Hidden underground and open well past your bedtime, this New Acton newcomer packs a wallop with lush furnishings, punchy snacks and quite possibly the city’s finest cocktails.
High Jinks promises signature cocktails, rockabilly beats and “silly goose times”, and delivers on all three. There’s no better way to spend a night here than sprawled on the bottle-green leather banquettes, cocktails spread over candlelit marble tables in front of you, lights glinting through the stained-glass above. Which is one way to say it’s a real vibe. Throw in velvet curtains, the odd Persian rug salvaged from a discount store, and a beautifully lit mirrored bar and this is one fine drinking experience.
Fancy? Sure. But these guys don’t take themselves too seriously: pipes, vents and sprinklers are all naked and exposed, specials are scrawled on blackboards and the mood is super-casual and approachable. And that’s the real trick – no cocktail nerds or mixologists geeking out over their creations; just friendly folk who know how to mix a top-notch drink. There’s a reason this place won the ACT’s 2021 Cocktail Bar of the Year at the Australian Bar Awards. Still need convincing? Order a Baker’s Dozen, which brings yellow and green Chartreuse into a refreshing mix with verjuice, bitters and house-made apple and rosemary soda, and see for yourself.
Drinks here jump around with the seasons, but, whatever the weather, count on things being done right. That means clear ice, frosty glasses and balance across the board. Start with a Highball Royale, which takes Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz gin, layers in ginger wine, Seedlip Grove for a herbal edge and soda for fizz. Mega-quenching. Want more kick? An El Jefe will put hairs on your chest – Patrón Silver tequila washed in burnt butter and sage, and finished with macadamia, wattleseed and a mezcal spritz. They also mix one hell of a signature, Lord Jim’s Zombie, made with three rums, fruit juices, absinthe, fire and everything.
It’s not all about cocktails, though. Wines are all local and just $12 a pop, and there’s Mountain Goat, Asahi, Balter XPA and more on top. Win.
