Lara Chan-Baker is the editor in chief of Dan’s Daily, and she’s the kind of person who’ll try anything once. “Probably twice,” she says. Half Mexican, half Kiwi, born in Singapore and raised in Melbourne, she has a palate, she says, that is “as weird and wonderful” as her background. Nothing makes her happier than indulging in savoury snacks, a killer cocktail and a D&M with the strangers at the next table – it’s what fuels her passion for the Victorian drinks scene. She believes in making the drinks space inclusive and accessible; no one, she feels, should feel intimidated when they’re handed a drinks list or wandering the aisles of the bottle-o. Here she is to spill on all things boozy and brilliant in the state.
Looking at the Victorian drinks world from the outside in, I think its key strengths are the people, the produce and the delicious melting pot of cultures that call this state home; those key ingredients make magic. Honestly, even our flippin’ terrible weather should get some credit – it sure grows some good grapes, has a marvellous impact on the ageing process of whisky, and gives us plenty of reasons to duck for cover inside a cute bar. Also, being so damn far from the rest of the world affords our makers an open-mindedness, freedom and flexibility that leads to bloody phenomenal drinks. Victorian producers aren’t afraid to experiment.
The last three delicious Victorian things I drank were…
- I first tried the Beechworth Bitters Daisy Age amaro a year or so ago at Bar Bellamy and I immediately jumped on my phone to order some for myself at home. Been drinking it ever since. Ridiculous how good this is.
- Cracked into a 2021 bottle of Quealy Turbul friulano while I’m answering these questions and, wowza, that’s good stuff.
- Covid turned us all into home bartenders and I haven’t outgrown the phase. I’ve been loving making Bourbon Peach Tea and Marionette Peach Liqueur brings the flavour in exactly the right way.
When someone hands me a drinks list, I flip straight to the cocktails. Starting the night with a cocktail is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
As far as I’m concerned, the defining place to get a drink in Victoria is a trick question. There are too many to narrow it down to one – I won’t fall for it. But the defining place to get a drink in my suburb? Whitebark in North Melbourne. This independent little wine bar ticks off every single element I want in a local: excellent and frequently changing drinks list, outrageously good snacky bites, great chat with the lovely owners, and right at the end of my street. They just celebrated their one year and I hope there are many, many more to come.
I’d love to see Victoria distilling more whisky. It’s not like we don’t have plenty of brilliant producers already, but I’m greedy and I want more. Victorian whisky is such an exciting space. I’d also love to see more amari. Beechworth Bitters and Autonomy are really holding the fort in a spectacular way, but I’ll be thrilled to see other players creating their own takes with local flora.
My guilty pleasure at the bar is a Piña Colada… and getting caught in the rain. Also, eating all the olives before I’ve even had a sip of my Martini.
The Victorian spirit I’m loving most right now is… Autonomy Davo Plum Aperitivo. A little pour of that, a splishy splash of soda and a handful of ice? Happy days.
The best or most important change to the way people drink in Victoria in recent years has been paying more attention to what fills their glass, where it’s come from and who made it. It’s become cool to care about drinks in much the same way we labour over our food and I’m not mad about that at all. People are more conscious than ever of what they’re buying and trying and that drives exploration and diversity and discovery. When people are willing to chance it on styles they’ve never heard of, you end up with a really interesting marketplace for new ideas with engaged consumers who want to understand what they’re drinking. Fun!
For me, the most inspiring person in the Victorian drinks world is… Matt Stirling of Caretaker’s Cottage. I’ve had the outrageous pleasure of working with him extensively (he writes a large portion of our cocktail recipes for Dan’s Daily) and not only is he extraordinarily talented in the arts of mixing, hospitality and running a successful business, he’s also a genuine joy to be around. I think it’s his very real love of bar service and incorruptible niceness. You can’t say the same for everyone in the industry. He and his co-founders are being seriously recognised with award after award for what they’ve built at Caretaker’s – as they very much deserve – and while the drinks are obviously outstanding, it’s watching the way that Matt and the team make every single human that walks through their doors feel so at home that blows me away every time.
Follow Lara’s eating, drinking and dancefloor adventures at @lara_highres.tiff