Why this Daiquiri-focused bar will be 2025’s most talked about opening

Well, I’m properly back on deck now after a big week last week in Brisbane for Bartenders’ Weekender — thank you to all of you who turned up from Queensland and around the country. Those three days were a wonderful reminder of just how close-knit and joyful our little drinks world can be, and it’s a privilege to be a part of it.

In today’s newsletter, we’re playing with the format a little. The main story is the coming opening of Montana, a bar from two of the world’s most influential bartenders that comes with some big expectations. There’s a brief outline of what it is and why it matters below, with the full piece following for more depth. You want details, right?

Then, after the Montana story, news about the return of Venus Vinifera’s Subject Matters Symposium, details on Speed Rack’s next instalment, and a roundup of what’s been on the site the last week.

And a reminder that the winter issue of Boothby magazine has just landed; if you’d like to get your hands on a copy and each issue for the year ahead, you can sign up here and we’ll get it to you asap. Every subscription helps to keep Boothby going so thank you — your support means a lot!

Okay, let’s get into it now.

The summary: Two influential Italian bartenders have teamed up for a new Hong Kong bar, Montana — expect this bar to be one of the world’s most talked about openings of 2025.

Why it matters: Lorenzo Antinori and Simone Caporale are two of the global bar world’s most influential figures, both with bars in the top three of The World’s 50 Best Bars list: Lorenzo’s Bar Leone at number two, and Simone’s Barcelona bar, Sips, at number three — a collaboration the likes of which we haven’t seen before.

What they’ll be doing: Montana’s bartenders, dressed in crisp white monogrammed shirts and 1970s black bow ties, will craft a range of cocktails inspired by classic Cuban cantinero cocktail books, updated and perfected by Lorenzo and Simone.

And another thing: Like the approach at Sydney bars Cantina OK! and Bar Planet, Montana will hero the Daiquiri as its signature drink, using a spec based on the Daiquiri at Boadas, with a float of kirsch on top applied theatrically, to make it a Santa Marta Daiquiri. Read more below.

If you’ve heard of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone, that’s likely because of its meteoric rise up the rankings of the big global awards lists (or perhaps you’ve read about it on Boothby); the bar is just two years old, and in 2024 landed at number one on Asia’s 50 Best Bars, as well as at number two on The World’s 50 Best Bars list.

Simone Caporale, who is the owner of former number one bar in the world, Sips in Barcelona (it landed at number three last year), and who also owns historic classic cocktail bar Boadas, will open his first bar in Asia with Leone’s Lorenzo Antinori. The bar, to be called Montana, is set to open this July and the pair are billing it as a cocktail bar that will exist in its own place and time.

“People are drawn to places more because of the vibe and the atmosphere rather, than the drinks,” Antinori says. “We always say that at Bar Leone, the cocktails are an accessory to the whole experience. With Montana the idea is to create a time machine — similar to Bar Leone, but located in a time that both Simone and myself love, which is the golden age of cocktails in Cuba.”

But don’t expect it to be a Cuban bar plucked up and replanted in Hong Kong — the Cuban thing is its inspiration, but not the whole story.

“It’s not gonna be a Cuban bar,” Antinori says. “We describe it as Cuban cocktails, 1970s music, and this sort of Florida vibe.”

Think of an exterior facade inspired by the signature pink colour of Havana’s Foloridita, and interior design touches — led by designer Kieran Rush — that recall Miami dive bars.

The bar is set across two levels: walking in off the street, you’re greeted with the bar just a few steps inside. It’s here where they want the atmosphere to be created, as you order from bartenders dressed in crisp white monogrammed shirts and 1970s black bow ties.

“We really hope that people will sort of stand and be elbow on elbow,” Lorenzo says. You’ll be able to order a range of cocktails inspired by the Cuban cantinero cocktail books of yesteryear, just updated and perfected by Antinori and Caporale.

There will be a mezzanine up the stairs to one side, and it’s from here you’ll have the best view.

“Basically guests will be able to sit here, and also see the bartender shaking cocktails behind the bar downstairs,” Antinori says.

On the mezzanine, there’ll also be a piano at hand for monthly music nights. 

“The piano is for friends,” Antinori says. “We have a couple of friends who are very average piano players, and once a month they’ll come and play.”

The duo have decided to focus on the Daiquiri as the hero drink around which the list is structured, with Antinori taking some inspiration from the way Australian hospitality outfit Mucho Group conceives of their bars, with a signature classic coctkail at the heart of their drink programs. “I love Cantina OK!, I love that bar,” he says. “And we have people working at Bar Leone who have never been to Australia who love [Mucho’s Martini-focused] Bar Planet and know about it.”

Their Daiquiri recipe will draw upon the spec for the Boadas Daiquiri, one that has a history that dates back to early 1900s Havana. It’s a recipe that includes a little maraschino liqueur; the difference between the Boadas recipe and Montana’s is that they’ll be adding a little float of kirsch to the top of each drink, which makes it a Santa Marta Daiquiri, according to the old Cuban cocktail books which inspired them.

Each bartender will have a small, collectible teaspoon — vintage spoons sourced from Cuba — that is unique to them and will hang around their neck; it’s this spoon the bartenders at Montana will use to float the kirsch on top of the Daiquiri.

The bar is set to open in the next two months — follow them on Instagram here to be the first to know.

In other news...

In other news.

Canberra’s hospo industry talks, the Subject Matters Symposium, returns next month on Sunday 27 July. The one day symposium features bar industry figures like Tom Opie from The Waratah, and Boothby magazine winter issue cover star Daisy Tulley (Mucho Group) on the program for the day.

There will be six sessions on the day:

• The Sh*t They Don’t Teach You – from burnout to budgeting, we’re talking real-life hospo survival.
• Beyond the Floor – how to grow, shift, or pivot without leaving hospo behind.
  Choose Your Own Adventure – got a wild idea? Let’s make it real.
• Dollars and Sense – money chat, minus the jargon.
• Syncing now: Hard Conversations — how to speak up for yourself and set boundaries.
• Bush Tukka — using native ingredients and how to support First Nations producers.

Tickets are $45 and available now — get yours here.

Adelaide, it’s your turn to get behind Speed Rack Australia. This Sunday 29 June, get down to Maybe Mae from 7pm to cheer on the competitors in the SA round of Speed Rack, the high-speed, high-energy female bartending competition that raises money for breast cancer research, all while having one hell of a good time.

I’ve been to both the Sydney and Melbourne events so far, and loved it — you can get your $15 ticket (the money goes to charity!) and secure your spot here. And Perth, you’re up next, on Sunday 6 July.

The week that was

The full list of the Drinks 100 Australia was announced last week, along with the 12 major award winners. The Drinks 100 Australia awards gala was held last Tuesday night, with 200 of the country’s most influential drinks industry figures getting together at the black tie event on the final night of Bartenders’ Weekender in Brisbane.

At the gala, we revealed that the winner of the big Person of the Year award presented by Jack Daniel’s Bonded was Jenna Hemsworth. You can catch our full, in-depth interview with Jenna from the first issue of Boothby magazine late last year, right here.

And last week we also announced the 30 best bars in Queensland — get a look at the full list here.

Again, a reminder that the winter issue of Boothby magazine has just landed; if you’d like to get your hands on a copy and each issue for the year ahead, you can sign up here and we’ll get it to you asap. I really value your support!