I started Boothby six years ago, in the uncertain days of September 2020. Having edited a monthly magazine for the previous eight years, I was in no rush to make a print magazine, instead embracing the digital way of doing things: we built boothby.com.au, filed a couple dozen stories so the site felt like there was at least a little presence to it, and went about lining up shoots and interviewing bartenders and ambassadors and the people making the Australian bar scene come together. Many of the stories I got to tell were of bartenders and operators just trying to get through the pandemic, the end of which no-one could predict.
It was uncertain times.
At the same time, whether it was because of Big Algorithm, or some other reason, drinks and bars started to feel a little familiar; pre-batched and milk-punched and served in a similar glass, there was a sameness to what was on offer.
But putting together Issue 08 — which is available here — I was struck by how big the bar world feels again. This one issue takes you from the summer streets of Rome to Tokyo’s convenience stores, from the agave fields of the Jalisco Highlands to Lark’s new distillery outside Hobart, and to a Highland pub in Scotland.
Inside you’ll find:
- Ryan Chetiyawardana on hospitality as a force for good, Brexit, and why Australian citrus beats that in the rest of the world;
- Fred Siggins’ guide to drinking in Rome, from a smoke-filled speakeasy to natural wine on the streets;
- Tokyo Confidential’s new konbini menu with drinks like an Onigiri Martini;
- Lark’s outgoing distiller Chris Thomson on what makes Tasmanian whisky Tasmanian.
- Samantha Payne’s five wines to drink when you’re exhausted from drinking your exotic amaro palaver;
- Original Boothby data you won’t find anywhere else;
- The new bars we’re excited about in Sydney, Melbourne, and Singapore.
Plus: the rookies already shaping the bar world, a 3am flower market run, the best prawn toast in Singapore, and plenty more.
You can support Boothby and get your copy (and back issues) here.
We still live in uncertain times, in a world that has more chaos baked into it than it did 10 years ago. But if you can stop scrolling on your phone, step away from the algorithm, and talk to the people getting up each day and going about their work, I think, like me, you’ll see that there is a lot to be discovered out there. The world is a big, messy, exciting place.
See you at the bar.
