SIP THE LIST

When Kim disclosed that the drinks list at Gareth Stewart’s new spot was a “monster”, she really didn’t impress upon me the true King Kong-sized scale of the paperwork. Ten pages, 12 bourbons, 18 gins, seven vodkas and the whiskies. Oh, the whiskies.

If you’re an amber nectar nerd you’ll go nuts over examples from four Japanese regions (Hokkaido, Osaka, Yamanashi, Yamazaki), Australia and Ireland. Four different single-malt drops from Waikato’s own P keno Distillery and, if you have a spare $84, you too could enjoy a dram of Macallan 18-yearold Sherry Cask, a $53 glug of Johnny Walker Blue Label or $28 splash of Highland Park 15-year-old from the list of 20-ish Scottish icons. A smorgasbord of sherries from Lustau and Hidalgo, ports from Graham’s,

Dow’s and Churchill’s and sweet wines from Rock Ferry, Testalonga, Belingard, Carmes de Rieussec and (of course) Ch d’Yquem (1988, at $1899 per bottle) will have your taste buds singing and your tooth cavities screaming.

The wine list is a work of art. Yes, I know how wanky that sounds and no, I won’t apologise. Clearly there’s someone on Stewart’s team who has great taste. Adventurous taste.

Adventurous in that in addition to an exceptional list of classic varietals, the list features chunky selections of orange/skin contact/natural wines, chilled reds and gamays, exotic reds (cinsault, zinfandel, nerello or pinotage perhaps?) alternative whites (fiano, assyrtiko, albarino anyone?) and a By The Glass selection that’s seriously impressive. Plus there’s a Wine of the Day system, giving you the opportunity to taste something new or hard-to-find. Excellent list, Advieh!