry gin, dry vermouth, vodka, saline, oyster shell acid.
Pandan Express
Swan Kanongataa | Huelo
Ingredients: White rum, pandan liqueur, verjus, sugar, fermented pineapple cordial.
Panettone Negroni
Mahbub Hasan | Lana
Ingredients: Gin, Campari, sweet vermouth, cherry liqueur, pomegranate molasses, raisings, champagne acid, Pepe Saya Butter, almon, sourdough, vanilla.
Peel St Corpse Reviver
Ollie Margan & Nick Corletto | Maybe Mae
Ingredients: Gin, lemon juice, ginger and honey syrup, lager.
Pink Pony Club
Sienna Shroeder | Earl’s Juke Joint
Ingredients: Raspberry-infused vodka, Rhubi, lemon juice, cardamom syrup, foam, edible glitter, raspberry powder.
Quince Caramel Whisky Sour
Brett Nebauer | 11e Cáve
Ingredients: Bourbon, citrus husk limoncello, fino sherry, poached quince caramel, orange bitters, verjus.
Raspberry & Miso
Tom Opie | Pilot
Ingredients: Redistilled fig leaf and strawberry Campari, red rice cream, raspberries, raspberry vinegar, candied native raspberries, tomato juice.
Sanchez Paloma
Eduardo Conde | El Primo Sanchez
Ingredients: Blanco tequila, mandarin liquor, mandarin soda, agave syrup, lime juice, carbonated.
Santorini Martini
Matt Whiley | Olympus
Ingredients: Caper leaf distillate, gin, preserved lemon vermouth, dry vermouth, sugar.
Savile Highball
Jacob Cohen | Savile Row
Ingredients: House whisky blend, cognac, lemon juice, passionfruit pulp, chamomile, raw sugar syrup.
Seven & Eleven
Reuben Beasley-Palmer | Maison Batard
Ingredients: Toki Japanese whisky, apple and tarragon cordial, yuzushu, cream citrate, ube extract, soda.
Suze To’
Julien Wurtlin | Babines
Ingredients: Suze, clarified kiwi, distilled oyster shell gin, lemon and poblano kosho, blackcurrant leaf.
Recipe to come.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Paolo Maffietti & Luca Goffredo | Maybe Sammy
Ingredients: Blanco tequila, oloroso sherry, elderflower liqueur, shio koji, grapefruit cordial, smoked rooibos soda, grapefruit granita and lemon balm.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Paolo Maffietti, Marco de Lazzari, Hunter Gregory & Luca Goffredo | Maybe Sammy
Ingredients: Hendrick’s gin, watermelon and pink ginger cordial, coconut water, wet coffee, pandan liqueur.
Topolino
Paige Chabert | Above Board
Ingredients: Tequila, peach liqueur, verjus, aperitif blend, orange bitters, malic acid, orange twist.
Two In The Pink
Alicia Clarke | Double Deuce Lounge
Ingredients: Rhubarb vodka, strawberry and vanilla syrup, Select Aperitivo, lactic acid, milk punched.
West Side Rumos
Callum Marra & Dre Walters | Old Love's
Ingredients: Switched green mango and coconut rum, elderflower liqueur, lemon, vanilla cream, egg white, West Coast Cooler.
Zareh Martini
Matt Linklater | Zareh
Ingredients: Arak, gin, bianco vermouth, curacaso, lemon bitters, garnished with lemon and orange zests, or Tom Sarafian gilda.