They took out our 2017 Time Out Melbourne Bar of the Year gong, and now Russell Street's Whisky & Alement are getting into the holiday spirit by swinging open their whisky cellar doors to you, the good people of Melbourne, to raid like a neighbourhood garage sale.
We are talking a huge collection of rare, limited release, and just plain delicious whiskies, many of which are extremely hard to find in retailers. The team at Whisky & Alement have been personally collecting fire water directly from distilleries across the world and now they are clearing out the shelves and we get to reap the benefits of all their hard work and research.
Prices start at a very reasonable $89 to a cool $2,500 a bottle – you can pick up a discontinued Nikka Whisky or go all out on a rare Silvano Samaroli bottlings, the debut namesake Scottish whisky from the Italian bottler, who sadly passed away last year.
Downstairs, Whisky & Alement will continue with its usual opening hours (Sun, Mon 4-11pm; Tue-Fri 4pm-1am; Sat 7pm-1am) where a selection of 100 single malts are available to buy as takeaways until 10pm. Those that are keen on something a little different can request a private tour of the cellar. The best time to check this out is Mon-Fri before 4pm. So if you've got a discerning drinker in your family, get ready to buy them a Christmas present they'll be talking about (and drinking) for years to come.
Want more excellent drinking spots? Check out our guide to the 50 best bars in Melbourne.