Australia's 50 best drinks of 2022 - vote for your favourite now
These are the drinks, bars, and bartenders making Australia's drinking some of the best in the world in 2022.
Over the course of October, bartenders from bars all across the country put their best drinks forward to be considered for the 2022 Boothby Drink of the Year Awards.
The result? Some very fine drinking from some very fine bartenders.
And you can have your say on your favourite drink now — voting is now open for the Boothby People's Drink of the Year presented by Orlando. Take a look at the drinks below, then hit the vote button to have your say.
Below, organised in alphabetical order by the name of the bar at which you'll find them, are the Top 50 Drinks of the Year.
The Boothby Top
50 Drinks of the Year
H.S.L. Special
Above Board
Inspired by the Bramble, this drink is named for its creator, Hayden Lambert.
Ingredients: Amaro Montenegro, creme de mure, lime juice, sugar syrup, absinthe.
Hills of Savocca
Apollonia
This Jason Williams creation is a Southside riff made textural with milk-washed gin.
Ingredients: Milk-washed gin, orange syrup, lemon juice, mint, lavender bitters.
Up In Smoke
Banco Manly
This spicy, smokey number was created by Jacopo Montis.
Ingredients: Angel Hair chilli pineapple rum, Islay whisky, amaretto, pineapple skins syrup, bitters.
Japanese Slipper No. Blue
Bar Liberty
The Australian modern classic made blue by Nick Tesar.
Ingredients: Yuzushu, melon liqueur, blue curacao, gin, water.
Hook Turn
Bar Margaux
A riff on the Manhattan by Nat Yao.
Ingredients: Whisky, cream sherry, Aperol, coffee amaro, chocolate bitters.
Shady Lane
Bar Rochford
A smart, stirred down and elevated riff on the rum and Coke from Liv Kelly.
Ingredients: Pecan dark rum, oloroso sherry, cola spice syrup.
Mademoiselle
Beneath Driver Lane
A Clover Club-inspired cocktail from Melanie Hack.
Ingredients: Vodka, first press pineapple juice, sumac and rhubarb syrup, lime juice, rhubarb bitters, saline.
Large Hadron Colada
Burrow Bar
A stirred-down elevation of the Pina Colada by David Fowler.
Ingredients: Coconut fat-washed pineapple rum, Cocchi Americano, raw sugar syrup, unaged agricole rhum.
Snow
Byrdi
Luke Whearty's love letter to Victorian winter citrus.
Ingredients: Victorian yuzu, citrus coconut ice, Geraldton wax pow pow.
Fallen Fruit
Byrdi
A drink by Luke Whearty that gives new life to old wine.
Ingredients: Poached pear, verjuice caramel, curry leaf, nitro sorbet.
Teal
Cantina OK!
Unexpected flavours and fresh fruit star in this drink by Harrison Kenney.
Ingredients: Silver tequila, fino sherry, simple syrup, lime juice, celery juice, kiwifruit puree, vanilla olive oil.
Margarita OK!
Cantina OK!
The signature Margarita of Cantina OK! from Jeremy Blackmore.
Ingredients: high-proof tequila, mezcal, lime juice, sugarcane syrup, shaved ice.
Tiramisu Milk Punch
Capitano
A bartender favourite Milk Punch by Darren Leaney.
Ingredients: Rum, muscat, coffee, biscuits, milk.
House Martini
Caretaker's Cottage
A super-cold, always delicious Martini by Rob Libecans.
Ingredients: Plymouth gin, house vermouth.
The Coffee Negroni
Continental Deli
A clear, coffee-fied Negroni variation by Michael Nicolian.
Ingredients: Campari, sweet vermouth, coffee gin, citrus.
Giza
Dean & Nancy on 22
A smoky and fun cocktail inspired by the pyramids of Giza from Stefano Filardi.
Ingredients: Vodka, coffee liqueur, Islay whisky, hibiscus burnt honey, raspberry, filter coffee.
Basquiat
Dean & Nancy on 22
A Manhattan-style drink by inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat from Krisztian Csigo.
Ingredients: Coconut oil fat-washed rye, vermouth, Cherry Heering, peaty whisky, bitters.
Chloe Amour
Door Knock
A riff on the modern classic Pornstar Martini, from Liam Gavin.
Ingredients: Tequila, passionfruit fino sherry, salted fig syrup, lime juice, passioifruit wine.
Discretionary
Double Deuce Lounge
A clarified Milk Punch built on tequila and coffee by Oliver Churcher.
Ingredients: Anejo tequila, cold brew, maple, whey, salt.
Seabreeze
Double Deuce Lounge
An updated and flavoursome take on the Sea Breeze by Oliver Churcher.
Ingredients: Vodka, lime leaf acid, grapefruit syrup, cranberry juice.
California Soul
Earl's Juke Joint
This is the Earl's take on a Spicy Marg, from Dale Schoon.
Ingredients: Blanco tequila, ,mezcal, dry curacao, lemon juice, mandarin syrup, chilli.
Tanlines
Eileen's Bar at Four Pillars Lab
A clarified and gin-focused homage to the Pina Colada, from James Irvine.
Ingredients: Gin, coconut whey, pinepaple, lime leaf.
Strawberry Gum Gimlet
Foxtrot Unicorn
This Gimlet riff by Shirley Yeung employs native ingredients and fresh fruit flavours.
Ingredients: Gin, lemon juice, strawberry gum & cucumber syrup, elderflower liqueur.
22nd Century
Grain Bar
A barrel-aged take on the 20th Century cocktail by Adam Lau.
Ingredients: Sloe gin, gin, Lillet Blanc, cacao, Muyu Jasmine Verte, clarified lemon juice, grenadine, oak.
Over & Above
Hanky Panky Lounge
Using local botanicals and Mango, a Darwin take on tequila by Anneliese Grazioli.
Ingredients: Anejo tequila, mango vermouth, Campari, lemon myrtle olive oil.
Zombie
Jacoby's Tiki Bar
Jacoby's take on the all time tiki classic is a collab between Pasan Wijesena, Sam Pinerri, and Dan Hunt.
Ingredients: Jacoby's House Grog, overproof rum, violette liqueur, apricot brandy, passionfruit syrup, orgeat, falernum, lime juice, absinthe.
Lychee
Long Chim Perth
An exploration of all things lychee by Eoin Kenny.
Ingredients: Lychee, gin, lime leaf fino sherry, blackberry distillate.
Buttered Pecan
Maker
Inspired by butter pecan ice cream, this silky cocktail comes from Ellery Low.
Ingredients: Bourbon, butter, toasted pecan, Licor 43, saline, orange bitters.
Coil
Maker
A Martini-style drink that champions mezcal by Ellery Low.
Ingredients: Mezcal, nixta corn liqueur, Ancho Reyes Verde, agave syrup, salt, orange bitters.
Clare de Lune
Maybe Mae
An elegant exploration of grape and pear from Nick Corletto.
Ingredients: Pisco, Lillet Blanc, quince eau de vie, clarified pear juice, vanilla syrup, jasmine tea oil.
The Prince & The Showgirl
Maybe Sammy
A twist on the Ramos Gin Fizz, the drink is inspired by Marilyn Monroe and comes from Sarah Proietti.
Ingredients: Gin, peach wine, honey macadamia cream, egg white, champagne acid, simple syrup, peach & jasmine soda, coconut veil.
Cold Irish Coffee
Maybe Sammy
The classic Irish Coffee made anew for a warmer climate by Martin Hudak.
Ingredients: Irish whiskey, honey sugar mix, filter coffee, double cream.
Pike Place Mule
Memphis Slim's House of Blues
Named for the Pike Place Markets in Seattle and from the hand of Michael Keogh.
Ingredients: Burnt butter & sage Bacardi, ginger-infused Lillet Blanc, plum & makrut lime syrup, lime juice.
Cup O Joe
Memphis Slim's House of Blues
A bourbon-led take on the Espresso Martini from by Michael Keogh.
Ingredients: Coffee bean bourbon, coffee bean cognac, Averna, cold brew coffee, vanilla syrup.
Belle of Barbados
Nick & Nora's Melbourne
A tiki-style, frappe'd, complex and punchy drink by Kayla Reid.
Ingredients: Pineapple rum, absinthe, amontillado sherry, bitters, house pineapple caramel, orange juice, lime juice, coconut cream, cream.
Pandan Airways
Old Mate's Place
A refreshing and moreish fixture of the Old Mate's Place list by Sarah Mycock.
Ingredients: Young coconut, pandan and strawberry gin, sugar, verjuice.
Belle
Par
Employing Par's wine-like approach to cocktails, from the hand of Tony Huang.
Ingredients: Bourbon, peach liqueur, Xoclatl Mole Bitters, Allee Trop Loin Tropical Blanc wine, soda, peach tea, apple cider vinegar.
Sea & Shell
Pearl Diver Cocktails & Oysters
A complex Martini served with an olive oyster from Alex Boon.
Ingredients: oyster shell gin, coastal dry vermouth, verjuice, orange bitters.
Salted Piña Colada
PS40
Possibly the best Piña Colada we've ever had. A recipe by Michael Chiem.
Ingredients: White rum, aged cold pressed pineapple, lime juice, Coco Lopez, Murray River flaked salt.
Africola
PS40
A play on hot and cold temperatures, this is a drink by Michael Chiem that has its own tee shirt.
Ingredients: Mr Black, native wattleseed cola, coconut foam.
Rum & Coke Spritz
Re
This drink by Sion Roberts is a Rum & Coke — just not as you know it.
Ingredients: Vanilla rum, yuzushu, cacao husk cordial, prosecco, lavender hojicha, soda, white chocolate.
Back To Black
Re
A carbonated, flavoursome and refreshing drink by Matt Whiley.
Ingredients: Blackened pumpkin brains distillate, bourbon, lacto koji water, blackened banana 'honey', osmosis water.
Blinky Bill
Rosella's
A long and refreshing drink using super-local ingredients by Jack Connor.
Ingredients: eucalyptus vodka, strawberry gum vodka, lime leaf vodka, quandong gentian liqueuer, verjus, aloe vera, soda.
Tajin Tommy's
Rude Boy
A spicy twist on the Tommy's Margarita from Hobart's Etien Celzner.
Ingredients: Szechuan spiced reposado tequila, lime juice, miso, mango & red chilli spiced agave syrup.
Georgette
Savile Row
A long, Spritzy drink by Andie Bulley.
Ingredients: Citrus vodka, clarified lychee and blueberry wine, soda water.
Lace
Savile Row
A light, floral and long drink by Nicholas Sebar.
Ingredients: Fino sherry, dry vermouth, orange bitters, strawberry & nasturtium tea, strawberry syrup, lemon juice, carobonated.
Thistle Grasshopper
The Cumberland
Petr Dvoracek's foraged homage to the classic Grasshopper.
Ingredients: Sow thistle, absinthe, creme de menthe, orange blossom, cream.
Backlash
The Everleigh
A low-ABV riff on the Negroni by Luke Kelly.
Ingredients: Absinthe, Cocchi Americano, fino sherry, Campari.
Pavlova Milk Punch
The Gidley
Channeling the flavours of the classic pavlova, and smartened up by Jenna Hemsworth.
Ingredients: White rum, strawberry & vanilla milk, passionfruit liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse, grapefruit btters, lime juice, sugar syrup.
Mary Celeste
The Rover
A savoury-style of Martini by Alex Gondzioulis.
Ingredients: Olive oil gin, lemon juice, dry flor apera, clarified watermelon cordial, dill vinegar.
So what happens next?
Each of the bartenders with a drink on the Top 50 are invited to the Boothby Drink of the Year Awards at the end of this month on Tuesday 29 November at Double Deuce Lounge in Sydney. Invites are going out shortly, so please keep an eye on your inboxes.
And on the night, we’ll be counting down from 50 to 1 the Drinks of the Year, and awarding three big awards along the way: the Drinks List of the Year, the People’s Drink of the Year, and the Drink of the Year.
In the meantime, voting is open for the Boothby People’s Drink of the Year presented by Orlando — all you have to do is check out the Top 50 and vote for your favourite before Friday 25 November.
Thank you to all of the bartenders who entered their drinks — you've made this country a nicer place to drink at.