An Irish coffee-inspired cocktail that plays with temperature and texture has been named Drink of the Year at the inaugural Boothby Drink of the Year Awards – a new industry event that ranks Australia’s top 50 cocktails.
The Africola is the creation of Michael Chiem, owner of Sydney’s formidable PS40, a pint-sized bar that made a name for itself by curating and creating its own seasonal sodas. The Africola has such a cult following it even has its own T-shirt.
A Melbourne cocktail came in second place; the HSL Special is a creation by Hayden Lambert at hidden Collingwood bar Above Board. This was followed in third place the Tiramisu Milk Punch by Darren Leaney of Melbourne’s Capitano.
In fourth was Snow by Byrdi’s co-owner Luke Whearty. His Fallen Fruit cocktail was also ranked 18 in the list and the bar, which is also co-owned by Aki Nishikura, was also awarded Drinks List of the Year.
The Boothby Drink of the Year Awards were announced last night at Sydney’s subterranean bar Double Deuce Lounge, attracting bartenders from all over the country. To be in the running, bartenders had to nominate a drink that had been regularly available in their bars for at least the past 12 months. Once the list had been whittled down to 50, a jury of 100-plus industry experts voted to determine the order, which sees celebrated cocktail big shots and out-of-the-way and under-the-radar spots sitting side-by-side.
“The awards are a great snapshot of the way we drink at bars in 2022,” Boothby founder Sam Bygrave said in a statement. “The desire behind the awards is to put a spotlight on the drinks created by our bartenders, who – if you ask me – can hold their weight against the very best in the world.”
Half of the top-50 drinks included in the list came from NSW bars, with everyone’s favourite laneway mezcal cocktail bar, Cantina Ok!, Eveleigh’s sustainable champion Re-, and arguably Australia’s most awarded bar, Maybe Sammy, recognised. Twelve cocktails from Victoria were also on the list.
The only bar outside of Sydney or Melbourne to score a spot in the top 10 was Adelaide’s Maybe Mae’s for its Clare de Lune cocktail, a delicate mix of quince eau de vie, vanilla, pisco and Lillet Blanc. Adelaide’s Memphis Slim’s House of Blues was the only other SA bar in the list, but was recognised twice (spot 33 and 35).
Queensland scored five spots, with Brisbane’s Savile Row and Maker both making the list twice, and Rosella’s on the Gold Coast taking out the highest spot of any Queensland venue with its nostalgic native-flavoured Blinky Bill cocktail taking out spot number 16 on the list.
As well as giving us a list of bars to add to our hit-list – and the drinks to order when we get there –Bygrave, who is also a drinks writer, flagged some trends, heralding 2022 as “the year that lychee came back”. This was echoed in Perth by Eoin Kenny and Long Chim's Lychee, which won People’s Drink of the Year.
Darwin’s Hanky Panky Lounge, Canberra’s Bar Rochford and Rude Boy in Hobart also scored spots on the list.
