Charlie Coates 2026 Winner
The bartending bug came relatively early for Coates, discovering the complexities of great cocktails, nuanced spirits and good bar service around the time he attained legal drinking age. He’s gone from a starting position as a barback at Ritz-Carlton Perth’s rooftop bar, Songbird, to Neon Palms in Northbridge, and a formative stint in Sydney. Landing at Nextdoor, he’s cultivated a band of devoted regulars, reshaping the cocktail programme. His signature Blood and Bone, uses wagyu fat and house distillations of burnt bones (notes of young peated whiskey in case you’re wondering). It all ties back to Nextdoor’s butcher-to-plate concept and marks Coates out as a smart, sustainably focused, bartender who knows how to wow his patrons.
