Ten of Australia's best bartenders. One whisky brand steeped in Scottish technique and Japanese craft. And a brief that had nothing to do with pouring the perfect drink, and everything to do with reading the person standing in front of you.
That was the challenge at the 2026 Nikka Perfect Serve Australian Final, held last night at Moondrop in Fitzroy, where Western Australian bartender Brendan Grey was crowned national champion. His winning cocktail, For Rhonda and Rita, was built as a tribute to his favourite regular at Tigerfish in Cottesloe, 70-year-old Rhonda, using lavender picked from her own garden alongside Nikka From the Barrel, honey syrup and a homemade hay and blackberry soda.
It's the kind of story that sums up why this competition has become one to watch on the Melbourne bar calendar. This year's theme, Inspired by the Guest. Guided by Nikka, drew on the Japanese philosophy of Ichi-go, Ichi-e — one moment, one encounter — the idea that every interaction with a guest is unique and worth treating with reverence. Judges played the role of drinkers with specific tastes and circumstances, and bartenders had to use that brief interaction as the spark for a personalised cocktail, built and served on the spot.
The Setting: Moondrop, Fitzroy
Fittingly, the final played out in one of Melbourne's most theatrical new bars. Moondrop opened on Gertrude Street in the former home of Fitzroy institution The Everleigh, from the team behind Carlton North's Sleepy's Cafe & Wine Bar — Steve Chan, Jesse Kourmouzis and Jacob Muoio. The fit-out leans hard into 1920s Shanghai, all mahjong-table styling, moon-like lighting and hand-painted mosaics, with a drinks list already built around East-meets-West flavour, including a Nikka From the Barrel-based Chanhattan on the regular menu. It made for a suitably atmospheric backdrop for a competition all about connection over craft alone.
Reading the Guest, Not Just the Recipe
Nikka Whisky Brand Ambassador Marcus Parmenter said Grey stood out for how he connected his flavours back to his customers, rather than technique for its own sake. He said the judges were looking for a bartender who could read the person in front of them and respond with the right cocktail for that moment — someone who could make a drink feel like it was made specifically for the guest, which he described as the part that can't be faked. Parmenter added that the calibre of entrants was especially high this year, with bartenders pushing whisky into unexpected territory with bold ingredients and techniques.
For Grey, the winning combination of honey, hay, blackberry and lavender was designed to complement the whisky and take drinkers on a journey he compared to rolling hills. He said making the perfect cocktail comes down to practice, much like music, and that his favourite part of bartending is the people — the drinks and the music matter, but a good bar is ultimately about people and community, which is what shaped this cocktail.
The drink also carries a second layer of meaning: it's a nod to Rita, the Scottish wife of Nikka founder Masataka Taketsuru, whose quiet influence helped shape the distillery he founded in 1934.
Following in a Global Champion's Footsteps
Grey now takes the Australian title previously held by Sydney bartender Takashi Matsumoto, who won last year's local final before going on to take out the Global Nikka Perfect Serve title with a cocktail paying homage to his hometown of Yoichi. Matsumoto returned to Melbourne this year as a competition judge, and said the past twelve months — guesting behind bars around the world since his win — have been a dream run.
Grey will now head to Japan in November to represent Australia at the Nikka Perfect Serve Global Final, taking on leading bartenders from around the world and getting access to Nikka's distilleries and hospitality network along the way.
The Winning Cocktail: For Rhonda and Rita
Ingredients
- 50ml Nikka From the Barrel
- 10ml honey syrup infused with lavender (from Rhonda's garden)
- 120ml hay and blackberry soda
- 1 dash cardamom bitters
Hay and blackberry soda
- 5g hay straw
- 10g blackberries
- 500ml water
Method
Rapid-infuse the hay and blackberries in a siphon filter, then let sit for three hours before infusing again. Refrigerate for 24 hours before using. Triple-carbonate all soda ingredients three times at 35PSI, then pour over a long ice spear in a highball. Garnish with lavender dry-baked with honey.
Why This One's Worth Watching
What made this final stand out wasn't just the whisky or the venue, it was the brief itself. Asking ten of the country's sharpest bartenders to build a cocktail around a stranger's story, live, on the night, is a genuinely tough ask.
The night was special in terms of being exposed to 10 of Australia's top bartenders, enjoying iconic cocktails featuring Nikka whisky across the night, the incredible Moondrop hospitality, connection to Marcus from Nikka, and the platter spread and Belle's Hot Chicken served throughout the evening. It truly was a celebration and one of the best events of the year.
Grey's win is a reminder that the best bars in this city, Moondrop very much included, are still built on the same thing they always have been: someone behind the pass who's actually paying attention to who they're pouring for.
Moondrop is located at Level 1, 150-156 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, open Thursday to Monday from 5pm.