Entrepreneur Shiv Reddy comes up with an Australian first: a stylish new way to serve mixers

Downing a gin and tonic or knocking back a vodka, lime and soda may never be the same again at your favourite local thanks to a Queensland entrepreneur.

MIXERS WITH A TWIST

Downing a gin and tonic or knocking back a vodka, lime and soda may never be the same again at your favourite local.

A Queensland entrepreneur has come up with an Australian first: a stylish and novel concept to efficiently serve mixers at the bar that also manages to dramatically reduce waste.

It’s a gold-coloured fountain dispenser with two nozzles connected to kegs of either 30 or 50 litres of high-quality craft tonic and soda.

The aesthetically-pleasing device is the brainchild of Shiv Reddy, a native of Fiji who grew up in New Zealand but now calls Brisbane home.

Shiv Reddy, founder of Long Rays

After a career in corporate governance, including a stint at Heathrow Airport six years ago, he made an abrupt pivot into the very different world of hospitality in 2018.

That’s when Reddy launched his company Long Rays, named after the twilight glow ideal for cocktail hour and backed by a group of private investors.

Influenced by trends he observed in the vibrant UK spirits scene, he started manufacturing his specialty mixers--in Melbourne unfortunately because local bottlers wouldn’t give him a shot.

Reddy expects to move nearly a million bottles this year, with the product available in about 240 venues already and in Dan Murphy’s outlets starting next month.

Last year he noticed an obvious gap in the market for an up-market dispenser, which he says is far superior to the standard “post mix’’ tap in most bars that spits out rubbish mixers.

The Long Rays fountain

He now has the ambitious goal of removing 7 million single-serve glass bottles from circulation over the next three years, helping both the environment and the bottom line of bar owners.

West End watering hole Covent Garden became the first venue to install one of the fountains this month and Reddy hopes to have 100 in play by the end of the year.

Clients lease, rather than buy, the contraptions and they are obliged to use Long Rays mixers as part of the package.

Reddy freely acknowledges that only about 10 to 20 per cent of bars may be inclined to use the new fountain but he expects demand to be “phenomenal’’.

BACK IN THE GAME

Seasoned Brisbane legal eagle Jamie McPherson has quietly resurfaced this month, taking on a role as a partner at HBA Legal.

He’ll be heading up their newly-created division for occupational health and safety services, tapping in to his extensive experience with employment law.

Jamie McPherson

McPherson made waves late last year, when he had a bitter falling out with Damien van Brunschot, who just happens to be the better half to former high-flying pollie Jackie Trad.

The pair, who first teamed up in 2008, joined forces four years ago with DWF (Australia), the Down Under arm of one of the world’s biggest law firms.

McPherson served as MD for three years but was ousted by the London head office in September in what some staffers likened to a “political coup’’.

He was replaced by Van Brunschot, who took on the job in an acting capacity at first but has now ditched the “acting’’ bit.