Never Never Distilling Co. are providing a Parisian classic to visitors to the Australian tour of Monet in Paris with a dedicated Absinthe bar.
Multi-sensory art experiences like Monet in Paris have been drawing large numbers of visitors and significant social media attention. Never Never Distilling Co. has partnered with Grand Experiences, which has also produced Van Gogh Alive and Dalí Alive.
Never Never originally produced the Australian Absinthe for the Adelaide leg of Grand Experience’s Van Gogh Alive tour. It returns for Monet in Paris, and will be served to guests from a traditional frosted absinthe fountain at the exhibition’s dedicated absinthe bar.
Sean Baxter, Never Never ??, spoke about how the collaboration came about.
“For us, it was all about inspiring through flavour. When we saw this incredible, immersive experience that was just a feast for the eyes, a feast for the ears in terms of the way people were brought into this experience. When we realized there was a drink offering that could accompany that, we loved the idea of people’s first absinthe experience to being delivered through an immersive Van Gogh moment,” Baxter described.
“We would never have done an absinthe by ourselves. There’s not the market for it within Australia in that particular format, but by attaching it to this immersive art experience, people might be tempted to try absinthe for the first time because of that moment,”
The exhibition will also include a series of Friday evening cocktail events called Monet by Moonlight, which was planned by Monet in Paris food and beverage manager, Chris Carter.
“We wanted to create an experience that appeals to guests who might not be your traditional art gallery devotees,” said Carter.
Guests at the cocktail nights will be able to enjoy a G&T made with Never Never’s Triple Juniper Gin, coastal highballs built with Never Never’s Oyster Shell Gin, and Blood Orange Spritzes featuring the Ginache Grenache Gin.
“Monet by Moonlight will be a bubbling, exciting collection of live performance and visual spectacle, punctuated with fantastic drinks,” Carter added.
Baxter is excited for the exhibit to continue its tour of Australia.
“These are the sorts of opportunities that small brands relish in, where we get this stage to suddenly present our craft on a national stage. I don’t think it’s so much about creating a new generation of absinthe drinkers. It’s about seeing these amazing artscapes that encourage curiosity and encourage exploration, and that’s really important when it comes to small brands. I think a lot of people discover small brands through these really amazing moments. And we can’t wait to see the impact that something like this has on the way that we grow across the country and how we engage in new audiences,” Baxter concluded.
Monet in Paris and the Never Never absinthe bar debuted in Brisbane on 8 June, where it will run until 6 August, before moving to Perth from October to December, then Canberra, Adelaide, Newcastle and Sydney.
