Reg Papps joins Manly Spirits, ADSA appoints new Head Judge, Will’s cocktail bar, Singapore Cocktail Festival, Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020 and more in this week’s bar/spirited news & recommended reads.
Death & Co’s Getaway Car – Photo Supplied
Reg Papps Joins Manly Spirits Co.
Manly Spirits Co. has announced on social media that Reg Papps has joined their team as new Head Distiller, taking over from Tim Stones. Reg comes from a long family history in distilling including starting up, operating and selling his own successful distillery in Richmond NSW and producing award-winning spirits. “With Reg at the helm, Manly Spirits will continue to expand its range of top quality and distinctly Australian spirits including our planned single malt whisky launch late 2020.”
ADSA 2020: New Head Judge & New Trophies
Australian Distilled Spirits Awards (ADSA) has announced that entries for the 2020 awards are now open with Sebastian Costello, owner of highly awarded Melbourne bar Bad Frankie as Head Judge. New in 2020 are the trophies for Champion Victorian Distiller and Champion Victorian Gin that are supported by the Victorian State Government. One of the additions to the competition is the whisky classes increasing from five to eight, including the introduction of blended whisky and grain whisky classes and a split of the peated whisky class. Entries for the competition close on Friday 28 February with judging to take place on 24 – 25 March 2020 at Melbourne Showgrounds.
Singapore Cocktail Festival 2020
The Singapore Cocktail Festival returns from 15 to 22 May 2020, marking the celebrations with the Festival Village’s new home at Bayfront Event Space (next to Marina Bay Sands). This year’s edition welcomes #SGCFBarAcademy into the Village, as well as the inaugural BarStar Award, which aims to spotlight emerging bartending talents amongst the Festival’s partner bars.
Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020
Asia’s 50 Best Bars has announced that the awards ceremony will be held in Singapore on 14th May 2020. The 50 Best celebrations will kick-off with the #50BestTalks thought-leadership series and a Bartenders’ Feast at The Capitol Kempinski hotel on 13th May. The awards ceremony will take place at Capitol Theatre on 14th May and an official after party at Cé La Vi SkyBar Singapore at the top of Marina Bay Sands.
Will’s Cocktail Bar Opens in Sydney
Will’s, one of three venues to occupy Coogee Pavilion’s Middle Floor has now opened. The cocktail bar headed by Ben Wainwright (Bert’s, Charlie Parker’s) and Luke Ashton (This Must Be The Place) offers a distinctly European drinks list, with classic cues from the Italian coastline coupled with refreshing influences from the local environment.
Death & Co. in Australia
Death & Co, one of the most influential bars to emerge from the current craft cocktail revival in the US is heading to Perth (Wolf Lane 29 January), Sydney (The Winery 2 February) and Melbourne (Trinket 5 February) for an exclusive cocktail experience for one night only in each city. Hosted by David Kaplan and Alex Day, Death & Co partners and authors of The Cocktail Codex, they will be showcasing a bespoke cocktail and paired food experience delivered in Death & Co speakeasy style.
Spirited Awards Key Dates
Tales of the Cocktail Foundation has announced that nominations have opened for the 14th annual Tales of the Cocktail Foundation Spirited Awards. The nomination period closes at 11:59 PM CST February 26th, 2020 and The Spirited Awards will be hosted on Saturday, July 25th 2020.
NSW Lockout Laws Lifted
The 14th of January 2020 was a day in history as the NSW lockout laws across Sydney’s CBD and Oxford St were lifted. Venues are now be allowed to serve drinks until 3.30am and the restrictions around serving cocktails, shots and drinks in a glass after midnight have also been removed.
Recommended Reads
- Supercooling Magic – the Secret to the World’s Coldest Martini (source)
- How much do you know about American single malt whiskey (source)
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