1. Photograph: Cassandra Hannagan
    Photograph: Cassandra Hannagan
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    Photograph: Cassandra Hannagan
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    Photograph: Cassandra Hannagan
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    Photograph: Cassandra Hannagan
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    Photograph: Cassandra Hannagan
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Sydney hotel bar guide

Discover outstanding hotel bars, their bartenders and their twists on classic cocktails
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The art of cocktail making came of age at the Savoy Hotel in London in the early 20th century, and hotel bars around the world remain temples to the art of mixing drinks.

It’s in that spirit that gun bartenders from five Sydney hotels competed on Monday, July 2 in Time Out’s second Hotel Bars Cocktail Competition.

The shake-and-stir-off saw elite cocktail-makers reinventing classic drinks for the judges at Zeta Bar, Hilton Sydney. The winner of the competition was Behzad Nvaziri from Sokyo Lounge, with his cocktail ‘Thyme Out’.

All five original cocktails will be available on each bar’s menu until July 31. Be sure to drop into these bars this month to experience the atmosphere and refined tastes of Sydney’s top hotel bars.

Video: Nigel Kippers

Sokyo Lounge, The Star

Discover Sokyo Lounge
Bars

Discover Sokyo Lounge

  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4
High class cocktails and what might be Sydney's best sushi make for a hard act to top
Meet Behzad Nvaziri
Bars

Meet Behzad Nvaziri

Nvaziri earned top honours at the Time Out Hotel Bars Cocktail Competition with his twist on an Old Fashioned

Hacienda, Pullman Hotel

Discover Hacienda
Bars

Discover Hacienda

  • 4 out of 5 stars
Down by the Quay, this is one of the top contenders for the title of Sydney’s most beautiful bar
Meet Kevin Londero
Bars

Meet Kevin Londero

You’ll find this Hacienda bartender beaming every evening, feeling right at home behind the bar

Zeta Bar, Hilton Hotel

Discover Zeta Bar
Bars

Discover Zeta Bar

  • 4 out of 5 stars
This smart, slick cocktail sanctuary in the heart of the city is the ideal spot to decompress in style after a long day
Meet Christian Comparone
Bars

Meet Christian Comparone

The bar manager at Zeta Bar is the mixing mind behind some of the city’s most colourful cocktails

Zephyr Sky Bar, Hyatt Regency

Discover Zephyr Sky Bar
Bars

Discover Zephyr Sky Bar

This rooftop sanctuary is the darling of the harbour, with its vintage vermouths and rums sourced from across the world
Meet Hemant Kumar
Bars

Meet Hemant Kumar

Zephyr’s enthusiastic bartender is bringing the community together through diverse drinks

Alibi Bar and Dining, Ovolo Woolloomooloo

Meet Leonid Zaytsev
Bars

Meet Leonid Zaytsev

This expert shaker and stirrer is bringing a backyard’s worth of botanicals and Aussie ingredients to the bar at Alibi

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