In The Rocks at Frank Mac’s, expect Gin Fizzes and jigs

In partnership with Hendrick’s Curious Gin Trail through the north end of Sydney city. Six great bars are involved, with delicious Hendrick’s serves on offer at Apollonia, Aster, Disco Pantera, Frank Mac’s, Martinez, and The Doss House.

Sydney’s historic The Rocks precinct was long known for its pubs, the kind which always seem to claim to be the oldest pub in the country. And while some of them have their charm, sometimes they leave a little to be desired if you are after a proper gin drink.

That has been less of a problem since Frank Mac’s opened in 2021. Opening with an array of gins in an old shophouse on George Street, as group general manager Daniel Strahand explains, they quickly became a destination for great hospitality — and a whirling jig or two.

Below, Strahand talks about what makes this gin bar tick, and shares two refreshing Hendrick’s recipes.

0:00

/2:23

BOOTHBY: What’s your role here, Daniel?

DANIEL STRAHAND: I’m the group general manager for Heritage House Co which is Frank Mac’s and The Doss House here in The Rocks, the heart and centre of it all.

BOOTHBY: The historic Rocks precinct.

DANIEL STRAHAND: Yeah, it’s beautiful. A constant supply of people on boats to come in, refreshing customers from overseas. Sometimes you’re the first experience that people have in the country, it’s magical for them. Especially if you’re coming from overseas from Ireland, and you’re coming over on a boat and you land in The Rocks and you land in Frank Mac’s, and you have your first Guinness on the shores of Australia — the best Guinness you’ll get on the shores of Australia.

BOOTHBY: Are people still coming on a boat all the way from Ireland?

DANIEL STRAHAND: Haha, they’re still coming. It’s great.

BOOTHBY: For people who haven’t been here to Frank Mac’s before, what’s the big idea behind the bar?

DANIEL STRAHAND: We originally were 100 gin bar, deeply rooted in the Irish culture from Ciara, the owner, director, and founder of Heritage House Co. There’s a really nice welcoming spirit when you walk in the door. Very, very respectful and very welcoming to everybody, but particularly the Irish.

I’ve re-done the menus in November last year, and we’ve of leant into the traditional Irish language, which is cool.

I like to explain Frank Mac’s as very unassuming off the street. It’s just a beautiful cocktail bar. But then when you walk downstairs, when we have a music program, which is six nights a week, and it’s like when you watch Titanic for the first time and Jack goes down the stairs into cattle class and they’re all dancing around.

BOOTHBY: All spinning and whirling.

DANIEL STRAHAND: Spinning around and having the time of their lives. When you walk in downstairs into the parlour on a Saturday night at Frank Mac’s, you’re walking into that and it’s magical.

BOOTHBY: I can hear the fiddles now.

DANIEL STRAHAND: We have some amazing musicians that come through.

BOOTHBY: What’s the style of drinks that you guys do here?

DANIEL STRAHAND: It’s primarily gin focused. We really lean heavily into Martinis.

BOOTHBY: How many people do you pack in here?

DANIEL STRAHAND: We’ll get 120 in here. On a Saturday night, you’ll have a hundred, and your entire venue capacity is downstairs in the parlour in front of the fiddles.

BOOTHBY: Speaking of gin drinks, you’re doing a few drinks for Hendrick’s at the moment.

DANIEL STRAHAND: We really like Hendrick’s here. We’ve been leaning into the whole Cabinet of Curiosities range.

BOOTHBY: I saw there’s a half a dozen varieties there in the back bar.

DANIEL STRAHAND: Yeah, if one’s available, our venue manager here will buy it. I love working with Hendrick’. I think [Leslie Gracie] is an amazing distiller. She’s a mad scientist, so it’s always fun to grab a bottle and see what she’s done and what you can do and conceptualise a drink off it; most of time she’s done the hard work with the flavours already, so it’s really easy.

We have a nice Cucumber Gimlet, it’s that simple — a little bit of citric acid, a little bit of cucumber syrup, let the Hendrick’s speak for itself.

And the same with the Fizz as well, this is the recommended serving: pink grapefruit, lime juice, sugar, Hendrick’s — nice, simple, easy and refreshing. Honestly the bottle does most of the work itself.

BOOTHBY: And probably the kind of drink you need if you’re gonna do a couple of spins on the dancefloor.

DANIEL STRAHAND: 100 percent.