Welcome to our end of year series of interviews with the people behind the award-winning bars from this year’s Boothby Best Bars Awards program. Next up, Dre Walters, owner of Old Love’s in Sydney, which took home two trophies at the Boothby Best Bars NSW Awards in June: The Best Bar in NSW 2025 presented by Never Never, and The Best Cocktail Bar in NSW 2025 presented by Ilegal Mezcal.
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Boothby Staff
Old Love’s is the small subterranean cocktail bar shining a bright light on rum of all types — and winning big awards in the process — and comes from owners Gabrielle and Andres Walters and Adam Cork.
The bar opened in October of 2023, in the basement of the same building on Sydney’s bustling Clarence Street where its top floor sister bar, Old Mate’s Place, resides. It quickly became a hit with bartendery and hospo types, thanks to the delicious drinks, and the genuine welcome you receive on every visit.
They’ve racked up the accolades in the process. Their West Side Rumos, a rum-ified Ramos riff topped with a West Coast Cooler, landed on the Drink of the Year Top 50 in 2024 and 2025. The bar debuted on the Boothby Best Bars NSW Top 50 last year at number two, and this year not only took out the number one spot as The Best Bar in NSW 2025 presented by Never Never, they also picked up the title of The Best Cocktail Bar in NSW 2025 presented by Ilegal Mezcal.
Below, we asked Dre Walters to share his views on what the challenges for the bar business are in 2025 (something we also spoke about in more depth here), and what it is that makes Old Love’s stand out in a competitive marketplace.
BOOTHBY: In your opinion, what is it about your bar that resonates with the bar industry?
DRE WALTERS: We try our hardest to try and give the best service we can while still being creative and pumping out drinks people want to drink.