Jared Thibault, Lucky's Speakeasy Canberra

"The thing about hotel bars is this: famous people often frequent them. “Once I served the rapper Lil Jon Don Julio 1942 shots all night – then went out with him afterwards,” admits Jared Thibault, who manages Lucky’s at the QT Canberra. “What happened next is a secret!” Thibault ran cocktail bars in the US for 11 years, where he acquired his fondness for tequila and mezcal. “My favourite modern classics are the Oaxaca Old Fashioned from Death & Company in New York, and the Rosita made popular by Dead Rabbit [NY] legend Gary Regan. The QTique Old Fashioned is inspired by those cocktails. We have added our own QT flair to it with our house-grown edible nasturtium and Montenegro smoked almonds.”