18th Amendment Bar to hit the road for national tour

THE team from 18th Amendment Bar will hit the road next month for a national bar tour that will see them takeover some of the country’s most prestigious venues.

Venue manager Ana Mitchell, owner Gorge Camorra and general manager Damien Kos-Beckwith will participate in the tour, which will begin on June 16 at Adelaide’s nautical-themed Hains & Co.

The tour will then take the crew to Perth’s Mechanics Institute on June 30, Rude Boy in Hobart on July 7 and finally Savile Row in Brisbane on July 21.

The crew is also hoping to add additional stops to the tour, with possible visits slated for bars in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.

Ms Mitchell said the national tour was a “wonderful opportunity to showcase what makes 18th Amendment Bar special”.

“We are beyond excited to share our passion for what we do with a wider audience and collaborate with some of the best venues in the industry,” she said.

Mr Kos-Beckwith said the aim of the tour was to bring exposure to both the venue and the Geelong region, putting it on the radar of some of Australia’s top-rated bars.

The team will be taking a variety of its signature cocktails with them on the tour, along with the bar’s playlist and some of the drinks from their new winter menu, which launches tonight (Friday, May 31).

Each stop is sponsored by a different brand, including Bacardi Martini Australia, Beam Suntory, Forty Spotted Gin and William Grant and Sons, which have helped to make the tour possible.

“Depending on which brand is sponsoring each trip, we’re tailoring the menu to show off the best that they have to offer,” Mr Kos-Beckwith said.

“For example, the first stop is Adelaide and that’s sponsored by Bacardi Martini Australia, so we’re using Patrón Tequila in The Boardwalk Empress [cocktail], we’re using Grey Goose in our Thomas Edison [and] we’re using Angles Envy Bourbon in a new cocktail…called the Successor.”

He said one of the venue’s most popular cocktails, Galaxy Grifter, which uses raspberry-infused Bacardi, will also be on the menu.

For local fans of 18th Amendment Bar, the venue’s new winter selection of cocktails promises to bring new life to the venue’s menu.

“Whilst our menus are always themed around Prohibition, this menu has a bit more of theme,” Mr Kos-Beckwith said.

“The staff were split into two groups, so we had the Northside Gangsters and the Southside Gangsters, and each person had their own gangster to model a cocktail after.

“It’s going to be a north v south 1920s gangster battle off to see which cocktails sell the most for the next couple of months, which will be a bit of fun.”

Locals can also look forward to future reverse venue takeover events at 18th Amendment, much like the bar’s recent collaboration with Tasmania’s Rude Boy.

“We’re hoping as well, by doing [the tour], we can get those four major – literally some of Australia’s top 10 bars – down to Geelong for a takeover.”

For more information, visit the18thamendmentbar.com.au