Death & Co, one of the world’s better-known cocktail bars, is opening in Melbourne. Come November, you’ll get to dance with Death on Flinders Lane, on the site formerly occupied by Trinket.
The original Manhattan bar was a key player in the cocktail renaissance of the ’00s, bringing a refined sensibility and glamour to the drinks world. Frank Bruni, then the restaurant critic for The New York Times was one of its big fans; he praised the bar for its “sexy gloominess”, and if that’s not a vibe Melbourne can get behind, we don’t know what is.
The new chapter for Death & Co – its first outside the US – sees old favourites headline at their new digs, including the Naked & Famous, a refreshing and ritzy mix of mezcal, Chartreuse, Aperol and lime, and its signature Oaxacan Old Fashioned that switches out whiskey for a compelling mix of of mezcal and tequila.
We don’t have the final details of the Melbourne list, but right now in New York the other offerings include the Wicked Game, a “light and playful” mix of gin, pear eau de vie and wormwood vermouth, the Kyosho Cure, a refreshing pairing of shochu and Black Barrel Jameson whisky, and the Swiss Army Knife, another tequila and mezcal situation, accented this time with cucumber bitters, which D&C pitches as being “boozy and honest”.
But the 20-year-old brand won’t just be resting on its laurels, with their newly appointed operators behind the bar – each who have recently trained at the original New York venue – set to bring more than a few Melbourne sensibilities to the drinking and dining menus. Both of which remain under wraps for now.
All in all, it’s shaping up to be a killer summer for cocktails in the city: Death becomes us.
Death & Co is set to open this November at 87 Flinders La, Melbourne, deathandcompanymelbourne.com.au, @deathandcompany