Adelaide establishments back a signature drink to stand out from the crowd

MORE Adelaide establishments are marketing a signature drink — from vodka to gin and even whisky in an effort to get patrons in the door.

ADELAIDE bars are turning to the spirits in a bid to stand out from the crowd.

An increasing number of establishments right across the state are marketing a signature drink — from vodka to gin and even whisky in an effort to get patrons in the door.

McLaren Vale stalwart The Salopian Inn refitted itself to become a gin destination, Peel Street’s Barbushka prides itself on offering up vodkas from the world over and now, the latest kid on the block is whisky bar Pirie & Co. The Social Club.

While the old fashioned spirit isn’t their only drink offering, co-owner Brett Viney said the look and feel of the establishment — which has taken up residence in the old Wine Underground site — is “a sophisticated basement space that’s moody but full of energy” inspired by a 1920s speakeasy where whisky was very much on the menu.

“We were in the States this time last year looking around and we went to a couple of speakeasys which were big in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan,” Mr Viney told The Advertiser.

“There are some like it in Melbourne and Sydney but not in Adelaide.

“There’s not a lot of whisky bars as such anymore — there are gin bars and vodka bars but not a lot of places doing whisky ... we’ve put a lot of detail into doing whisky-based cocktails,’’ said Mr Viney who with Matt Mitchell also owns Carrington St venue The Saracens.

Pirie & Co will also operate as a live music venue with a 150-200 person capacity and is open Wednesday through to Saturdays.

Its arrival on the Adelaide scene comes as research shows a surge in whisky’s popularity thanks to a pop culture flow-on which has been christened “The Mad Men Effect”.

The Roy Morgan research discovered Australians now drink almost 19 million glasses of whisky in an average four week period and since 1960s-set TV series Mad Men first aired in 2007, the whisky consumption rate among younger Australians has continued to grow.

And in a fortnight Adelaide will play host to one of the country’s biggest tasting events of the revered liquid when Whisky Live takes up residence in Bonython Hall on April 11-12.