Eau-De-Vie (permanently closed)

Address: 229 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia

Door: Open door/walk-ins
Style: Lounge bar
Food: Bar Snacks
Established: 2010

Sven Almenning and other members of the Behind Bars promotional crew opened this temple to the cocktail and its creators, past and present, in January 2010, and scooped both Best New Bar and Best Cocktail Bar from Time Out Sydney.

Almost four years on, and with new regulations restricting the use of liquid nitrogen in Australian bars, the concept is headed for a rethink - although the existing formula of classics, tweaked classics and plenty of bar theatre still pulls in a devoted audience of Sydneysiders.

A January refurb will see the challenging space upfront converted into its third incarnation to date -- a high-tech, high-drama cocktail lab, to be helmed by Dr. Phil Gandevia, who'll be moving back from The Roosevelt. The sleek dark space out back, with its long, dramatic bar, cabinets of vintage shakers and glassware, hand-chipped ice and able bar crew, should remain the same.