It’s that time of year when southern hemisphere snow-heads turn their thoughts to powder on New Zealand’s peaks. After a big day barreling down Treble Cone there’s nothing to be done apart from get a good stiff, warming drink. LaLaLand has got you covered. Arrive before the sun goes down and rug up for a seat on the deck overlooking the lake – really the only place to be as the day’s last rays disappear. Then scoot inside where the vibe is cosy, with velvet lounges, antique lamps and books on the shelves. The surroundings are slightly misleading though – these guys do a mean cocktail. Don’t miss the Te Anaka, a salty, citrusy surprise that took its maker James Crinson to the top three in the worldwide Bacardi Legacy Competition.
Get off ground level and head to the roof at Loof. A long-time favourite for both Singaporeans and visitors, the sleek outdoor space focuses on everything around it for inspiration: beers are of the Asian variety, cocktails feature local ingredients (its Singapore Sour, made with vodka, sour plum and kalamansi juice, is a spin on the island’s most famous drink, the Singapore Sling) and the kitchen takes classics and makes them new again.
Chilli crab cheese fries and hoisin duck spring rolls, anyone? It’s a great spot to chill early on, with excellent views of Downtown, but things certainly ratchet up a notch as the night ages and the beer pong table goes off. Local DJs play at popular nights like Pops of the Top and Flidays at Loof. Love it sick? You can pick up a cute souvenir – an old-school game or anodised tea flask, for example – from the Mamashop.
Backed by palm trees on a white-sand beach, just metres from the crystal turquoise waters of the Caribbean, you will find the wondrously ramshackle Dune Preserve. A beach bar-slash-music-club, cobbled together with driftwood, sailboats, fishing skiffs and coconut trees. Founded by Anguilla’s legendary folk son, Bankie Banx, this laid-back venue on Rendezvous Bay is the perfect place to kick back and enjoy a meal as the ocean laps at the shore. Or why not pop in and try their signature drink ‘Duneshine’, a liquor made from fermented ginger?
Just about every night of the week you can enjoy live music from local acts, sometimes even from the king of Anguilla’s music scene Bankie Banx himself. The beach bar has also played permanent host to the annual Moonsplash festival since 1995, held during the full moon in either late February or early March. The Caribbean’s best music festival is connected to the cultural core of Anguilla, and woven into the national identity so tightly it’s nearly impossible to separate one from the other.
After a day spent splashing about in the sparkling water of a beautiful cove on the Makarska Riviera between Split and Dubrovnik, head to Club Deep, set in a natural cave formation that also served time as a weapons depot during WWII.
There’s a great sun terrace outside – perfect for catching those last rays while enjoying an ice-cold Karlovacko – but things get started much later in the evening (usually at about 11pm) when local and international DJs turn up the volume on the latest R&B and house beats. Be warned: when this place is crowded – and since it’s popular with cruises on this part of the coast it often is – it gets really hot. Luckily, no one seems to be too bothered about dress codes.
Wander up a back alley in Seoul’s Garuso-gil district and enter Mikkeller, a minimalist craft-beer haven. Laden with bold colour, this stripped-back space is the spot to taste 30 craft beers from around the world. There’s an excellent selection of the company’s own beers, but there are also offerings from breweries like Evil Twin, To Øl and 8 Wired – all of them on tap. Slurp down glasses of tantalising drops with tongue-twisting names like Spontan Watermelon, Crooked Moon Tattoo Stockholm and Wit My Ex while admiring the modernist cartoons scattered around the walls.
Drawing on its Danish heritage (the venue’s one of several offshoots from a bar in Copenhagen that goes by the same name), the fit-out is simple and organic, with a dash of Korean cute – the perfect place to immerse yourself in Asia’s burgeoning craft beer scene.
Forget dinner and a show, where’s the gin? Imbibe libations at this raucous West End tavern, an homage to Jules Verne’s fictional adventurer, Phileas Fogg, then toddle upstairs to the plush parlour of the explorer’s beloved aunt, acclaimed actress Gertrude Fogg.
Choose your poison from a selection of more than 300 types of the world’s most interesting gin, peruse curiosities from Gertrude’s days on stage and take in views of London’s Noël Coward Theatre. Indulge in a gin tasting or sashay into the salon and settle on a chaise longue to nibble treats fit for famed thespians, such as sloe gin cured salmon followed by gin and tonic marshmallows. After a couple of strong drinks you may feel the urge to crack open the cabinet of wigs and scripts for a debut under an ornate chandelier.
When John Franklin, the governor of Van Diemen’s Land, outlawed small pot stills in the early nineteenth century he crippled the distilling industry. It wasn’t until the 1990s that this law was overturned and Aussies once again began to brew their own spirits. At Bad Frankie, in Melbourne’s inner north, punters can celebrate the emancipation of local liquor and choose from hundreds of Australian whiskeys, rums, vodkas and gins. There’s even local absinthe for those disposed to a little adventure. But it’s not just the alcohol here that burns the tastebuds – it’s also the piping-hot jaffles. Bad Frankie serves nine different types, including two dessert versions. These more-ish, home-grown parcels include the Classic, stuffed with vintage cheddar and ham off the bone, and the Shroom, which packs garlic, spinach, fetta, and red wine and thyme mushrooms between slices of wholemeal.
Beer, holograms and history – these are the ingredients that make the Smithwick’s Experience a must-do brewery tour.
The multi-sensory and interactive experience takes visitors on a journey through the story of the famous ruby red ale, exploring its place in one of the country’s coolest destination cities, Kilkenny.
Starting in a candle-lit cavern – it re-creates the atmosphere of the centuries-old St Francis Abbey Brewery that inspired John Smithwick – the tour uses a cool array of technology to illuminate the story of Smithwick’s creamy pints, from right up to the present day.
The 300-year-old brewing process is brought to life through installations and plenty of tactile experiences introducing you to the smells, tastes and textures of the raw materials involved in creating the perfect pint of ale.
Like any good brewery tour the trip ends with a pint of the good stuff, where you’ll raise a glass to the celebrated Smithwick family.
Located in Dublin City Centre, in the historic Liberties, the Teeling Whiskey Co is the only operational distillery in the city and the first of its kind to open its doors in more than 125 years. Here, you can experience the sound, smell and feel of a whiskey distillery.
Teeling Whiskey, which has produced award-winning single grain, single malt and small batch drops, has only been open to the public since June 2015. The city’s only operational distillery is an unmissable destination for all whiskey fans, although if you’re not yet a lover of the amber liquid this is the perfect place to start your education.
Offering a selection of tours, including the Teeling Small Batch & Seasonal Whiskey Cocktail tasting, the Teeling Trinity Tasting and the Teeling Single Malt tasting, visitors can get up close and personal with all the aspects of the famed Irish whiskey-making process.
Go to Nashville and you’re sure to have a good time. But if you want it guaranteed, head to the epicentre of Lower Broadway fun, Robert’s Western World. This long-standing traditional bluegrass and country bar is no holds barred when it comes to a good time.
Step in for a cold Miller Genuine Draft, and let one of the locals spin you around to the kicking band. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, one of the greasy burgers or bologna sandwiches will really hit the spot. The only problem is the music is so good you won’t want to go anywhere else.
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