Drinking Melbourne is the weekly briefing from drinks writer Fred Siggins, unpacking what’s happening in Melbourne’s bars (and what you can learn from them), sent every Tuesday to your inbox. Get on the list here.
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.
Sam Bygrave here, stepping in for Fred Siggins while he is off overseas, gorging on Italian food. This week, we have an interview with Tayla Kendall, who has what must be one of the best ambassador jobs out there, as the ambassador for Victorian spirits.
And below that, there was one Melbourne bar among the top four for the Best International Cocktail Bar category at Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards overnight — can you guess who it was?
The brand ambassador gig has been around for some 25-odd years now, and the people who hold those roles are responsible for so much of the training and events that happens in the bar industry. These days they are a crucial part of the bar ecosystem.
And late last year we had a new addition to the brand ambassador universe. Less a brand ambassador, actually, than an ambassador for the output of Victoria’s craft spirits industry.
Tayla Kendall has taken on the role as ambassador for Vic Distilled, an industry body aimed at promoting Australian distilled spirits to the rest of the country and the world.
BOOTHBY: How did this new gig come about? It seems to be a unique job.
TAYLA KENDALL: It is! I would dare say it’s the first of its kind here. My role is to really represent an entire state’s distilling industry, under the banner of Vic Distilled. It all began with the Distillery Door program which was a four-year initiative from the Victorian government. They have been working closely with the Spirits Victoria Association (SVA), which has provided direct grants to build education, export, safety, and sustainability resources for Victorian distillers. The aim of the program was to boost Victoria as the best place to distil in Australia but the one part missing was to promote the industry as a whole; this is where Vic Distilled came in.
Victoria has been making spirits for a long time however out of the 180-plus distilleries currently operating, more than 50 percent of those have been established only in the last five years. And while we know Australians enjoy their spirits, the majority of us are still reaching for the big-brand imports.
So our agenda here is to position Victoria as a leading spirits industry by getting locals to drink local but also scaling and exporting, supporting community and fostering collaboration.
BOOTHBY: Why was this role created? What are the KPIs you are working to hit?
TAYLA KENDALL: The ambassador role specifically was created to unify and represent an entire state of distillers, creating consumer awareness in the telling of the distillery’s stories and the people behind them.
But it goes a little deeper than just consumer connection; I am also here to develop tools and tangible info-sharing for distillers to help develop their sales, marketing or engagement strategies whilst also (and arguably most importantly) amplifying their voices and stories.
On any given day I might be driving awareness through social media storytelling or media engagements, hosting events or campaigns such as our recent inaugural Serves Of The State, developing webinars for distillers, hunting for tourism content, hosting government bodies on tailored experiences at local distilleries or educating trade on how to get the most out of their local partnerships.
BOOTHBY: Are you working primarily domestically, or do you have responsibility to spread the word to a more global audience?
TAYLA KENDALL: We definitely have our eyes set on national and global identity, but I feel there’s a lot of work to be done in our own backyard first. Our strategy is to focus primarily on Victoria — it’s all about getting locals and tourists drinking local spirits. As momentum grows we will definitely start to cross the borders into other states.
A great way to think about it is that when we think of tourism in South Australia, most of us instantly think of ‘wine country’. Our ultimate outcome would be for people to think of Victoria as the place to find your spirit.
In saying that, we do have a very exciting global cross over with an incredible UK Bartender hitting our shores to collaborate soon!
BOOTHBY: What distinguishes Victorian spirits from spirits in other Australian states or indeed internationally?
TAYLA KENDALL: That is definitely our biggest challenge. The Victorian distilling scene has so much breadth, and so much on offer. There’s not one single ‘taste’ of Victoria, but in a way, that’s the advantage. There is literally something for everyone’s palate.
I feel that what distinguishes Victoria from other states or countries is the distiller’s dedication to craft and sense of place. It’s unparalleled. There’s so much pride and expression bursting out of every maker’s distillery with a keen hunger for innovation satiated by leaning on unique local botanicals, a strong sense of place and collaborations with other producers.
BOOTHBY: In what areas are Victorian spirits best succeeding — say, price points, and spirits categories?
TAYLA KENDALL: Maybe it’s my own personal obsession but there’s a lot of phenomenal brandies coming out of Victoria. Often discarded as “that stuff your grandma cooks with,” I feel deeply that brandy is a category that’s completely underrated, steeped in local history, packed with flavour — and making a comeback. Holly at Bass & Flinders has lead the charge on this for a long while, but there’s a brandy out there for every price point if you look at Loch, Imbue, Woowarra, Kellybrook, Nubilum, Kabina – too many to mention. Mona at Schnapps Idea is also flipping the script on what Aussies think of when we think of schnapps, crafting expressions a lot closer to what schnapps should be traditionally (aka fruit brandy, not butterscotch liqueur). Overall I’d say where Victoria is really succeeding is quality versus price point. From a retail point of view, the bigger distilleries, like Starward’s Two Fold, have lead the charge by developing entry-level spirits everyday prices without compromise on quality. The fact that you can pick up incredible drops like The Gospel’s Solera Rye in 700ml formats at often sub-$80 on shelf is mind-blowing when you think about the quality of what you’re purchasing. I think we’re in a little bit of an old habit where we think of Aussie spirits as a very expensive 500ml bottle, but if you have a look at those shelves now there’s absolutely no reason why you wouldn’t or couldn’t spend an extra two or three dollars to invest in a local purchase. The impact on the local spirit economy if even 10 percent of the consumer population did this would be massive!
From a trade perspective it’s the same — whether it’s bulk formats or rail-specific SKUs, a lot of Victorian distilleries are working with venues to create a local cocktail program that won’t break the venue or guest’s bank. I know this is not exclusive to Victoria, but what is unique to Victoria is the quality of those bulk and rail formats — take a look at distilleries like Hillmartin Gin and Marionette Liqueur with bulk offerings, or notable whisky brands such as Kinglake switching to 700ml bottles. It’s a sign of sincere interest in collaboration with venues and ultimately reaction to the consumer upwards trend in preferring local.
I feel like we’re also really excelling in trade collaboration. Everywhere I look I’m discovering great distiller and venue crossovers celebrating flavour and the flexibility of small batch adaptability.
Around the bars
Caretaker’s Cottage picked up a Top 4 spot at Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards overnight, with the popular Melbourne bar in the final four for the Best International Cocktail Bar category, and the only Australian bar to make it through to the pointy end of the awards this year. Kudos to Rob, Matt, Ryan, and their team. Turns out that making super cold Martinis and pouring Guinness is a world-beating strategy!
