Celebrated US cocktail group Death & Co is set to open bars in Melbourne and Brisbane this spring. The new locations will be the group’s first permanent bars outside North America.

Australian Venue Co, which operates more than 200 pubs and bars across the country, is partnering with Death & Co to run the Australian outposts. The original Death & Co opened in New York’s East Village in 2006 and has expanded to Los Angeles, Denver and Washington.

The New York bar was a key player in the global craft cocktail renaissance of the late 2000s, popularising modern classics such as the Naked & Famous (mezcal, Aperol, Chartreuse and lime).

“We’ve admired Death & Co’s work for some time now and have teamed up with them on a number of pop-up events at our venues in the past, so this has felt like a natural extension of our shared vision,” said Ben Hehir, Australian Venue Co’s head of training and development.

Hiring for venue managers has already begun, which will include three weeks of training experience at Death & Co sites in North America.

Australian Venue Co operates venues including Melbourne’s Beer DeLuxe at Fed Square, St Kilda’s revitalised Hotel Esplanade and Brisbane spots The Boundary Hotel and Lefty’s Music Hall.

The partnership may raise some eyebrows in bartending circles, at least privately. The group is more associated with sprawling pubs than singular cocktail bars.

While the bar locations in Melbourne and Brisbane are under wraps, comments from Australian Venue Co suggest they’ll be slotted inside existing venues. Hehir said the focus was on delivering craft cocktails and a New York-inspired bar experience “with the same welcoming atmosphere our pubs are known for”.

Rob Libecans of Caretaker’s Cottage, ranked No. 21 on the latest World’s 50 Best Bars list, thinks the Australian venture is a great sign of things to come.

“A rising tide lifts all ships,” he said. “Proven operators [coming in] with a history of success, a deep level of experience and training opportunities for Australian hospitality workers can only be a benefit to Melbourne.”

Matthew Linklater, a former manager at Black Pearl in Fitzroy who now works in hospitality consulting, agrees.

“Death & Co entering our market is a huge vote of confidence in the Australian cocktail scene, which has historically been among the world’s best.

“It’s also great news for classic cocktail drinkers after a tough couple of years of bar closures. Their no-nonsense approach to modern American classics ... is reminiscent of The Everleigh or Romeo Lane, two venues which, once gone, left large dry martini-shaped holes in Melbourne’s – and my – heart.”

Meanwhile, Death & Co has a new bar set to open in Seattle, too. The multimillion-dollar group also sells glassware and clothing, and co-founder Dave Kaplan has, along with co-owner Alex Day, written two books under the Death & Co name that are faithfully found on many bartenders’ bookshelves.

Correction: an earlier version of this story stated that Death & Co run online training for bartenders worldwide, but this is yet to be launched.