Bars and Clubs spoke to Erin Proud, Director of Guest Experience at Porter House, to hear about the venue’s newest bar, Spice Trader.
The bar is found in ‘the crown’ of the Porter House building, in Sydney’s CBD. The building itself dates back to the 1870s and is heritage listed.
Erin and her team have looked to draw upon this history when developing the new bar.
“The concept of Spice Trader is a nod to the history and amazing story of the buildings and the buildings tenants past, and our original custodian – Sir Hugh Dixson,” Erin said.
“He had an interest and love for all things travel, botanical and was intrigued by the trade and spice routes. This led us to an inspired cocktail list that presents as an exploratory deep-dive into the relationship of spice and cocktails.”
“The look and feel and overall concept has been molded, developed and evolved over time – from the original concept and design to the recent activation with the bar’s opening,” Erin continues.
This presents itself on the menu, which is described as a ‘nostalgic nod to the trading past of the Porter House building. The cocktail list contains 12 drinks, themed around four key trade items of the era: ginger, coconut, cassia bark and coffee.
These include a ‘Piña Verde’, a take on the Piña Colada made with Plantation Stiggins Fancy Pineapple, green Chartreuse, coconut cream and pineapple; the ‘Merchant Old Fashioned’ created using toasted coconut George Dickel Tennessee Whisky, gentian and golden syrup; a Penicillin made with Ferrand cognac, ginger, honey and lemon – see the recipe below.
Cognac 40ml Ferrand CognacPenicillin
Ingredients:
- 40ml Ferrand Cognac
- 10ml fresh ginger syrup
- 10ml honey syrup
- 20ml lemon juice
- 10ml Talisker 10 Year Old (to float)
Directions:
- Add all the ingredients apart from Talisker to a cocktail shaker
- Add ice and shake hard for 10-15 seconds
- Strain into a double old fashioned glass over a large block of ice, then top with Talisker and garnish with candied ginger
“For the menu development – we aligned and partnered with Proof and Co, in a collaboration to support the menu refinement,” Erin says.
“The beverage list is an evocative field guide to the vast world of spice and the ingredients of the bygone era of the Silk Road, which is celebrated and explored throughout the menu offering,” she continues.
“Worldly wines and a sharp beer and non-alcoholic list round out the offering.”
As part of this menu, the bar has produced a mini-series of in-house spiced spirits, and Bars & Clubs asked why Spice Trader taken this option.
“We wanted to create an in-house spiced spirit offering outside of our signature cocktail collection, as it ties in with the venue’s identity plus provides our guest with an alternative spirit offering outside of cocktails,” the Director outlines.
The menu features Rum infused with banana, vanilla, dried orange, clove, cassia and star anise; Australian Whisky infused with black tea, ginger, cinnamon, clove and green cardamon; and Cognac infused with dried apricot, peach, fig, nutmeg and clove.
A small food menu is also on offer, overseen by Porter House Executive Chef, Emrys Jones (previously of the Fish Butchery and Qualia). The food offering includes scallop & bay bug toast, served with ‘house-made cho-gochujang and sherry-glazed duck milk buns.’ There’s also wild scampi caviar, which runs at $150 a portion.
Finally, Erin revealed her personal pick of the cocktails.
“All of them are stand-out creations – approachable, fun and there truly is something for everyone,” Erin commented.
“I am a hands-down Negroni lover – this is my go-to – and our Cascara Negroni has the perfect balance of what you would expect from the classic version with a surprising nudge of coffee which is subtle yet amazing.”
