Recipe inspiration from three of Australia’s best cocktail bars

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For your Friday drink inspiration, we’ve got three recipes from three award-winning cocktail bars.

Last November, on the night before the 2024 Drink of the Year Awards, Boothby and the Hendrick's and Glenfiddich ambassadors James Macrae and Ross Blainey hosted three of Australia’s best cocktail bars at Double Deuce Lounge for a tripartite takeover of deliciousness.

Each bar was named Best Cocktail Bar in their state at the 2024 Boothby Best Bars awards: Rosella’s in Queensland, Double Deuce Lounge in NSW, and Bar Bellamy in Victoria.

And not only were the bars at the very pointy end of the best of lists in their state, so too were the bartenders on hand — Alicia Clarke (Double Deuce Lounge), Alex Gondzioulis and Oska Whitehart (Bar Bellamy), and Jack Connor (Rosella’s) — each of whom had drinks land on the Boothby Drink of the Year Top 50.

And the drinks on the night were nothing short of delicious. Below, we’ve got recipes for three of the drinks from the night for your consideration, with the recipe creators themselves sharing a little of what it was like to get together and work on a one night only takeover.

It really was a night to remember.

And a final thank you to Hendrick’s and Glenfiddich — and their tireless ambassadors, James Macrae and Ross Blainey — for supporting and organising the event.

Pillow Talk by Alicia Clarke, Double Deuce Lounge

• 30ml Hendricks Gin
• 15ml peach brandy
• 40ml peach and mango puree
• 15ml sugar
• 2.5ml Suze

Batch all ingredients. To serve, blitz with ice in a blender. Garnish with just a little bit of chilli salt.

“Working with the guys was a blast, once I got past the stress of it all,” says Alicia. “It was pretty tight behind the bar, but they were all absolute angels. And the delicious drinks were definitely not a downside!”

Fantales by Jack Connor, Rosella’s

• 30ml choc Glenfiddich (infused with Daintree Dark Chocolate, then milk punched with Rainbow paddle pop milk)
• 20ml Brookie’s Barrel Aged Mac
• 10ml TMD Salty Caramel
• 10ml mushroom garum caramel
• 10ml oloroso sherry 6 drops caramelised wattleseed butter

“It was such an incredible experience for us small town boys to fly the coop and head to the big smoke,” says Jack. “We were welcomed with such warmth by the Double Deuce team, everyone there is such special and kind people and was so willing to help out in any facet.

“Alicia (and the whole team) went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed for our drinks, and set us all up to have a successful and fun night. The whole team at Double Deuce & Bar Bellamy should feel very proud for all their recent success they have been receiving, and for them being such hospitable and nice people. It is so nice to see that the Australian bar community coming together with such warmth and open arms. I feel that sense of community got a little lost a long the way pre-Covid, but it is so special to see that it is in full bloom and we couldn’t have been welcomed any better in our time in Sydney.”

Kingpin by Alex Gondzioulis, Bar Bellamy

• 40ml Glenfiddich 14
• 15ml sesame & genmaicha liqueur
• 2.5ml Grada
• 7.5ml white miso honey syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters
• 1 dash 10% saline solution

Serve in a rocks glass over block ice. Garnish with a toasted koji marshmallow.

“The DD and Rosella’s team are the best,” says Alex. “Passionate people who love what they do are generally the most fun to work with. Swapping ideas and stories was definitely the best part about working with each other, and definitely gave us a good sense of camaraderie. It’s also pretty sick to have three independently run venues from across the country, all with owners that are still regularly working service shifts, all under one roof. You don’t get a lot of that these days.”