Spotlight On: The Kilburn

It’s a difficult balance to strike; classy and opulent, yet completely relaxed and warm. At The Kilburn, they’ve nailed it. They’ve managed to create a bar that has an atmosphere of inviting inclusion, in a refined and sophisticated setting.

It is a stunning venue. The heritage building, lovingly restored, houses a long, dark wood bar, huge conservatory-style windows, with little Art Deco touches. It almost has a Cluedo-esque decor. You half expect Professor Plum to be surveying the whiskies on the back bar.

“Everything is beautifully decked out. It’s lovely from the outside, and that just continues inside,” says manager Tim Roessler.

“It’s classy without being intimidating. And that’s what we focus on: the welcoming, super friendly service.”

The Kilburn is so much more than just a whisky and cigar bar. While it still offers a wide range of whiskies, the managers and staff want it be all encompassing, all inclusive.

“When my fellow manager and I sat down and thought about what we wanted The Kilburn to be – we saw it had so much potential. We wanted to introduce everyone to the new Kilburn,” says Tim.

So, what does this new Kilburn look like?

While still having a huge range of whiskies, The Kilburn is now expanding its cocktail list, its gin offerings, its rum, tequila, wine, even absinthe. And the focus of all these spirits will be local production.

“Being Australian, we obviously want to support local distillers. Also, there are some local distillers producing some interesting stuff, which is great to see,” says Tim.

A real joy for The Kilburn team is introducing their customers to something they’ve never tried before.

“We want people to not just have the usual gin and tonic. We want to introduce our customers to the drinks they’ve never had, to try something new, that we think they’ll like.”

Being able to recommend a drink to a customer requires two ingredients: vast knowledge, and friendly service that actually asks the customer the sort of flavours they like.

“We want to get to know our customers, and maybe get them to try a gin they’ve never heard of before, or a garnish,” says Tim. “Each staff member knows a lot about their spirit of choice. And we share that knowledge across the board, to create a team of experts.”

And they’re keen to share this knowledge with their customers – with mentions of future gin tastings, masterclasses, a wine room and wine and cheese pairings.  

It seems the best is yet to come.