Stillery gin bar to open at Intercontinental Sydney Double Bay hotel in November

THEY’VE honed their skills in some of the hottest bars in Sydney and around the world — now Katrina Ford and Aaron Gaulke are getting ready to work their magic in Double Bay.

Ford, who has worked at Guillaume, the Hilton’s glass brasserie and Hugo’s Lounge in Kings Cross as well as Soho House in London, has taken on the role of bar operations manager at Stillery, which opens on the first floor of the new InterContinental hotel next month.

Bar operations manager Katrina Ford and /bar manager Aaron Gaulke at the new Stillery Bar in the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay. Picture: John Fotiadis

Gaulke, who has been recruited as bar manager, has done stints at The Drake Hotel in Toronto, Canada and The Atrium in London as well as Darlinghurst’s Eau de Vie and Hotel Centennial in Woollahra.

The pair are thrilled to work the new bar, which will be open to hotel guests and the public.

“This is going to be a gin bar, not just a bar inside a hotel,” Ford says. “It’s going to be something new for Sydney. This is going to be elegant, classy and stylish. You will want to be seen here.”

Australia’s first licensed distillery was established in the Eastern Suburbs in the 1820s and the bar’s name has been inspired by this history.

It aims to offer the country’s largest collection of local craft, imported, vintage and rare gin infused with botanical ingredients including Kaffir lime leaves.

Source:  The Daily Telegraph - 14th October 2014