Bar Fly

ZETA BAR
Level 4, 488 George Street, Sydney (02) 9265 6070 zetabar.com.au
IN 1954, the Pina Colada was pioneered at the Beachcomber Bar at the Caribe Hilton, Puerto Rico. So if you’re searching for summer in Sydney, perhaps a Hilton Pina Colada will hit the spot? Hotels of course, are the great inventors of many of the classic cocktails, which is exactly why I like to frock up and explore their bars. Colin Tam, head bartender at Zeta Bar has a preference for “classic drinks” such as the Tom Collins – “refreshing, with many different flavours, the botanicals/herbs in the gin, with lemon and sugar – is a simple tasty drink.” Me? I like the classics and his contemporary takes and a bit of fizz – all of which are available from 15th February, when Zeta Bar magically transforms the outdoor terrace on Friday nights into The Secret Garden.

GRAIN BAR
199 George Street, Sydney (02) 9250 3100 grainbar.com.au
IN MY 21st century search for some hanky panky, the dictionary instructed that it is anything that can happen between a couple, but there was no set definition as to what that may be. This week, I also discovered that Hanky Panky ($18) is also a cocktail: Cognac stirred with sweet vermouth and a dash of the Italian herbal digestif  Fernet Branca. You may prefer An Italian Mistress ($19). Bar supervisor Felix Osorio, on the other hand, favours an Eastern Promise ($19): “Pineapple is one of my favourite fruits, and maybe because I’m half Asian, I like my coriander too. It uses fresh coriander stalks muddled with Ketel One and a generous splash of absinthe.” GRAIN sits proudly facing George Street with fresh air and open windows and its own entrance (with an alternative entrance discretely placed within the Four Seasons Hotel).