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.
BOOTHBY: How do you describe your bar to people who are only just learning of it?
DRE WALTERS: A small little love letter to rum but heaps of fun. We tried to imagine what the first tiki was like before we started blowing it up with shitty tiki shirts, glowing fluorescent lights and all the other stuff that came post tiki boom.
BOOTHBY: What’s the most popular to order classic cocktail at your bar?
DRE WALTERS: Not sure if it’s technically a classic cocktail but the Cuban Payphone is probably one of the highest selling, and then we move onto the Daiquiri, Pina Colada and a Hurricane. We’re kinda lucky though as the book of rum (our menu) lists a large amount of classics so we do get a wide variety ordered, which is nice.
BOOTHBY: Can you describe the attributes you look for in a bartender at your bar?
DRE WALTERS: I think anyone can be trained to remember cocktails but if you are nice and humble it will go so much further. We are all quite passionate about making sure people have a great time at Old Love’s so we look for likeminded people. We look for genuinely nice people who also don’t mind being a little silly every now and then; people go out to have fun so we try steer clear of the stiff style of service.
BOOTHBY: What rough percentage of the sales mix is cocktails?
DRE WALTERS: Most weeks we hover between 65 and 70 percent cocktails. Friday and Saturdays are higher percentages but overall its between 65 to 70 percent.
BOOTHBY: How are you finding business in a general sense - are the people out there spending like they did a year ago? Better or worse?
DRE WALTERS: I think the data we have today helps you put out a product that people want. We find that people are spending still but early in the week we have bigger ups and downs. Weather also keeps people out of the city at times. We made Old Love’s with a bit more of a food element so people would stay and relax for longer. The data shows that people are still spending money to go out for good food and good drinks, so having a larger food element helps us retain customers.
BOOTHBY: What’s the biggest challenge the bar faces as a business over the next year?
DRE WALTERS: Excise — we’ll see this start to hit the pockets of people more and without having a crystal ball to tell the future I would assume this would mean less cocktails are being bought overall.
BOOTHBY: What gives you hope and optimism as a bar owner for 2026?
DRE WALTERS: Sydney or NSW is quite good with looking to build infrastructure, the metro has seen the city stay alive while people are working at home. It’s easier to get into the city so more people are coming in. I think people also want to drink good drinks and will pay for it if it is quality and service is there, so if we stick to our guns and concentrate on the customers in front of us we’ll be alright.
Overall I think Sydney and Australia have some amazing bars and restaurants that don’t get recognised on a world stage. Some of the talent we have in Australia is amazing and I’m actually excited to see the industry as a whole grow. We’ve been making some great leaps forward in working conditions, new venues, service standards and trainings so I’m excited to see everyone keep on pushing.
The latest issue of Boothby magazine has landed. Get the fifth issue of the magazine, with stories and interviews on Stefano Catino, Andy Chu, Three Horses, Abstract Bistrot, Holly Graham, Evan Stroeve, Mont Blancs, Blaze Young, Chinese wine, El Primo Sanchez, Bobby Carey, Jess Fitzgerald, Babines’ Suze To’, Wild Turkey’s Bruce Russell, FOCO in Barcelona, the Drink Of The Year, champagne, and plenty more. The best way to support Boothby is to get a subscription to the magazine.
