Bar Clara Owner and General Manager Joel McKenzie discusses the venue’s new 32-page cocktail menu, the importance of seasonal produce and the local community behind the drinks.
Melbourne’s Bar Clara has introduced a new 32-page cocktail menu, The Company We Keep, with each drink inspired by a member of the local community that supports the venue.
For McKenzie, the concept was an opportunity to recognise the suppliers, makers and creatives who contribute to the business.
“The theme for this menu is ‘The Company We Keep’ and it was motivated by the desire to show that a bar is more than the sum of its four walls,” he says.
“It takes a whole community of passionate makers and doers that often go unsung. This was our chance to showcase the people that have grown around us at Bar Clara.”
The team drew inspiration from its existing relationships, including photographer Kit and local distillery Brogan’s Way, which supplies the venue with gin.
“We just had to look at who we were talking to anyway, whether it was sending an Insta DM to our photographer Kit or chatting to Brogan’s Way beside the van when they dropped off our weekly gin order.”
Seasonal ingredients remain central to Bar Clara’s cocktail development, with the team considering produce availability and how the weather influences guests’ drinking preferences.
“Is it warm out? The menu might lean light and refreshing. Cooler? We might look at heavier, more comforting serves. A theme then helps us build the stories around the drinks.”
As the venue has invested more time into developing its menus, the team has moved from a three-month rotation to a six-month cycle, now producing separate Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter menus.
Bar Clara works closely with Robyn and John from produce supplier Oranges & Lemons to forecast seasonal availability and ensure consistency throughout each menu’s lifespan.
“Produce availability is pretty huge when deciding which flavours make it on to our seasonal menus. We want to offer a consistently excellent experience and the time we invest into menu design means we can’t simply chop and change,” McKenzie explains.
“Sometimes we have to get creative. For example, we once made a giant batch of custom blood orange aperitif as the season is short and we needed it to last the whole menu.”
While storytelling plays an important role in the new menu, McKenzie says the quality and approachability of the drinks remain the priority.
“The story is there to enhance the experience but the drink still needs to stand on its own. This is a place to engage our empathy as bartenders and imagine, ‘would my guests actually enjoy this?’”
Each cocktail undergoes multiple rounds of testing, with the team aiming to offer a range of flavour profiles, from sweet and sour to bitter, floral and fruity.
“That said, something weird usually gets included that stretches people a bit. I once made a shitake martini that was pretty divisive.”
The venue is also extending the concept through an interview-style social media series, giving the featured community members an opportunity to share more about their work.
“The interviews for The Company We Keep will allow us to tell our community’s stories more fully,” McKenzie says.
“The social series will offer more depth. We can look more closely at Janine’s work saving koalas or how Kate from Asobimasu was inspired by her school art teacher.”
For bartenders looking to develop their own seasonal cocktail menus, McKenzie says researching produce availability and building strong supplier relationships should be the starting point.
“Websites like Seasonal Food Guide and Sustainable Table are helpful but you still need to do your own research. This is where having a close relationship with your produce supplier really comes in handy.”
“From there you can get creative and figure out how you are going to translate those beautiful authentic flavours into a drink.”
