Sydney’s Double Deuce Lounge played host to some of the best in the Australian Bar Industry as Boothby presented its Drink of the Year Awards and Top 50 drinks list.
“The awards are a great snapshot of the way we drink at bars in 2022,” said drinks writer and founder of Boothby, Sam Bygrave. “The desire behind the awards is to spotlight the drinks created by our bartenders, who — if you ask me — can hold their weight against the very best in the world. Right now, and despite everything our bartenders have been through since 2020, there’s no place better to drink at than Australia.”
The winner of the Boothby Drink of the Year 2022, presented by Patrón Tequila, is the Africola by Michael Chiem at the ground-breaking Sydney bar, PS40. The drink is an innovative play on hot and cold temperatures. PS40 and Chiem also picked up the number 5 spot on the list with their Salted Piña Colada.
The Drinks List of the Year presented by The London Essence Co was awarded to Melbourne bar Byrdi for its innovative, convention-challenging but ultimately delicious drinks list, created by bartender and owner Luke Whearty (pictured). Whearty also picked up the number 4 spot on the list on the night with his drink Snow and the number 17 spot with Fallen Fruit.
And after two weeks of voting by the public on boothby.com.au, the People’s Drink of the Year, presented by Orlando, was awarded to Eoin Kenny from Long Chim in Perth for his drink, Lychee. Lychee was a flavour employed by several bartenders throughout the year, but it was Kenny’s take — a beautiful, clear, tall drink — that the public embraced.
Some 50 percent of the Top 50 drinks came from NSW; over 20 percent came from Victoria, with Brisbane picking up four spots, Adelaide getting three, Perth scoring two, and Darwin, Canberra, Hobart, and the Gold Coast coming in at one spot a piece.
“The Top 50 reads like a guide to the very best bars Australia has to offer,” continued Bygrave. “Whether it’s up in Darwin at Hanky Panky Lounge, down in Hobart at Rude Boy, or over in Perth at Foxtrot Unicorn — we’ve got some of the best bars in the world.”
For the full list go to boothby.com.au