The Boothby Top 50 Drinks of the Year are in — vote now
Here's a look at how we're drinking in 2024.
Well, the results are in: the 2024 Boothby Top 50 Drinks of the Year are here.
It's the third annual instalment of the Drink of the Year Awards, and the full ranking — as well as the major award winners — will be announced at the Drink of the Year Awards party on Monday 18 November.
But for now? Well, you can see the full list right here.
A couple of trends to note, too: there are a lot — and we mean a lot — of drinks getting the Milk Punch treatment these days. Is that because it's a way of making tasty drinks tastier? It could be. With around a quarter of the list this year being some variation on the Milk Punch, though, there were many, many more that didn't make the cut.
So have we reached peak Milk Punch? Something tells me not.
Another trend this year, and related to the Milk Punch thing, is the use of strawberries and cream, or peaches and cream; in fact, there seems to be an embrace of these sweeter flavours, whilst still creating well balanced drinks.
And are we seeing a trend toward more savoury Martinis? The Sea & Shell Martini at Pearl Diver Cocktails & Oysters re-enters the list this year, which is big on briny, oyster shell gin characters, and is joined by a Sea Water Martini at Melbourne restaurant Etta Dining; The Gilda Martini at Oncore by Clare Smyth is inspired by the dish of the same name, and Luke Whearty brings sweet characters together with savoury Yarra Valley caviar with his one sip Martini riff, Speed Bump.
This year also marks the first entry for a non-alc on the list: the Yuzu & Flowers from Tom Opie at The Waratah. It's really very good.
And a few drinks make their third straight appearance on the list: the Africola, from PS40, took out the number one spot in 2022, landed at number four in 2023, and is back again this year; Sarah Mycock's Pandan Airways at Old Mate's Place returns for a third year, too, as does Above Board bartender and owner Hayden Lambert's HSL Special.
