BLUE KING - Warp Magazine

34 Eat Out
The Italian Pantry
You couldn’t be blamed for missing this
recent addition to the café scene.
Well down Federal Street, the Italian Pantry
misses out on the pedestrian advantages
of the North Hobart strip, but is worth the
detour. Being predominantly a specialist
Italian grocer, the owners have utilised the
front-of-house as a welcoming, simple café
space with a small but very tasty menu. It’s
dominated by a big communal table, with
bench seating and couches for lounging,
all scattered with Italian cookbooks,
gourmet mags and even a TV showing some
amazing traditional cookery.
The predominant items on the menu here
are the exceptional coffee and simple but
POP Café
Not quite a new cafe now, Pop retains an aura
of freshness. Everything is a bit different. It’s
comfortable, but hasn’t gone for the ‘cosy
nook’ vibe; the space is light and open. The
strong branding seems to suggest that it is
part of a chain, but it isn’t.
Pop is an entirely local enterprise that’s
decided to be atypical. I’ve been here to eat
quite a few times now and I’ll return again
because the food is good. Again, it’s a little
different. A corned beef sandwich has become
a staple for me, although when it’s sold out
I’ve tried a number of other options, all varying
in how much I like them, but never dreadful.
This is not a place that has one dish it gets
right and that’s what you stick to, the menu
island cafe
171 Elizabeth St Hobart
6231 3317
GREAT COFFEE & ALL DAY
BREAKFAST MONDAY-SATURDAY
AROUND THE CLOCK
Chicken Parma
and Steins from 5pm
* Monday, Wednesday & Sunday only.
delightfully tasty paninis, showcasing items
from the grocery area – imagine light, floury
but crusty bread, oozing mozzarella, fresh
prosciutto, porchetta and Italian veggies.
The café also features some great sweets,
with traditional cookies and cakes.
The highlight here is the traditional Italian
‘krapfen’ – wicked light and lemony donuts
filled with either custard or chocolate.
The great thing about this place is if you love
your lunch, or if you find something tempting
when flicking through a book everything is
there available to pick up and take home to
try (including walk-in cheese fridge!).
The exuberant and friendly staff really know
their stuff.
OPEN
7 DAYS
124 Davey Street, Hobart
Phone 6224 9494 Bookings essential
Check out: www.hotelsoho.com.au
AMANDA BERgMANN
has enticing variety. Coffee is okay but not
the greatest. It’s not cracking my top five as
yet, but, and it’s a very important but, there’s
an amazing option: Carbonated Coffee on
tap. I’m not making this up. There’s a little
thing that looks like a beer tap from which
flows cold, fizzy, black iced coffee. It’s
something they thought of themselves and
make on the premises; the result is a strong,
sweet beverage that I’m going to have to try
a few more times to really work out.
Pop gets big marks from me for sticking
their neck out and providing something
unusual, what’s great is that this approach is
across the board.
ANDREW hARPER
BRIANISm
TASMANIAN WHISKY
REVOLUTION
I have been an ardent single malt scotch
drinker for about 25 years, but when I moved
to Tasmania from the USA a few years back
I thought I would convert myself into a more
sedate pinot noir sipper.
I was wrong. Very wrong!
Unbeknownst to me I had landed in a place
populated by some of the most innovative and
creative whisky philosophers on the planet.
Revolutionaries changing the way people
make whisky and think about it. This activity
is based on a combination of science, instinct
and desire, coupled with unique Tasmanian
ingredients and climate. The distillers and
whisky drinkers of Tasmania pursue their craft
and pleasure with a feet first attitude combined
with atavistic primitivism.
The earliest record of whisky distilling in
Scotland dates back to 1494, but the “big
bang” of the Tasmanian whisky industry can be
pinpointed to 1992, the year Bill Lark lobbied
for a change in Australian law, legalizing small
still production. 1993 brought the foundation
of Lark Distillery on Hobart’s scenic waterfront
and Bill started to experiment with various
means of production and aging of whisky.
Aging the spirit in casks of different sizes and
from different origins, for example ex-sherry,
bourbon or port barrels has a vast influence on
the end product.
Lark has won numerous international awards
including both Silver and Gold in the Chicago
International Whisky Competition. In an amazing
turnaround of conventional expectations
Bill has been commissioned to build a Larkstyle
still at a new Kingsbarn distillery near St.
Andrew’s in Scotland, home of the British Open
golf tournament.
Since ’93 several other distillers have popped
up. Tasmania Distillery, founded in 1994,
produces Sullivans Cove copped “Best Rest of
the World” (outside Scotland) in World Whiskies
Awards 2011. Hellyer’s Road in Burnie,
Mackey’s in Newtown, Nant’s picturesque
new operation in Bothwell, Old Hobart Town
in Kingston and independent bottler Trapper’s
Hut in Margate.
Visionaries are looming on the horizon in the
form of Peter Bignell and Tim Duckett. Bignell
is in the developmental stages of producing
whisky from rye he grows himself and using a
still improbably fuelled by biodiesel recycled
from fish and chip oil! This American-style rye
whisky stands alone in Tasmania. Duckett is
holder of the oldest whisky stocks in Australia
and will be unveiling his Heartwood brand in
the near future. This is a whisky reflecting a
style considered the Holy Grail among whisky
aficionados, peated and aged in sherry casks.
I have sampled early editions of both whiskies
and they promise to expand Tasmanian whisky
into new territory.
Did Bill Lark envision the current boom in
whisky production when he set up shop?
“No we didn’t and we had no idea to expect.
We just set about to make a good single malt
whisky to drink with our friends. What we found
very quickly is that Tasmania is ideal for making
whisky. The market dictated we would grow.
“One of the secrets is that we are using small
cask aging - not only Lark but other Tasmanian
distilleries. It’s becoming a Tasmanian trademark.
Our climate is ideal for aging whisky;
we have a range of temperatures which allows
the oak to breathe which makes a richer more
intense whisky.”
Despite the extremely short history of serious
whisky making in Tasmania, international acclaim
and feverish experimentation threatens
to turn Tasmania into a new appellation
amongst worldwide whisky buffs.
Why make whisky here and what makes our
whisky different? Tim Duckett says: “Well it’s
our position. We have everything that’s needed
to make great whisky, but we’re in the Southern
Hemisphere so events like Chernobyl or
Fukushima do not affect us.
“We have clean air, water, peat, barley, so why
not? The model for production in Tasmania is
based on small stills. We have boutique distilleries.
With smaller distilleries the cuts are
made by hand and eye, not by controlled cabinets,
so that makes for more character. The
personality of the distiller can be expressed in
the whisky. There’s more craftsmanship with
the whiskies produced in Tasmania than in the
big commercial distilleries.”
Although the whisky has evolved from older
Scottish styles there is also a distinctly Tasmanian
character to the flavour due to unique
barley developed for local conditions. Commercial
Scottish barley is bred mainly for high
alcohol production. In cases where peat is
used, local flavours are also present.
Duckett again: “Some people say there’s a
slight eucalypt influence. Tasmanian peat
comes from the Central Highlands so it doesn’t
have the seaside aspect of some Scottish peat.
It has a sweet character. If it continues to win
awards it will be known as Tasmanian malt
whisky and it will be unique and will find its
own place.”
Duckett also spearheads of Tasmanian Whisky
Appreciation Society (TWAS), one of 3 different
whisky clubs in Tasmania, the others being the
venerable Gillies Club, and Whisky Wankers,
which is a semi-clandestine organization. The
Scotch Malt Whisky Society also previously
held meetings in Hobart, but have ceased due
to the popularity of the home grown clubs.
Tasmania is also home to Tumbler, the first
Australian whisky magazine.
Tasmania can look forward to distilling (and
consuming) an ever-expanding variety of
whisky ranging from smooth un-peated quaffs
to mind bending cask strength drams of exceptional
power. Viva la Revolution!
BRIAN RITChIE
DIARy OF
A 10 DAyS mARATHON
IT WAS WITH SOME TREPIDATION AND ALSO A GOOD DEAL
OF EXCITEMENT THAT I ACCEPTED THE TASK OF DOING A
GENERAL REVIEW OF THIS YEAR’S 10 DAYS ON THE ISLAND.
OF SOME 250 EVENTS, I GOT MYSELF TO 13, ENOUGH TO GET
THE REAL JUICE ON THE FESTIVAL? I GUESS WE’LL SEE.
Music:
In Hobart, the majority of the music events
were contained within the Dance Hall program,
something that excited me coming into 10 Days
but ended up leaving me disappointed. The
much hyped kick-off for the program - opening
night with DBR and DJ Scientific - felt, in the
words of a local MP, like, ìmy high-school
formal but less fun.î A reasonably decent
violinist attempting to command the stage
with a beats man behind him fell flat; it wasn’t
very dancey or particularly impressive. Mim
Suleiman and Trio Rafiki were competent and
interesting, but extremely downbeat. Errol
Renaud and Caribbean Soul, although good
players, couldn’t write a song to save their
lives, and it was fortunate that they could
fall back on a smattering of Marley covers to
convert the dance floor. The best offering at
Dance Hall was DJ Tr!p of the New Pollutants
pulling out obscure favourites and off-theradar
mash-ups in between the ‘headliners.’
What was most wrong with Dance Hall? Well, it
wasn’t a dance hall and there was no dancing.
The Black Arm Band with TSO saved the
music program with their touching and
inspiring performance of Hidden Republic.
This piece felt a little contrived in its delivery,
but still managed to be heartfelt and beautiful.
Featuring uncles Archie Roach, Jimmy Little
and some fifteen other Aboriginal singers from
across generations and tribes, the highlight of
the night was an amazing duet with Trombonist
Shannon Barnett and Didgeridoo player
Mark Atkins.
Installation/Multi-Media:
One of the greatest strengths of 10 Days is its
ability to capitalise on and redefine familiar
spaces within Tasmania. Craig Walsh’s Digital
Odyssey in Franklin Square was an excellent
taster and very otherworldly. Power Plant at
the Botanical Gardens created an atmosphere
of mystery and intrigue with its incredible and
immersive light works. every Time i See Your
Picture i Cry both disturbed and touched, a
piece composed with old school overhead
projectors and voiced live by the artist himself.
142 Liverpool St, Hobart | 03 6231 3363
thegrandpoobahbar@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/thegrandpoobahbar
Dance:
Ringing the Changes was again perfect for the
space at Port Arthur. A great piece, although
perhaps a little ‘done’ as we’ve seem similar
things from Strange Fruit before.
Theatre:
Gold stars and big ticks for the theatre
component. Animal Farm was to my mind
the outstanding element of the entire fest.
Brilliantly acted with pathos, humour, and
very simply set, the performance combined
recorded and live music cleverly, taking its
audience through the whole spectrum
of emotions.
The Chronicles of long kesh also hit a nerve,
giving real human feeling to the history of
the troubles in Northern Ireland. Again, the
performance was very simply presented, but
its capacity to set the time and develop the
frustrations and hardships of its characters
was exceptional.
I’m going to take a step back here now,
because the elephant in the room really needs
to be acknowledged, and that’s a comparison
between MONA FOMA and 10 Days
on the Island.
What defines 10 Days? It’s a ‘folk festival’, not
in the Cygnet Folk Festival sense, but in the
sense that it’s presented for all the people
of Tasmania. Spread out around the state,
utilising wonderful, widespread spaces and
designed to appeal to everyone, this is a true
community festival. Much of what is on offer
doesn’t stand up to deep critique, as we saw
with the music program this year. It has an ‘offthe-shelf’
vibe ñ touring pieces are bought in
their well-rehearsed shiny wrapping paper.
It’s difficult to imagine 10 Days attracting
tourists to the state.
What defines MONA FOMA? Really, you have
to start and end with David Walsh and Brian
Ritchie. Walsh defines the parameters by
making the event free, and both Walsh and
Ritchie use their contacts, reputation and taste
to attract frontline creatives to present new
and evolving art, in all its beauty and ugliness.
Don’t like MONA FOMA? Don’t come,
or better yet, complain about it till you’re blue
in the face and make the job sweeter for their
marketing team.
Don’t like 10 Days? Complain about your
tax payer dollars getting misspent or that
your community is being neglected. Valid
complaints, and issues that 10 Days has
to respect.
Love 10 Days? Choose which parts of the
program you want to attend and can afford.
Get involved as a volunteer or sponsor and
ultimately feel good about the valuable art
being presented in your home place.
Love MONA FOMA? Drown yourself in the
program, travel here from interstate, get
drunk, shout stuff and ultimately feel good
about your superior taste.
Saturday the 14th of May (All Ages)
Ballpoint, First Base (Melb), Wolfpack, Cavalcade, Explosions, Myamora / 3pm / $13
Saturday the 14th of May
Nerves, My Blackson, Face the Fiasco and Your Demise / 9:30pm
Saturday the 21st of May / La La Land
Monday the 23rd of May / Danger Academy / 8pm
Friday the 27th of May / Charles Du Cane
Thursday the 2nd of June / Rosnystock
Saturday the 4th of June / A French Butler Called Smith
Sunday the 5th of June / The Grand Poobah Bazaar
Monthly Sunday Market / Noon Till 5pm / Art, Second Hand Goods, Treasures, Num Nums
Saturday 11th of June / Puta Madre Brothers
Saturday the 25th of June / Clare Bowditch
Cavalcade of Whimsy / Every Wednesday
7pm Till 9pm / $9 Jugs $5 Basic Spirits
For your Entertainment we shall have Parlour Games hosted by the enigmatic Emily Newton
plus Prizes, Films, Bands, Ping Pong, Pool, Tunes & Feats Of Daring…
warpmagazine.com.au warpmagazine.com.au
DANE hUNNERUP