There’s a feeling of familiarity upon visiting EDV Melbourne for the first time if you’re from Sydney. You take a stroll down an alleyway, aptly named Malthouse Lane next to a hotel car park, locate an unmarked double timber door, take a couple of steps up and enter a beautiful Prohibition-style speakeasy bar.
The fitout reminds you of its older sibling, Eau de Vie Sydney with its dimly-lit dark mahogany timber fitout and jazzy tunes that set the mood. Choose your spot at the bar, against the banquette or, if you’re in luck, settle in at one of the intimate booths towards the back reminiscent of the “kissing booths” of Eau de Vie Apothecary.
Headed up by Greg Sanderson, co-owner of EDV Melbourne with Sven Almenning, the speakeasy lets you forget the world outside and slip into another era. Behind a fake bookcase lies the Whisky Room, housing personal bottles in an elegant space well suited to private events.
Until recently, the cocktail list at EDV Melbourne presented the drinks across the ages starting with the 1900s. Now with its second major revamp since the bar opened, libations are based on the traditional craft of the cocktail be it the Perfumer for light and floral aperitifs, the Spiceblender, the Stevedore, the Apothecary, the Confectioner or the Stonemason for nightcap drinks. Take the Blood and Sanderson, named after EDV Melbourne’s “fearless leader”,a take on the classic Blood and Sand with bacon bourbon, port, blood orange jam and lemon served in a skull.
Aside from cocktails, EDV Melbourne is a whisky bar with over 300 whiskies spanning the various regions of Scotland along with blends, vatted malts, American Whiskey and whiskies of the world.
As well as a cheese and charcuterie menu, EDV offers a functional kitchen serving anything from crispy pork torchons served with pickles, spicy mayo & butter lettuce to croque-monsieur with truffle bechamel and seared wallaby with blackened eggplant, macadamia, wattle seed and sea succulents.
EDV Melbourne
Address: 1 Malthouse Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: 0412 825 441
Website: eaudevie.com.au/melbourne/
Hours: Mon-Thurs 5pm-1am; Fri 4pm-1am; Sat 5pm-1am Sun 4-11pm
Photo supplied by EDV Melbourne.
