the cocktails, obviously we are a rum bar so it just got pushed into a lot of rum. But we do want to diversify that a little bit more. “Rum is a really fun product to make cocktails with, especially because a lot of the time you can blend rum. Rum works in fantastic harmony with itself. “You can put all these different types of styles of rum together so that even if you end up with something incredibly boozy, it tastes unbelievably smooth. You can create all these different nuances and flavours. “A lot of people, especially in the beginning, didn’t realise that we do things that aren’t rum. Yes, we have 85 rums, but we also have whisky and gin and vodka and beer and a really nice wine list, and we do cocktails and all that kind of stuff. But we’d have a lot of people initially ring up going, ‘do you do things other than rum?’ We have a lot of people who aren’t rum drinkers who will come to drink all the things that aren’t rum and we also introduce a lot of people to rum, which is really good, because they might say they have never been a rum drinker and we have something here for everyone. “We’ve got beautiful aged, dark, almost burnt molasses rums to the hibiscus and blackcurrant pink spiced rum which, if you didn’t know it was rum, you wouldn’t pick
it. It actually drinks like a gin, you have it with tonic, it is fabulous. We have got everything in between, from your gold to spice to everything. There is a rum for everyone, even if you don’t like rum.” That experimental, hands-on spirit is what sets 1808 apart. The team isn’t just slinging Daiquiris (although they do that very well). They’re inviting guests to discover something new, to challenge their assumptions, and maybe to find a new favourite. Launceston has seen a steady evolution in its hospitality scene, and 1808 Lounge Bar feels like a confident next step. It’s niche, but not narrow; sophisticated, but not stuffy. It’s a place where history and hospitality intertwine, where a casual night out can turn into a voyage through time and taste. So whether you’re a seasoned rum connoisseur or someone who’s only ever seen the word on a Captain Jack Sparrow poster, 1808 offers something truly different. “Being able to try different rums and tastes and the history of it is what interests me,” says Allan. “And from the buzz around the bar, it seems like Launceston is starting to feel the same way.”
21 Tasmanian Hospitality Review Apr/May Edition
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