Opinion
Bars such as Caretaker’s Cottage are a mainstay of global awards, but few locals recognise the city’s reputation on the world cocktail stage, writes restaurant critic Besha Rodell.
June 18, 2026 — 5:00am
It’s the middle of service on a Friday night at Bar Pomme, one of Seoul’s best cocktail dens. Behind the bar, stirring and pouring and talking animatedly to customers, is Oska Whitehart, owner, along with his wife Dani Whitehart, of Bar Bellamy and Melitta Next Door in Carlton.
Bar Bellamy takeover at Bar Pomme in Seoul. They’re here for a bar takeover sponsored by Melbourne Gin Company (as was my trip to Korea to report this story), which is partly an attempt to give the brand more name recognition in the South Korean market, but also a way to bolster the reputation of Melbourne’s cocktail scene in the global community.
It seems the city’s reputation has preceded the visit: when I ask two bartenders sitting next to me why they came tonight, one answers: “Melbourne has very good cocktails. Everyone knows this.”
The irony is, I’m not sure that everyone does know this, at least not here at home.
A while back, while speaking to a long-time Melbourne food journalist about her city’s international reputation as a world-class cocktail destination, she seemed surprised. In the months since, I’ve been putting my theory to the test. I asked my nail technician, a cocktail enthusiast, if she knew of our city’s global reputation, and she had no idea. In fact, anyone I questioned who was outside the hospitality industry seemed pleasantly shocked.
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Global award nominee Three Horses. Eddie Jim It may be that, as in so many realms, the humble bartender has never had the respect or attention of the public that chefs have long enjoyed. But baristas probably have the same lack of acknowledgement, and yet it’s a well-known fact that we are one of the greatest coffee cities in the world. If industry folks in Korea, who have never even been here, know our reputation for great booze, why doesn’t the public?
The international bar community certainly does know it. In May, the top 10 nominees for the Spirited Awards were announced , a part of the Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans and arguably the world’s most influential industry awards. In almost every international category, Melbourne had a nominee.
These days the darling child is Caretaker’s Cottage and its new younger sibling Three Horses (although Bar Bellamy also features in the Asia Pacific category). But there’s nothing new about our city’s representation on these types of lists. It has been the case for over a decade, since Black Pearl and Eau de Vie were regularly winning international awards .
Bar Bellamy's 'Brooklynite' cocktail with rum, creme de mure, salted blackberry honey and cinnamon myrtle. This doesn’t mean that slinging great drinks in this city is always a great business bet. Par in Fitzroy, which was one of the most forward-thinking cocktail operations I’ve seen in decades, barely survived for two years, closing in early 2024. The Everleigh and Bar Margaux both closed last year for despite stellar reputations, citing COVID debt and poor trading conditions. It’s all well and good for Melbourne to have great international standing, but we here at home have to support that greatness in order for it to thrive.
The city’s reputation is part of why Andrew Marks, owner of Melbourne Gin Company, gave his product the name he did. “Melbourne projects cultural power, particularly when it comes to cocktails,” Marks says. “The name immediately gets the brand identity across. People in the industry around the world understand what we’re about before we even start talking.”
Death & Co opened on Flinders Lane late last year. Jason South When Alex Day was looking to expand Death & Co , the legendary bar he co-founded in New York City, Melbourne was a no-brainer as a place to land.
“It wasn’t a hard decision choosing Melbourne as our first international location,” Day says. “This city’s amazing cocktail scene has been an inspiration for years. On every visit, we always returned to the States buzzing with ideas.”
During that trip to Korea, it seemed as though every bartender I met had experienced something similar – many of them had worked in Melbourne, choosing to travel here to gain experience. Venue managers were thrilled to meet Oska and Dani, and they were sent from bar to bar like rock stars. When they arrived at Pine & Co in Gangnam, a sign above the bar declared: “Welcome to Pine & Co Bar Bellamy!”
It’s an enthusiasm for our scene, our bartenders and our operators that we all should share. On these cold Melbourne nights, let’s get out and celebrate being one of the greatest cocktail cities in the world.
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