Some bars are simply unlike other bars.

They offer you a taste of something you just can’t get anywhere else, and that’s what they’re doing at The Elysian Whisky Bar in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy.

Owners Kelvin Low and Yao Wong are big fans of whisky, and they’ve cobbled together a collection of hard to find, rare and special whiskies that has made the place a destination for whisky lovers and novices alike.

It’s the kind of place where you can sit down at the bar, they’ll open bottles for you to sniff, and talk you through your choices each visit is an education in deliciousness.

But what sets this place apart from other whisky bars is their dedication to sourcing independent bottlings from distilleries in Scotland, Japan and America.

Below, Wong tells us what these independent bottlings are all about, and why for some tastings they’ll even decant the whisky ahead of time.