The Launch of a World Class Collaboration
Two of Australia’s most talented bartenders and DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS™ winners, Luke Ashton and Charlie Ainsbury, have today opened the doors to their highly anticipated bar This Must Be The Place, on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst, Sydney.
With over a decade of experience behind them, Luke and Charlie are both multi award winning bartenders.
In 2013 Luke was crowned DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS™ Australia Bartender of the Year, winning a $100,000 prize to go towards opening his own bar. The following year Charlie took the title of 2014 World Class Australia Bartender of the Year, and their dream to launch their own establishment began.
This Must Be The Place brings simplicity and comfort to Sydney’s bar scene, in the form of a Spritz bar. The vibe is welcoming and relaxed with a nostalgic feel-good soundtrack.
Using seasonal produce, spirits and specialty wines, the bar offers a twist on the traditional Spritz, challenging perceptions of the norm in an unpretentious format. Luke and Charlie take an approach of restrained creativity to their cocktails; they are mindful of the number of ingredients they use ensuring they all have a place and are used to their full potential. To round out the drinks selection, a thoughtfully curated range of beer, wine, aperitifs and bar snacks will be available.
The bar, which seats around sixty people, was designed by the owners taking into account social and environmentally-friendly considerations. A reclaimed timber bar sits as the hub of the venue, while lounge tables and chairs rest along one wall. The new venue also features a floor-to-ceiling wall, which stands as a blank canvas, and will be decorated quarterly with artwork by established as well as up and coming artists.
A feature of the bar is a ‘Tanqueray No.TEN Crawley’s Imperial Shaker’. In its simplest form, the Imperial Shaker is a six foot tall cocktail-making machine. The Imperial Shaker was recreated from a nineteenth-century drawing under the meticulous guidance of one of the most highly awarded industry figureheads in Australia, Jason Crawley. Five Tanqueray No.TEN Crawley’s Imperial Shakers were created, all handmade and engineered in New Zealand. Now, four machines are in the United States and only one is in Australia, currently located at This Must Be The Place.
Built from a solid bank of experience, training and achievements, This Must Be The Place is a true representation of how the drinks and hospitality industry is evolving, and how trade competitions, such as Diageo’s World Class Cocktail Competition, support growth and fruition of bartending as a successful career.
This Must Be The Place
239 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
(Near the corner of Darlinghurst Road)
02 9331 8063
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