New Review: 1806

It seems Melbourne can't get enough of 1806 at the moment, thanks to winning the world's Best Cocktail Menu they've managed another high-profile review. Michael Harden has reviewed 1806 (Exhibition Street, CBD) for Epicure and concludes: "This bar takes itself seriously but never loses sight that drinking cocktails is fun. It is, unlike [Tom] Cruise and [Bryan] Brown, a winning combination." Click here for the full review.

New Reviews: Melbourne's Alley Bars

I like stumbling across venue reviews, I especially like stumbling across a trove of venue reviews I haven't seen before - and thanks to my recent discovery of the blog Alley Life I'm quite happy with my erratic web browsing (or virtual stumbling, as I sometimes prefer to call it). Macca and Rob are the hosts at the blog Alley Life, and aim to "expose the secrets of the vibrant Melbourne night life to residents and visitors". Here is a selection of their top rated bars:

1806 (Exhibition Street, CBD)
"There are many ways to draw a crowd into a bar, cheap drinks, food, nights for the 'ladies', 1806's hook is to offer patrons the ability to try cocktails from the first known use of the word..." Click here for the full review by Macca.

Cookie (Swanston Street, CBD)
"Cookie is an experience that certainly must be had and is without a doubt one of my favorite bars in Melbourne, especially for the extensive beer list..." Click here for the full review by Macca.

Seamstress (Lonsdale Street, CBD)
"I like to think of myself as a bloke, so when presented with the idea of going to Seamstress I was a bit sceptical. I spent the time working out how a cocktail bar based around sewing could work. However upon entering the colourful cocktail bar on the 2nd floor, I wondered why I had been weirded out so much..." Click here for the full review by Macca.

Murmur (Warburton Lane, CBD)
"This small cocktail bar hidden away off Little Bourke Street is well worth a visit for their menu, which is real experience for the taste buds..." Click here for the full review by Macca.

Robot (Bligh Place, CBD)
"On nights when Robot isn’t busy, this tiny bar will successfully export you from the inner city of Melbourne to the streets of Tokyo." Click here for the full review by Macca.

They've currently got 16 reviews on their website and I reckon all of 'em warrant a look. Alley Life.

1806 has the world's best cocktail list

First we heard about it from Deck of Secrets, then The Shout picked it up, and now The Age is talking about it too. Melbourne's cocktail bar 1806 (Exhibition Street) has taken out the prestigious Best Cocktail List award at the sixth-annual Tales of the Cocktail festival in New Orleans, USA. The award puts the amazing 1806 cocktail menu - containing a drink from every decade since 1806 (when the word cocktail was first recorded in print) - as the world's best cocktail menu. It makes 1806 the first Melbourne bar to receive an award from the festival.

According to The Age, Owner Sebastian Reaburn thought the win also highlighted Melbourne's growing reputation in the cocktail business. "People in the industry now talk about New York, London and Melbourne as the best cocktail cities in the world."