The iconic hotel on Sydney Harbour has launched a custom gin created with a local Bondi distillery, and appointed a new beverage manager
Four Seasons Sydney is shaking up its beverage offering, launching a custom gin created with Bondi Liquor Co, and announcing the appointment of a new beverage manager to oversee the drinks program across the hotel’s restaurants and bars.
Those visiting the hotel’s ground floor cocktail bar, Grain, can sample a new gin created with local distillery, Bondi Liquor Co. The gin is infused with Australian botanicals such as the native finger lime, as well as more traditional flavours like juniper, coriander seed, and orange peel. It took 17 iterations to settle on the final recipe for the Grain Original Dry Gin, according to Bondi Liquor Co. Founder, Adrian Henshall.
“We were really impressed after speaking with Marco Rosati and his bar team with their spirits knowledge and passion to create a gin that had some meaning to it along with high quality expectations and great flavours … I didn’t mind that it took so many attempts because the team was so friendly and passionate, we all had the same goal — to deliver a best-in-class gin unique to Grain.”
As well as being available to try mixed with tonic, or in a cocktail at the hotel’s food and beverage outlets, bottles of Grain Original Dry Gin are available to purchase at the bar.
New beverage manager Sarath Nair will join the Four Seasons Sydney team from India, where he worked as bar manager at Copitas, the cocktail lounge at Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru. The bar has gained numerous accolades under Nair’s leadership, including being named number 38 on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023, number two on the India’s Best Bars 2022 list, Hotel Bar of the Year, South India, from Icons of Gin (2022) and Best Cocktail Bar, Times Food & Nightlife Awards (2022).
In Sydney, Nair will manage the beverage offerings at the hotel, including The Cabana poolside kiosk, Mode Kitchen & Bar, and the cocktail bar, Grain. He is expected to bring a proclivity for experimental pairings of local flavours with classic cocktail recipes, honed during his four-year tenure in Bengaluru, as well as placements at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, and Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita.
“It has been a dream of mine to explore Australia for around ten years, and I am very excited to join the team at Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, and Grain Bar, to take a deep dive into the culture. Sydney has always been a vibrant city that attracts an array of international visitors and has become known for its world-class food & beverage scene, and I look forward to sharing my own experiences through Four Seasons hospitality and our magical touch points. I cannot wait to host guests at Grain Bar”, he said about the move.