Lucky 13: Where to go for Victoria’s top tipples

FROM a brewery that converts into a rollerdisco to non-alcoholic cocktail mixers and Melbourne-made sake, these are some of the top tipples Victoria has to offer.

FROM a brewery that converts into a rollerdisco to non-alcoholic cocktail mixers and Melbourne-made sake, we have uncovered 13 of the best tipples Victoria has to offer.

KILDERKIN DISTILLERY

Ballarat has a long history of distilling. So it’s only proper that new distillery Kilderkin honours that past with artisan gins.

The Scoundrel juggles juniper and coriander, The Larrikin blends native botanicals and The Buccaneer offers navy-strength alcohol.

There’s even Cherry Gin using Victorian morello cherries to impart a gold rush blush. Kilderkin has them available for tasting at its cellar door. SP

kilderkindistillery.com.au

VARIETY, DRINKABILITY FUELS VICTORIAN BREWERS’ HEADY RISE

New distillery Kilderkin is creating artisan gins.

BATCH & CO

It took him more than 18 months to perfect, but Thomas Kiltorp finally nailed the recipes to his first range of non-alcoholic cocktail mixers, and Batch & Co was born.

Drawing on more than 20 years’ experience working in some of Melbourne’s best bars — including Emerald Peacock and Red Hummingbird — the mixers can be used as a base for cocktails or mocktails at home.

The spiced pear and fig flavour shines when teamed with vodka or sparkling wine, while the guava, strawberry and vanilla mix has sunny spritz written all over it. DS

batchandco.com.au

DISCOVER MELBOURNE’S LATEST CRAFT BEER BREW BARS

Batch & Co cocktail mixers.

MOONDOG BREWERY ROLLERDISCO

One of our quirkier craft brewers, Moondog has expanded its Abbotsford production facilities and can now brew 2.5 million litres a year of the range that includes Old Mate pale ale, Love Tap lager and Mack Daddy dark ale.

The original brewery is now known as the Moon Dog Ballroom Oasis, where beers are poured, pizzas cooked, and beats played. On the first Sunday of the month, Tamsin at Malt Shop Be Bop Hop Roller Arena throws an old-school rollerdisco. Strap on your skates. DS

moondogbrewing.com.au

MILLENNIALS DRINKING LESS ALCOHOL

Tamsin Young runs the rollerdisco at Moondog Brewery in Abbotsford. Picture: Nicole Cleary

KREOL

With a “healthy gut, healthy mind” motto, Kreol’s low-sugar, all-natural sparkling prebiotic drinks do good on the inside.

Made with organic apple cider vinegar, they support healthy gut flora, with new probiotic flavours apple, lemon and ginger, and raspberry and lime.

It’s brewed on the Mornington Peninsula and sold around the country, New Zealand and Singapore. DS

kreol.com.au

Kreol prebiotic drinks.

TOJI SAKE

“We want to start a sake revolution here in Australia,” says Yuta Kobayashi, founder of Melbourne-based Toji Sake. Sourcing water from the Asahi mountain range, and using exclusively grown rice (Koshi-tanrei), Toji is a super-premium Junmai Daiginjo sake (the highest grade).

Already stocked in restaurants such as Iki-Jime, Kisume and Minamishima, Toji is perfect to sip chilled on its own, or can be used in cocktails with a twist, such as a sake mojito or sake Moscow mule. Kanpai. DS

tojisake.com.au

VICTORIA’S BEST BARS: 13 GREAT PLACES TO GRAB A DRINK

Toji Sake.

COCKTAILS AT GALAH

An Aussie-themed bar might conjure up images of snakebite pints and fake gum trees, but let Galah change that. In a chic warehouse above a panel beater, this Windsor watering hole brings Australiana minus the kitsch and token Vegemite.

Order at the 10m ironbark bar and settle into retro furniture with booze that heroes home, and a tight menu including wattle seed-rubbed roo.

Cocktails are fair-dinkum great, like the Out Back Sheila sharp with finger lime and the Snugglepots Honey Pie with Starward single-malt whisky and bush honey. MM

galah.melbourne

Galah bar, Prahran.

PENINSULA BREWERIES

St Andrews Beach Brewery in Fingal, on the site where Lee Freedman trained some of Australia’s greatest racehorses, swung open its stable doors at Christmas with beers inspired by racing connections — 6 Furlongs pale ale, Race Day cloudy pilsner.

Dromana’s Jetty Road Brewery, with a more “industrial” vibe, is drawing visitors with “awesome local craft beer” and serious bar snacks. SP

standrewsbeachbrewery.com.au

jettyroad.com.au

MR WEST

Mr West opened its doors in Footscray’s Nicholson St mall late last year with two dozen taps of crafty brews, Quealy wines and Four Pillars negronis for the west-side cool kids.

Now, with a downstairs bottle shop, stocked with up-and-coming wine producers, 300 beers and local spirits, the space is complete. DS

mrwest.com.au

FIRST PRESS COFFEE

From the first bottles out of a Prahran apartment to now being stocked in more than 400 stores, First Press Coffee is on a mission to change how we drink cold coffee.

Using single-origin beans and cold extraction that takes 10 hours, it provides caffeine kicks with third-wave coffee class. DS

firstpresscoffee.com

First Press cold coffee.

STRANGELOVE TONIC

“There are some truly amazing, inspiring gins coming out of Australia, (so) it’s about time there was a locally produced tonic water that did them justice,” says James Bruce, who is righting that wrong with StrangeLove. Produced in Kyneton, the mixers include a gutsy, bold Indian Tonic No. 8 and the Light Tonic (said to be the lowest-sugar all-natural tonic available). Offered in some of our best restaurants, the mixers are also available at Dan Murphy’s. DS

strangelove.com.au

StrangeLove Tonic water.

BURNLEY BREWING

Though many countries lay claim to beaut brews, when it comes to the richest heritage it’s hard to beat the Germans. So Michael Stanzel went to the source to learn from the best and he is, apparently, the only Aussie to have passed through the Brewer and Maltster apprenticeship exclusive to the German brewing industry. He’s now brewing up a storm at new pub Burnley Brewing. Beers include a Vienna lager, an English ale, a French farmhouse saison and an American IPA, all poured directly from the tank. A menu of frothie-friendly food is available, too. DS

burnleybrewing.com.au

Burnley Brewing head brewer Michael Stanzel. Picture: Nicole Cleary

ANIMUS DISTILLERY

From humble beginnings in a Fitzroy North garage to shiny new digs on Kynteon’s Piper St, Animus Distillery and its gins have gone from strength to strength in a few short years.

With a new cocktail bar and lounge now open, settle into one of the Chesterfields, or sit at the bar and taste the range of small-batch gins. Local wines and craft beers are also on offer. DS

animusdistillery.com.au

WORKSMITH

Built to strengthen and foster the skills and relationships of those in the Victorian food and beverage industries, Worksmith in Collingwood is the first co-working space dedicated to hospitality professionals.

With lounge areas, meeting spaces and communal working areas, an in-house bar, events space and a full commercial kitchen, Worksmith offers the flexibility for mentorship, collaboration and new-business development.

Co-founder Michael Bascetta, of Bar Liberty, says the Smith St space will foster the community through industry events and networking, with memberships now available. DS

worksmith.io