Welcome to a series of stories showcasing one drink, one bartender, at one great bar. This series is made possible by Brown-Forman's Elevate program — to learn more, contact your Brown-Forman representative.
Sydney bar Tailor Room opened in The Rocks back in April of 2025, with a menu designed around fabrics and textures and inspired by the space itself; the room, which holds just 20 guests, once was the cloakroom for the old Argyle nightclub.
Today you’ll find sartorially attired bartenders — like bar manager, Benji Kinoial, who we hear from below — working with precision and care, with cocktails constructed with a good degree of technique and a flavour-first approach.
Below, lightly edited and condensed for clarity, Kinoial talks about the Tailor Room concept, why hospitality for him is about creating moments, and their Paisley cocktail made with The Glendronach 12.
BOOTHBY: What’s your role here, Benji?
BENJI KINOIAL: I am the bar manager here at Tailor Room in The Rocks, Sydney.
BOOTHBY: And tell us about Tailor Room?
BENJI KINOIAL: Well, first of all, The Rocks is one of the oldest suburbs in Sydney. So we’ve built Tailor Room around that idea. We’ve used the history of this building to build this bar to life. Each of our cocktails represents a part of the history of The Rocks. This specific room or this specific precinct was a fabric room or Argyle stores, which used to be a market in the seventies, and we used that to build the menu.
BOOTHBY: Just how big is the space?
BENJI KINOIAL: We can definitely fit, comfortably, 20 people. Comfortably.
BOOTHBY: Why do you do what you do? Why do you come to work each day?
BENJI KINOIAL: I come to work because my mum has always instilled in me hospitality. She was a chef, so I was always in this environment at such a young age. And we used to always host dinners, family dinners at home.
I guess I’ve always been instilled in hospitality. So the idea of being able to bring that into a room and bring what I’ve always had to my heart into Tailor Room is amazing. And to see guests sit at your bar, have a good drink, have long conversations, enjoy the music, enjoy the drinks, enjoy the company — this is what I love to see. And as they’re walking home or whatever, I love the idea of them thinking, Wow, that was such a great experience. And I was the one that was able to offer that.
I’ve always believed in the idea that when we create memories, we’re always offering them something. So when they leave, they always have an idea that they left with something, whether that be a memory, whether that be a new spirit they tried, whether it be a new cocktail or a new flavour profile.
BOOTHBY: Tell us about your drink, Paisley.
BENJI KINOIAL: The idea of the Paisley is just the idea of Tailor Room; all of our cocktails are all based on textiles and fabrics, each of them having their own style of fabric and texture. That’s what we tried to implement when it came to Tailor Room. We also did a lot of research behind the scenes to find out what we could bring that could make the cocktail interesting.
So the Paisley here is a twist on a 19th Century, which consists of some sort of dark spirit — it could be bourbon — then after that it has cacao, fortified wine, and some citrus. We’ve done a little twist on that to make sure that it connects well with The Glendronach 12. We’ve done cacao, adjusted orange just to give it that nice orange undertone that Glendronach has, and then we’ve done a nice little milk wash to just give it a good mouthfeel. And then on top we grate a nice chocolate with some orange zest just to finish off the drink. Nice and zesty.
BOOTHBY: What’s your favourite time to be working? What’s the environment?
BENJI KINOIAL: I enjoy a night when it’s busy but not overly busy, where there is enough people in the room. I think every guest that walks in here, they’re celebrating something. It’s either gonna be a birthday or anniversary, all these little weekly celebrations that they have. And we want to be able to cater to that to the best of our ability. We want to give them the best service.
BOOTHBY: What’s the atmosphere like when the place is busy?
BENJI KINOIAL: It’s so cool. The cocktail tins are shaking, the music’s buzzing, we’ve got the vinyl playing. People are drinking our drinks, nice and cold. I think that is the best time. The lighting is just perfect. Right now it’s a little bit more on the sunny side outside; once the sun goes down, you really start to see the sunset and it really starts to shine on all the different colours that we have here.
There was this one time I was making all the drinks and it was crazy. We had about twenty dockets. And I look up and I’m like, this is actually a vibe. I didn’t realise, I was just trying to organize everything. And then as you look up, you’re like, No, you know what? This is a vibe. This is an amazing Saturday, and I love to be a part of every individual that has been here in Tailor Room.
Paisley
Ingredients:
- 40ml The Glendronach 12
- 20ml Tempus Fugit crème de cacao
- 20ml Cocchi Americano Rosa
- 20ml citric acid adjusted orange juice
- 20 percent chocolate milk wash
- 50ul palo santo tincture
- 2.5ml rich syrup
- 500ul saline solution
Batch and serve over block ice. Garnish with grated orange zest on chocolate.
Recipe by Benji Kinoial, Tailor Room, Sydney
Nestled in the Valley of Forgue in the majestic Scottish Highlands, The Glendronach Distillery has been dedicated to crafting the very finest Single Malts since 1826. Here, our distinct, characterful spirit is matured in rare Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso Spanish oak sherry casks, each one selected exclusively from the bodegas of Andalucía, Spain. This exquisite duality creates the signature richly-sherried style of our prestigious Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
