Alas, no luck on the cocktails in Bathurst. When I asked folks where one would get an authentic Australian cocktail, the answer was simple: Anywhere! The authentic Australian cocktail is beer! This is not the answer I was hoping for. I’m at fault because I didn’t do my homework. There is actually a local craft distillery, called Stone Pine, very near where I was staying. But I didn’t discover this until it was too late to plan a visit! I’m disappointed in myself.

Back in Sydney it was, of course, easy to find a nice range of cocktails, including an excellent Clover Club enjoyed by Clay, my colleague who was traveling with me. Nothing that I’d call particularly evocative of Australia though.

On the way back to the US I found myself with some Australian currency. Not wanting to get shafted by the currency exchange folks I decided, instead, to get shafted by the Duty Free folks. And in the liquor section I found a few different varieties of a New Zealand vodka called 42 Below. So I picked up a bottle of the kiwi flavored vodka (what else?).

42 Below has a variety of products (honey, passion fruit, feijoa) and an irreverent marketing style, as evidenced by this video (this one is also hilarious).

In any case I needed to come up with something to go with the Kiwi Vodka. I had a little leftover 5-spice Simple Syrup which, at first, didn’t seem like a good idea. But then I walked by a 4-pack of Fever Tree Ginger Beer at the store and I thought….just maybe….

So here’s what I came up with, as yet unnamed and in need of a garnish:

• 2 oz 42 Below Kiwi Vodka
• 2 oz Fever Tree Ginger Beer (not ginger ale. ginger beer.)
• 1/2 to 1 oz of 5-Spice Simple Syrup (depending on your taste, I like it towards the 1 oz end of the spectrum)

Mix vodka and simple syrup in a short glass full of ice. Top with the ginger beer and give it a stir. Enjoy!

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