Best of the Gold Coast 2018: the 10 best bartenders that mix, shake and pour the way we like it
IN our times of need, bartenders are there. The Gold Coast has voted, and here are the top 10 bartenders that mix, shake and pour our troubles away.
Best of Gold Coast
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IN our times of need, bartenders are there.
The Gold Coast has voted, and here are the top 10 bartenders that mix, shake and pour our troubles away.
Last year House of Brew’s Alastair Scanlon was crowned the best bartender, can he do it again? Read on to find out!
10. Breeana Erica, the Roosevelt Lounge
75 Surf Pde, Broadbeach
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Bar manager Breeana has been with the Roosevelt Lounge since its opening about a year ago. She says she love the opportunity to get to know each customer and their favourite tipple in the unique 1930s art deco haunt.
“At the Roosevelt Lounge we have quite an intimate setting and time to spend with our customers sharing our knowledge and passion about the craft of cocktails while also incorporating an interactive experience, too.”
9. M’Kaylee Joyce, Coomera Waters Tavern
941 Harbour Village Pde, Coomera
M’Kaylee Joyce was intrigued by the grown up juice for as long as she can remember.
“Instead of having tea parties with my dolls I’d have cocktail parties, before I even knew what alcohol was,” she laughs.
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M’Kaylee has worked as a bartender for two years but has been with the Coomera Waters Tavern for four months. “I love making espresso martinis, but I also make a killer Long Island iced tea.”
8. Alastair Scanlon, House of Brews
17 Orchid Ave, Surfers Paradise
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Alastair Scanlon loves sharing his knowledge of Australian beers and wines with tourists as well as his fellow staff members at House of Brews.
“They have lots of Australian products and beers, at the moment we have a lot of Stone and Wood and Balter Brewing. Australian drinks are a lot more fruity, with all the fruit we grow.
“We’ve seen a lot of staff go through from different countries, the UK, America, Europe, just because of the nature of the Gold Coast. It’s interesting to see how different everyone’s experiences are.”
7. Alex Bandur, Scottish Prince
27/1176 Gold Coast Hwy, Palm Beach
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Senior bartender Alex says an infectious energy flows from the owners of the Scottish Prince down to the staff.
“All the guys are epic, they’re all the bunch of mates,” she says. “Everyone that works there loves working there.”
Alex says when you’re serving up a huge variety of whiskeys, you’ve got to know your stuff.
“We’ve got 290 whiskeys on the back bar. It’s going to take a while to learn about that,” she says. “The only way to learn is to drink what you’re selling. It’s product knowledge.”
6. Jordan Maguire, Nineteen at the Star
1 Casino Dr, Broadbeach
Working at the Gold Coast’s most swish bar 19 storeys high certainly hasn’t jaded bar manager Jordan.
“It’s a six star venue so you’ve got to keep up with that,” Jordan says. “It’s a pretty big honour to be able to work at a place like that.
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“You get some people from the country that have never been from the city, they’re blown away. We get heaps of big events, stuff for the Logies. You meet celebrities, and they’re just people like everyone else.”
Jordan says he loves showing off his expertise in an Old Fashioned cocktail.
“It’s a classic. You can tell a good bartender from one of those.”
5. Sarah Bonato, Nightjar
7a/1730 Gold Coast Hwy, Burleigh Heads
Burleigh Heads dive bar attendant Sara says she loves the atmosphere at Nightjar where the staff and locals can run amok.
“We have free reign to get messy in there. Nightjar became its own animal a bit. It’s grown some personality.”
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The charismatically crude watering hole hosts live music five nights a week and regular fundraisers for social issues, including a function coming up involving neon paint to save the Great Barrier Reef from coral bleaching.
4. Toni Watson, Elsewhere
1/23 Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise
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Working at one of the Gold Coast’s most iconic nightclubs, Toni says she notices a sense of community from the regular punters that trot up the stairs on the weekend.
“It has that energy that people really respect it and take it seriously,” she says. “People bring their drinks back to the bar, wipe things down. It’s nice that people love it so much.”
As the bar manager, Toni makes a new cocktail every night Elsehere is open. Her most favourite one recently was called Queen of Hearts with tequila, blueberry, mint, lime and a sugar rim.
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3. Nathan Ziegler, Stingray Lounge, QT Gold Coast
7 Staghorn Ave, Surfers Paradise
Beverage manager Nathan appreciates the windows in to the past at Stingray where the decor reflects on the history of the Gold Coast.
“I love the twist on mid-20th century Gold Coast beach culture,” he says. “QT Gold Coast embraces this and expresses it vividly.”
Nathan enjoys making traditional cocktails as they give him an opportunity to tell the story behind a drink.
“I’m a history nerd, so I really love expressing a fun and interesting narrative to a captive audience.”
2. Jack Connor, Aloha Bar
18 Main Place, Broadbeach
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You can catch Jack in his signature print button up any given weekend. The Aloha Bar manager enjoys experimenting with new drink mixes, regularly concocting new cocktails to keep things interesting.
In his 10 years in hospitality he says he’s noticed drinkers develop refined tastes and make more informed choices.
“A lot of customers lately are a lot more educated in what they’re drinking. They’re a little bit more open to what they’re drinking. The whole hospitality industry as a whole is progressively changing.”
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1. Tom Angel, Cherry at the Star
1 Casino Dr, Broadbeach
Bars can be noisy, lively places so it takes a gifted liquor dealer to do it all without their hearing. Cherry at The Star bar manager Tom Angel runs the busy casino dispensary and says he’s found ways to make sure his staff and customers are happy.
“Something interesting about me is that I’m deaf,” Tom says. “It can be a challenging task managing a large team in a busy and noisy environment, but I’ve finetuned my lip-reading skills over the years.”
Tom has been an asset to The Star group for more than 11 years and loves pushing his staff to do their best.
“I joined Cherry just three months ago, and previously looked after the bar at The Star Gold Coast’s hatted Japanese restaurant Kiyomi,” Tom says. “I really enjoy working with the team, there’s lots of really keen bartenders wanting to learn more and improve themselves.
“I love being able to mould up-and-coming bartenders and encourage them to pursue bartending as a career.
“Cherry is a different style of bar than what I’m used to running — it’s a big team, a big bar, and a really fast-paced environment, which has been a nice challenge.”
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