Chat at the bar with… Charlie Hunter

Brisbane’s latest venue, Dark Blue, welcomed its first guests at the weekend, with #JustAddRhubi cocktail competition winner Charlie Hunter leading the bar. Today, Charlie sits down with Bars & Cocktails to discuss where the industry is headed, and why it must prioritise respect, representation, and genuine hospitality.

Bars & Cocktails: Can you tell us about your current role and what it entails?

Charlie Hunter: Right now I am the bar manager at a brand new wine and cocktail bar called Dark Blue. One of my close friends Hannah Wagner had this concept of a venue focusing on Mediterranean/South American influence with its wine and cocktail offering, and I loved the idea of learning about something brand new to me. My job is to design the cocktail list and with Hannah look after every guest that comes into our bar – just make sure the drinks are fun and flavourful, and that they loved their time with us really. 

B&C: What’s your process for maintaining quality and consistency in drinks?

CH: For quality I’d say getting constant feedback. When I’m developing a drink for a menu I want as many people on the team or guests to try it as possible, gimme all the comments, both good and bad. It really helps improve the quality as there’s an exchange of ideas, adjustments here and there, and a final product I’m prouder of.

Consistency was something I’ve had to really work hard for, because it requires organisation. Writing down your specs/recipes! One of the first bars I worked in I wrote them down on napkins – disaster – and a lovely gesture from one of my team, was they got me a diary. Super useful, helped me be more consistent, as if someone needed to recreate something I’d done, I could share it easily. If I needed to redo something I could do it exactly. Now I just keep notes on my phone so they’re easily accessible. 

B&C: Can you tell us about one cocktail you’ve made that you’re particularly proud of, and what the inspiration behind it was?

CH: It would definitely be my entry for the Rhubi x Mix Haus competition. Mix Haus is an organisation that aims to support, educate and promote women and non-binary people in hospo, and they collaborated with Rhubi to run a competition in October.

For my entry I decided to canvas 50 female/non-binary bartenders around Australia asking them about their current favourite cocktails/style of serve. Then I tallied the votes and designed my entry around a highball, the winning style. I wanted it to represent the way women/non-binary people are drinking today and design a drink for them. The recipe is super easy, and you could make it at home.

With The Times

By Charlie Hunter

Ingredients:

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• 30ml Rhubi
• 7.5ml citrus cordial
• 30ml cranberry juice
• Two dashes of orange bitters
• Top with 60ml soda

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B&C: Can you tell us what your favourite bar is and why? What’s your go-to drink when visiting?

CH: My favourite bar for sure is Rosella’s in Burleigh Heads, GC. If I have friends in town, I always insist on a trip. It just such a tight concept of Australiana done so well, like you can tell Jackson Connor and the team are really into it and care. Every detail is thought out and perfect, the drinks are amazing and the food is delicious and fun. On two separate occasions I’ve been obsessed by the glassware alone, most recently when they started using the Ken Done x Kip & Co collab, it’s so cool. When you go there you MUST get the Blinky Bill and the miso bunya corn. 

B&C: What’s one thing the bar industry is doing really well right now, and one thing it could do better?

CH: Done well I think would be sharing the secrets! There are some heavy hitters in the industry that have been super open with their knowledge and techniques through social media. I’ve messaged bartenders about how they have or would do something and gotten some invaluable information as a result. If you just follow those who inspire you and question when you see something intriguing, you’re guaranteed to learn something.

What we could do better, I think, is respect in general. Respect for others’ bodies on a night out, for each other in the workplace with what we say and how we say it, the respect to pay equally across roles regardless of gender, and to use the pronouns someone has told you they identify with whether you understand or not. The list is pretty endless, but we could always work towards respecting each other more. 

B&C: How do you think the bar industry will evolve in the next decade?

CH: First and foremost, we need to see more female and non-binary representation in positions of power within our industry. It’s definitely begun, but I’d love over the next 10 years to see that it’s not just a trend, and see this movement continue to grow. I’d also hope for (despite the amazing bravery and awareness they are raising right now – if you don’t know, look it up) initiatives such as the Sorry Not Sorry Collective to no longer need to exist. The drinks will of course evolve for the better, but I’d like to focus on the people within our industry doing that too.