Water of Life – Grain Bar, Sydney

What makes a bar great?

There are a myriad of details that result in making a bar much more than the mere sum of the individual contributing facets.

A consummate hosts making one welcome from the get go and greeting each guest individually goes a long way, as does table service with attentive staff not merely remembering your order but also acknowledging if there is a need for drinks to be topped up or if there is an indication that something is not up to scratch.

Décor, a rustic, solid bar counter, atmospheric mood lighting, carefully chosen food accompaniments and comfortable chairs do not hurt either, as does a curated playlist at an appropriate volume. 
Needless to say, apart from these major components, elegantly presented, innovative as well as classic cocktails and boundary pushing drink offerings is the realm where truly great bars shine

Enter Sydney’s Grain Bar, which not merely ticks all the aforementioned boxes but constitutes one of my favourite third places on terra australis.

What Sardinia-born bar supervisor and host extraordinaire Marco Rosati has accomplished with his team is an example par excellence for the epitome of well-calibrated, warm hospitality, enhanced by an underlying intrinsic motivation to create the best experience possible and a veritable passion for craft spirits, locally brewed craft beer, as well as creative barrel aging twists on classic cocktails.

Needless to say, with “Grain Bar” being a telling name, grains in all varieties and forms take centre stage on both the drinks and food menus, with the bar teams’ focus firmly set on sustainability and the reduction of the bar’s carbon footprint via employing the innovative ecoSPIRITS distribution system, geared at nearly eliminating packaging waste in the premium spirits supply chain. 

As if the aforementioned was not enough, I have yet not to discover a new piece de resistance and conversation starter when entering Grain Bar: This time around, Grain Bar offers what must be one of the most luxurious, customised whisky-tasting trolleys in the Southern hemisphere, dedicated to the best and rarest The Macallan has to offer.

Suits’ Harvey Specter would be delighted as not only his favourite expression, i.e. the 18 Year Old, makes a prominent appearance on the trolley flanked by Macallan’s core expressions, but also an 18 Sherry Oak unicorn variant that is exclusive to Grain Bar, in addition to rare collections like The Macallan 25 Sherry Oak, the Rare Cask and the much fabled about, elusive Harmony Collection, which is bound to evoke a Pavlovian reaction from whisky aficionados.

Needless to say, it is quite a gratifying, holistic experience and eye candy galore to see the Macallan trolley navigate its way to your table, which then offers not only the opportunity to sample some of the best Speyside has to offer, but also marks the start of a journey the knowledgeable and engaging staff takes you one.

I cannot wait until the ever-charming Marco Rosati’s newest creation will find its way onto Grain Bar’s cocktail menu at the beginning of 2023, which will see him taking the bar’s commitment to the reduction of food waste and circular economy to the next level by using the savoury and starchy liquid that is pasta water as the foundation to transform his exquisitely creamy cocktail creations to add an idiosyncratic twist.

The fact that this article was almost completed without feeling the need to emphasize that Grain Bar is one of the many five star venues Sydney’s Four Seasons Hotel has to offer in one of the most scenic environments of this earth round, a stone throw away from iconic sights like the Harbour Bridge and one of the most distinctive buildings of the Twentieth century, i.e. the Opera House, speaks volumes about the merits of this cleverly designed and immensely enjoyable establishment.

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image courtesy of Grain Bar

AFI are currently on the road for their Bodies Tour with support from Drab Majesty. The band released Bodies in 2021, but had not previously been able to tour for the album due to the ongoing pandemic. The band is as energetic as ever and have managed to weave songs across their entire career into the sets each night. Catch the band as they return to the US West Coast before traveling across the southern half of the country towards their final show in Florida. The band has also recently announced a one time show at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of their major label debut, Sing the Sorrow.

The Formative Years – Suicide

There are few albums that capture the merging borders of the roots of alternative disco, punk, new wave and what was to become post-punk like Suicide’s debut effort.

Creating an idiosyncratic melange comprised in equal parts of distortion, cacophonous beats  and demented howling, Suicide sounded sincerely exciting and dangerous. 

The paranoid driven debut album Suicide (1977) and the follow-up Alan Vega Martin Rev (1980) are both slabs of vinyl full of attitude that epitomize the minimalist primal force and tense sonic equivalent of the animalist threatening chaos the duo unleashed in a live environment.

Each and every song seems to be informed by a sinister, menacing dark undercurrent, including the cheesy, poppy ditties. Suicide was a band that felt truly liberated, informed by a hostility that was fuelled by the fact that they had nothing to lose.

While Suicide never attempted to blend in with anything or anybody, they became immensely influential, left their vile imprint on what was to become electronic music and unintentionally not only created a template for synthesizer and vocalist duos but influenced everyone from Joy Division via Radiohead to Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen.

Suicide’s live recordings document the confrontational antics of the duo to the extent that at times it proves to be difficult to decipher the music from the pandemonium it soundtracked.

Proto punk at its best.

Thus Let Us Drink Beer

Tumut River and Common Ground Brewing

Located in the Murray-Darling basin, Tumut River is not only a perennial stream in the region of the Snowy Mountains but lends its name to what evolved to become a destination brewery.

Tumut River Brewing first caught my attention when I learned about them paying liquid homage to one of my favourite Australian independent rock bands, i.e. You Am I. 

While collaborations with bands are not exactly rare in the realm of craft brewing, it piqued my interest as I fell instantaneously in love in 2013 when Young Henry’s celebrated the bands twentieth year of existence with one of the most delicious limited edition pale ales I have had the pleasure of experiencing on terra australis.

Tumut River’s You Am IPA was brewed to honour the band’s incarnation at the Winter Bites Festival and clocking in at an ABV of 6.5%, it proves to be an immensely drinkable little number.

On the top of the mouth, freshly cut cantaloupe meets a melange of a combination of pineapple, peach, apple, banana, pear, grapefruit, and apricot, which rests on a hoppy backbone with nuances of coconut and a delicately calibrated malty bitterness, before it culminates in a lip-smacking, crisp finish. 

Not bad, not bad at all.

Bad Mofo is Tumut River’s thinly veiled reference to Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction and a take on the tried and tested  West Coast IPA style: 

As the name suggests, the big hop guns are blazing with Mosaic and El Dorado hops taking centre stage, flanked by locally grown Rye corn and Munich malt, thereby adding an idiosyncratic depth to the underlying malty flavours. 

I love the subtle sweet grape, pear and watermelon nuances, which are backed by a solid bitterness of 80 IBU, adding interesting facets that never run danger of being overrun by the strong malt backbone. 

Now, while Bad Mofo is playing in the ABV  midfield, the red IPA known as Deliverance 22 brings out the heavy artillery: 

On one hand there are moderate caramel malt flavours and syrupy sweetness merge with toffee-like qualities culminating in roasted grain highlights, which lends a characteristic dryness to the finish, on the other end of the spectrum Azacca, Mandarina Bavaria and Eclipse hops add a berry sweet, resinous dimension, resulting in a n overall complex flavour profile that is further enhanced by a warming ABV of 10%. 

A robust bitterness of 100 IBU seals the deal for one of the best Imperial Red IPAs I have tasted in a while and as if things could not get any better, Tumut River also provides the antidote for the next morning with its own premium blend of from the highest frown estate coffee made from 100% Arabica beans. 

What’s in a name?

Based in Milton Common, Common Ground Brewing’s is a telling one as its credo captures the notion of community, diversity, reaching out with respect and a focus firmly set on what unites us, which is also reflected in the brewery’s ambitious collaborations with likeminded brewers.

My first exposure to Common Ground was via its Brewing Commondeer West IPA expression.

While most West Coast IPAs are traditionally known for for their bold hop aromas, high bitterness, piney notes and citrus flavours, what intrigued me with the Commondeer was that the emphasis was centred around the malty informed nuances. While the melange of Centennial, Azacca and Simcoe hops brings forth resinous, tropical notes, there is a decidingly caramel-esque side to it that artfully counterbalances the delicious dank highlights. Clocking in at 6% ABV, a solid session- and smashable go-to IPA.

Things get interesting with Common Ground Brewing’s collaboration with Newcastle-based Method Brewing, aptly named “Chimuwaku”, which is the Japanese equivalent to teamwork. 

Adorned by customized artwork courtesy of Japanese tattoo artist Horizaru, this fluffy headed Yuza New England India Pale Ale is quite something as it brings out the best that the intersection of fruits and beers can produce: A sharp hybrid of lime, citrus, lemon and grapefruit flavours is rounded out by a distinctly tarty and slightly bitter sourness that dances against a backdrop of hoppy fruity flavours, ranging from tropical fruit to stone fruit nuances.  A wonderful companion to a dram of Talisker Storm.

I cannot wait for Common Ground Brewing to try its hand at channelling its alchemy in the creation of Double and Triple IPAs.

The Formative Years - Traveling Wilburys 

When it comes to the output of what was commonly referred to under the moniker “super group” in the last millennium, there was hardly one of those mostly prefabricated outfits where the musical output matched the credit of the individual constituents. Au contraire, in most cases the total of the whole offered diminished returns and was much less than the sum of the individual contributions.

Then again there are instances where exceptions prove the rule, which is where the Traveling Wilburys reign supreme as what started as a coincidental and serendipitous  project at the end of the 1980s with George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, all of which operated under pseudonyms, was lightning caught in a bottle as far as condensing and simmering three decades of rock down to its concise essence. 

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. Is comprised of ten near perfect tunes and rich lyrics. With alternating lead vocals, all protagonists effortlessly complement each other and the group makes a deliberate effort to be perceived as a collective. 

After the untimely departure of Roy Orbison in December 1988 and the debut album having become an accolade decorated best seller, the surviving group members reconvened to record a follow-up, which proves to be an enjoyable listen yet does not come remotely near that magic that was created before.
 
Based on the wonderfully calibrated collaboration, the Traveling Wilburys’ debut remains an unrivalled classic in the pantheon of the rock olymp and is highly recommended not merely to aficionados of Orbison’s, Petty’s and Harrison’s respective oeuvres but especially those  who tend to get annoyed with Dylan’s trademark whiny organ as with the Wilburys’, he showed a delightful side by channelling his inner Bruce Springsteen.

A true gem.