Kate Dinning

When you think about places to grab a drink in Darwin, you likely think ‘outback pub’ – but the Top End of Australia is full of surprises. Whether you’re after a laid-back establishment that serves local beer on tap, a courtyard cocktail bar, a gin distillery in a graffiti-covered laneway, or a themed bar overlooking the water, you’ll find it in the tropical capital city of Darwin. One thing is for certain: it’s always nice weather for a drink.  🍺 Where to find Darwin's top pubs🍽 Darwin's best restaurants🍔 The best burgers in Darwin

In an inconspicuous shed in Winnellie, Darwin’s industrial area, you’ll find one of the Top End’s coolest breweries. One Mile wouldn’t be out of place in Melbourne with its industrial graffiti feel, but the brews are very Darwin. Try a paddle featuring beers with names like the ‘RDO’ and ‘4:21’ (which is actually the real-time that government workers clock off in the NT), or get a refreshing cider in a slushie. For the non-beer drinkers, they even have alcoholic pink lemonade and a recently released vodka range. The Brewery is open Thursday and Friday nights and all day Saturday, and they have a pizza truck on-site during opening hours.

Willing Distillery caters to the everlasting thirst for refreshment in the tropics – with a gin distillery and cellar door out the back and an air-conditioned cocktail bar in the front for those high-humidity nights. The motto adorning their bar mats is “We’re willing, you’re welcome” and if you try their Rosella Gin, you will understand. It’s truly delicious, as is their cocktail menu with alterations to old favourites, like the Darwin Sling and the Bush Negroni. 

In the centre of the CBD, a walk down Austin Lane will take you past an inconspicuous graffiti-covered door. If not for the light beaming onto the footpath, you’d never know about the delight that awaits you up the stairs. Inside the doors, the leather chesterfield lounges and dark wooden tables of Charlie’s will make you feel like you’ve stepped straight into another city – but it brings you straight back to Darwin with its signature gin: a crocodile on the label and Kakadu plum, water lily and native lemongrass infusions.