Starward is on the hunt for Australia’s best New Old Fashioned — a cocktail that captures the flavour, creativity and modern Australian spirit at the heart of our whisky. The winning drink won’t just earn bragging rights: it will be bottled, labelled and released nationwide, giving one bartender the rare chance to see their creation become part of Starward’s story. The winner also receives a two‑day hosted trip to our Melbourne distillery.
Need a dose of some positive news this Monday? I sure do. Well, there are good things to come in the bar world in the months ahead.
In this newsletter:
- details on the stellar lineup of guest shifts coming to Sydney for the Maybe Cocktail Festival’s fourth year in April
- more details on the Bartenders’ Weekender coming to Adelaide this June
- and news on who’s leaving, who’s hiring, and who’s opening new bars in Sydney.
Get a look below.
A sneak peek at the Maybe Cocktail Festival lineup
The Maybe Cocktail Festival is returning in April for its fourth year. The festival — put on by the Maybe Group, the Sydney hospitality group behind Maybe Sammy, Maybe Frank, Dean & Nancy on 22, El Primo Sanchez, El Vista, and Bar Allora — will see some of the world’s very finest bar talent coming to Sydney for guest shifts and seminars, and to check out what Sydney’s best bars have to offer.
The festival takes place from Tuesday 14 April to Sunday 19 April — that’s next month! — and will see some amazing bartenders and venues taking part.
So who’s coming to town? Who might you see sidling up to your bar?
Expect to see former world number one bar, Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City); the Connaught Bar (London) returns to town again this year, with Giorgio Bargiani on hand to whip up their iconic Martini.
From Hong Kong, expect to see some Daiquiri action from Montana, and from New York you’ll find Sip & Guzzle co-owner — and no stranger to our shores — Steve Schneider.
From San Francisco, award-winning and long-running bar Trick Dog will be here, as will the party-starters from Buenos Aires bar Tres Monos.
Wax On (Berlin), Bar Madonna (New York), Alquimico (Cartagena), Smoke & Bitter (Sri Lanka), Locale (Firenze), Sin & Tax (Johannesburg), and former Licoreria Limantour owner Benjamín Padrón will be here, as well as Celebrate Her’s Anna Sebastian, and gin and genever expert and founder of Old Duff, Philip Duff.
There will also be a star-studded day of talks, with the full timetable being released soon, so keep an eye on maybecocktailfestival.com and follow them on Instagram at @maybe_cocktail_festival.
The Bartenders’ Weekender lineup is stacked
The annual three day festival of bars, bartending and drinks culture that is the Bartenders’ Weekender is back for its third year in 2026. And after two big, successful years in Brisbane, this year we’re taking the Weekender to one of Australia’s most exciting bar cities right now: Adelaide.
Across three days from Sunday 14 June to Tuesday 16 June, Bartenders’ Weekender will see bartenders from around Australia getting together to swap stories, share drinks, and deepen their knowledge and skills with over 30 events already locked in.
Our Better Bars Summit presented by Monkey Shoulder makes its return, with a new one-day format featuring the finest speakers in the industry. The Boothby Best Bars SA awards will debut for the first time to recognise the bars making Adelaide and South Australia such a vibrant place for drinks right now, and the Drinks 100 Australia Awards Gala will return for its second year, celebrating the 100 people shaping the modern Australian bar and drinks scene, from bartenders and bar owners to distillers, communicators, brand ambassadors and more. Keep an eye out for nominations for that opening soon.
And a quick reminder: time is running out to apply for Scholarship program at Bartenders’ Weekender. To score return airfares to Bartenders’ Weekender, three nights accommodation at the five star Sofitel Adelaide, $500 spending money and tickets to our events, apply now at bartendersweekender.com — entries close Sunday 8 March.
The timetable will be live soon at bartendersweekender.com — but in the meantime, score your time off work, and we’ll see you in Adelaide for a Weekender to remember.
For more information visit bartendersweekender.com or follow us on Instagram at @bartendersweekender.
Another round
Andie Bulley is bringing her reign at award-winning Darlinghurst bar, The Waratah, to a close. We’re waiting to hear where the talented bartender will end up next, but in the meantime, go catch at Andie at the ‘Tah before she finishes service on Sunday 15 March. Thanks for all the drinks, Andie!
Odd Culture Group is set to open two venues in the Sydney CBD in the first half of this year, in what used to be the Prince of York site, at 18 York Street. A restaurant will go into the ground floor, but it’s what lies beneath that is of most interest to me: expect an underground Daiquiri bar and discotheque, with more details to come next month.
The Capella hotel is looking for a bar manager to take the reins at McRae Bar in the city’s CBD. The rather expensive hotel is the only Sydney lodging to land on The World’s 50 Best Hotels list in 2025 (one of two Australian listings — the Calile Hotel in Brisbane being the other), so you must imagine they’d want someone to take their bar to that next level, too.
Brisbane and Sydney bartenders — if you want to enter the Starward New Old Fashioned competition, the Australian whisky brand is hosting masterclasses on bottled cocktails and tips for winning. Brisbane, your masterclass is happening today from 1pm to 2.30pm at Savile Row — email carmen@starward.com.au if you want to attend, like, now. Sydney, your masterclass takes place at Ramblin' Rascal Tavern on Monday 16 March at 1pm — email michael@starward.com.au to attend.
One last thing: the next issue of the quarterly Boothby magazine lands soon — to get your copy of the next issue, and to support independent booze and bar journalism like ours, visit boothby.com.au/subscribe.
