Best Hospitality Staff in Canberra

hey guys i agree with the comments from alot of people. i think canberra’s main problem is inconsistency. why cant all the bartenders in one bar be able to make the drinks the same? Why, if you go on a monday night should the same drink be different on the saturday night. On another point too many bartenders are obsessed with image these days! the best bar staff should be able to make a drink well and make a drink quickly. 15 minutes to wait for a martini…. something wrong with that!!!! People should talk to ther bartender, if they dont know how to make something, dont ask them too!

as for the manhatten, rye whiskey is the traditional, the most accessable to bartenders would be canadian club. If your interested in what i think is the ultimate manhatten i suggest muddle bar on west row. They use a good balance of rosso vermouth and bitters with (if you ask) canadian club 20yr old, the stir it quickly as to get the mixture cold but not weaken it by melting the ice (never ever ever shake a manhatten, or a martini, it doesnt ‘bruise’ the spirit (the biggest load of tripe ever) it simply melts the ice quicker, therefore weakening the mixture *tasting watery!

Ahhh … flaming cocktails … oh the memories. I do believe that a I may have, just once (or perhaps twice), in my misspent youth ordered a round of Flaming Lamborghini’s at El Rancho … but hey is was the 1980s.

JFTB, your experiences are then not dissimilar from mine when it comes to getting what you asked for – and I’m not talking about being a pretentious douche-bag who wants a specific brand of liquor and needing the drink stirred to avoid clouding and the all manner of knobbish bits off toss that people come up with. It should be a simple transaction: Good even, what can I get you? A Manhattan please … and some moments later after the considered attention of a professional I should be enjoying a drink.

When it comes to the old chestnut of customer attitude, I know for a fact that customers are rarely right, often confused or misinformed and rarely appreciative so in that context a customer who knows what they wants and has simple needs should be a god-send.
… single-malt … maybe even give blended scotch a go?

Jim Jones, that there’s a Rob Roy, not a Manhattan … and a good barman should know the difference, but I digress.

Clown Killer said :

Climbs onto soap box …

but might I suggest, that if you are inanely anal about your Manhattan… buy yourself some spirits and kit and stir it up at home?

Having spent a little more than a decade working behind the bar I’m certainly comfortable with making my own cocktails at home but that’s not the point I was making and it’s in fact inherently disingenuous to argue that because a bartender lacks the skills to do their job properly then it is the customer who has too high expectations. Whilst it is possible that there are one or two decent bartenders in Canberra, I am yet to come across them in my travels. There’s nothing inherently anal about expecting that a drink would be made as it was supposed to be.

In the case of the Manhattan, it’s likely to be a combination of inexperience, immaturity and the fact that there are probably less than 15 or so rye whiskeys on the market that may lead a bartender to believe that it would be acceptable to substitute rye with Bourbon. Canadian Club is a far superior substitute for rye than Bourbon. But my gripe with respect to the Canberra scene is not the substitution of rye … that would be a minor misdemeanour. I have had the misfortune of having been served Manhattans that contain dry ginger ale and on one memorable occasion a cocktail onion! One that didn’t get as far as the glass, thankfully, was excused by a barman who advised that he couldn’t make me a Manhattan as they were out of cherry brandy- FFS!

Consequently, I see all too often the classic ‘customer who thinks they know the be all and end all about cocktails’ swan into a bar, order a Terrace Manhattan or Whisky sour or Negroni or some such, to very precise specifications, and then completely write off the bartender and indeed bar if it fails to meet their pre-established conditions.

I guess as long as the money you make doesn’t come from paying customers, such an attitude probably stands you in good stead. From the other side of the bar, I come across – all too often – the classic ‘bartender who thinks they know everything about cocktails’ and in practice: perhaps worse than not actually knowing much at all they delude themselves into thinking that they’re actually skilled enough to start fannying about with recipes in some misguided belief that they will improve the resultant product.

… climbs down from soap box and dons flame retardant suit.

Whatever, man. Just go get me a beer, okay?

Aw CK, will not get into an argument to discuss if the customer is always right, or wrong. I hear your frustration in drinks, I was out one night and tried in 3 locations to get my usual, vodka and lime, all to no avail. And seriously, it’s not that hard, ingredients in the title. No not with lemonade, not with soda. And by the third try, not even fresh lime, a lime leaf, lime cordial, do you know what a lime is….. just give me a damn barman’s breakfast. Anyway.
At the same time, I (age and alcohol have helped with this) now only remember 6 of the 18 versions of sex on the beach I used to make, and have lost count of the times I have been told “that’s not how you make it” when mixing a drink.
In short, wankers can be found on both sides of the bar. And can you still do flaming drinks? Not a suggestion, just a longing for days of yore!

Climbs onto soap box …

but might I suggest, that if you are inanely anal about your Manhattan… buy yourself some spirits and kit and stir it up at home?

Having spent a little more than a decade working behind the bar I’m certainly comfortable with making my own cocktails at home but that’s not the point I was making and it’s in fact inherently disingenuous to argue that because a bartender lacks the skills to do their job properly then it is the customer who has too high expectations. Whilst it is possible that there are one or two decent bartenders in Canberra, I am yet to come across them in my travels. There’s nothing inherently anal about expecting that a drink would be made as it was supposed to be.

In the case of the Manhattan, it’s likely to be a combination of inexperience, immaturity and the fact that there are probably less than 15 or so rye whiskeys on the market that may lead a bartender to believe that it would be acceptable to substitute rye with Bourbon. Canadian Club is a far superior substitute for rye than Bourbon. But my gripe with respect to the Canberra scene is not the substitution of rye … that would be a minor misdemeanour. I have had the misfortune of having been served Manhattans that contain dry ginger ale and on one memorable occasion a cocktail onion! One that didn’t get as far as the glass, thankfully, was excused by a barman who advised that he couldn’t make me a Manhattan as they were out of cherry brandy- FFS!

Consequently, I see all too often the classic ‘customer who thinks they know the be all and end all about cocktails’ swan into a bar, order a Terrace Manhattan or Whisky sour or Negroni or some such, to very precise specifications, and then completely write off the bartender and indeed bar if it fails to meet their pre-established conditions.

I guess as long as the money you make doesn’t come from paying customers, such an attitude probably stands you in good stead. From the other side of the bar, I come across – all too often – the classic ‘bartender who thinks they know everything about cocktails’ and in practice: perhaps worse than not actually knowing much at all they delude themselves into thinking that they’re actually skilled enough to start fannying about with recipes in some misguided belief that they will improve the resultant product.

… climbs down from soap box and dons flame retardant suit.

Massive +1 from Muddling Stick and to the team at Trinity.

I came to have an obsessive love affair with Manhattans after being introduced to them at Trinity. The bar staff there almost always make a point of explaining how and why they make the drink the way they do, and often ask about personal preferences (dry or sweet vermouth? rye whiskey, bourbon, or single-malt … maybe even give blended scotch a go?)

Since then, I’ve had a wide variety of versions of the drink at a number of places (a lot at Trinity, a stack of back alley places in Melbourne, and – increasingly – the bar in my living room) and have loved the experience. It’s not just about the end product, the journey is just as important.

Always goes better with a fat cuban cigar too!

“Most Enthusiastic Bar Team: Trinity @ Dickson”

Ah, if I was only younger, prettier and more enthusiastic. Still, happy to be relegated to a sister pub.

Heartily agree with most of your comments Muddling Stick.

Just thought i’d wade in with a perspective from the other side of the bar. Background, i’ve 5 years experience in Canberra’s lounge and cocktail bars, and chances are if you’ve actually sipped a decent Manhattan or Martini in Canberra, you’ve most likely seen my work.

I’d like to suggest, as a bartender, nothing is more exciting and encouraging than customers that engage with a bartender, communicate and use the bartenders experience and skills to their advantage. We spend untold hours playing with alcohols and mixers and methods, and tend to develop our own suite of personal signatures and specialties. Thus there are certain cocktails that I personally can craft better than any bartender in Canberra, and others which I concoct to a far inferior standard. Every bartender in the city follows this basic mould.

Consequently, I see all too often the classic ‘customer who thinks they know the be all and end all about cocktails’ swan into a bar, order a Terrace Manhattan or Whisky sour or Negroni or some such, to very precise specifications, and then completely write off the bartender and indeed bar if it fails to meet their pre-established conditions. That bartender might mix the best Hendricks Martini or Hemmingway Daiquiri in the world, and you’ve now written them off as amateurish. A good bartender will never serve you a bad product, they will seek out knowledge to ensure you get what you’ve asked for, but might I suggest, that if you are inanely anal about your Manhattan… buy yourself some spirits and kit and stir it up at home?

I would suggest that next time you are in a lounge/cocktail bar, ask this question just once – “What do you make well?”. The bartender can then share with you some of their own personal passion and interest, and skills. I personally would rather drink an excellently made cocktail reccommended by a bartender, than a satisfactory one to my own specifications.

Happy drinking!

My personal opinion of the canberra scene (if only it compared to Melbourne or London!);

Best Bar Team: Knightsbridge Penthouse
Best Individual Bartender: Charlie @ Knightsbridge, also worth getting to know Timmy @ The Lounge on a quieter night.
Best Venue (overall): The Lounge @ Unipub
Best Lounge: The Bah
Best Cocktail Bar: Knightsbridge Penthouse
Best Environment: Hippo (When they have good live music on)
Most Enthusiastic Bar Team: Trinity @ Dickson

Oh, and just a couple of friendly suggestions from the other side of the bar 1)if you don’t like gin or vodka, don’t order a martini, I know you want to look cool, and in the same vein, 2) if you come into a bar and want to impress someone by asking for the best thing we have, with no knowledge of what we actually stock, you will normally get the most expensive thing we have. And rarely is that the best. Johnnie Walker Blue isn’t bad, but at around $30-40 for a nip, you can do a lot better.
Ask them what they drink, or what they might recommend, you will get something much nicer.

Jim Jones said :

Not true, CK. Makers Mark makes a really really good Manhattan.

Although I usually go 1:1 with the sweet vermouth, j from the block is sounding like my kinda bartender.

Cheers. Manhattans, like most cocktails, tend to fall into the category of “but I always have it with x and y, never z, you can never put z in”. I always used to suggest to any of the bar staff I trained to use the line “here we make it with vodka is that how you like it” when confronted with a cocktail they were unsure of, or a customer who knew exactly what they wanted.
Essentially, I always try to make it the way the customer wants it, but if you want to mix a top shelf spirit with coke, I will ask if you are sure. Really, really sure you want to say mix a 16 year old single malt with cheap post mix. Urgh.