Trust Sydney’s favourite soda-factory-meets-cocktail-bar to shake things up in the chilly depths of winter. At PS40, co-owners Thor Bergquist and Michael Chiem have launched Festivus, a list of drinks that takes its cues from famous festivals around the world.
The ten concoctions on the conceptual menu cover serious ground – some of it obvious, some of it not so much. Oktoberfest, for instance, becomes a celebration of beer in cocktail form, combining white rum with cured strawberry, lime and raspberry bier in a twist on a sour. On the wackier end of the spectrum, there’s the Hoagie Nation, which gets its name from a music festival dedicated to Hall & Oates. The duo’s hit single ‘Out of Touch’ is the inspiration here – the blend of aquavit, Cynar, sherry and spiced oat milk comes at you wrapped in a banana leaf, quite literally keeping it… out of touch.
Elsewhere, they’re interpreting the theme pretty loosely and paying homage to proper parties, holidays and seasonal happenings like Burning Man (think a smoked pea garnish), Thanksgiving (bourbon and sweet potato) and Japan’s cherry blossom festival (beetroot, vermouth and orange bitters).
Dry July-ers need not worry; there are two exclusively zero-proof creations featuring ALTD’s botanical distillations, honouring Halloween and Spain’s tomato-throwing romp La Tomatina.
Ten festivals in ten locations all at once and all in liquefied, boozy glory thanks to one of Sydney’s most crack bar teams? Sounds too good to be true, but thankfully, it isn’t.
40 King St, Sydney 2000. www.ps-soda.com. Mon-Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri, Sat 4pm-2am; Sun 6pm-midnight.
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