This pioneer of Perth’s whisky bar scene shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.
It’s just past 1am on Saturday and Varnish on King is in full swing. The scent of bacon (a fixture here given the bacon and whisky pairing on offer) looms large, the bartenders have thrown on a bunch of old-timey hats and nearly everyone is belting out Tenacious D’s “Tribute”, with varying degrees of success.
For the most part, cocktails take the timeless brown-and-stirred-down approach, but you can’t argue with an expertly made Paper Plane, bright with Aperol and Amaro Montenegro or the considered round-up of beers and wines.
Andy Freeman’s Americana-edged basement bar burst onto the scene in 2013, and even if the offer of bottled Budweiser and pig’s-face mac ’n’ cheese feel a touch past their prime, it remains as committed to the pursuit of good times as ever. That’s due in large part to the team who, despite being three deep, will patiently walk you through the sweeping selection of bourbon and rye and happily sweet-talk you into a $40 nip of 1792’s spicy Bottled in Bond release.
For the most part, cocktails take the timeless brown-and-stirred-down approach, but you can’t argue with an expertly made Paper Plane, bright with Aperol and Amaro Montenegro or the considered round-up of beers and wines.
In fact, you can’t really argue with any of it – every city needs a bar like this, and Perth is all the better for it.
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