The bartender

Ellery Low

Maker (QLD)

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A BARTENDER?

I studied hospitality in high school, and shortly after graduating I got a job in a fine dining restaurant. For those that know me, know that I’m a pretty quiet person and working in the service industry gave me a lot of confidence in coming out of my shell. I was also super interested in food at the time, and would travel around the east coast of Australia trying out different restaurants. I realised I could translate my passion of food and flavour pairings into drinks.

WHO IS YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE?

I’ve been lucky enough to have some great mentors, from a Singaporean restaurant manager with hotel experience who taught me about precision and hard work, to a bar manager who had a history in social work who taught me how to appropriately handle myself in certain situations.

The hero cocktail

Royal Rogue

This cocktail is a low ABV cocktail that still packs in a lot of flavour. The Regal Rouge Bold Red Vermouth provides a pleasant dry spice and herbal note, and I chose to accentuate those flavours with the sweet tartness of a fresh blackberry, along with rich maple syrup, fresh lemon juice for acidity and white cacao to round everything out.

The name Royal Rogue is a reference to the Regal Rouge Vermouths and the colour of the cocktail - purple. The colour purple is associated with royalty, luxury and ambition. The cocktail is simple and easy to replicate at home.. So anyone can recreate the cocktail and feel a little like royalty. I wanted to highlight the unique characteristics of Regal Rogue by using ingredients that are compatible and relatable to the everyday person.

Ingredients

• Regal Rogue Bold Red Vermouth

• De Kuyper White Cacao Liqueur

• Lemon Juice

• Canadian Maple Syrup

• Fresh Blackberry

Like this cocktail? The full recipe can be found in this year’s copy of the Top 25 Bartenders. Get your copy by clicking the button below.

The bar

Maker

Maker is a small 20 seat bar with a heavy focus on cocktails, we also have a small selection of food... think cured meats, cheeses and toasties. The space is quite small, every customer is directly in front of us all the time. Being a smaller venue allows us to have the freedom to be quite creative. We’re able to offer a bespoke option to our customers where they tell us what they feel like, and we create a drink tailored towards their preferences. I’ve worked at Maker for 7 years now, and in that time I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside some of Australia’s best bartenders.

Opening Hours:

Tuesday to Sunday,

4 pm - 12 am