All images: Bar:Musque
There are many bars which first opened with four gin offerings; but not many that can say their range has expanded to 430 after four years. Bar:Musque can however, and does so along a massive stretch ceiling-high gin wall.
After opening in Barossa Valley in 2018, the venue has continued to break grounds on its array of offerings, from rare and wonderful varieties of gin, to delicate tapas seasonal menu items.
Initially, owner Stuart Oldfield said they were stocking four gins but as the months continued, Stuart and his team became more interested in growing their collection. They began to import interesting gins from the UK, Spain, France, Iceland, and Israel – the space became an ode to gin.
Stuart’s most recent project was to transform it from a restaurant space to an intimate bar.
“The whole space is completely different,” Stuart said.
“Three weeks ago, we shut for four days and turned Musque from a restaurant that sat 65 people and a bar, to now a space that’s for 40 people max.
“We basically put a big wall in that cut the space in half and now have a private 25 seated dining room for experiences.
“The actual bar is still the same, but now we have 430 gins on it – we’re really growing in that realm.”
The gin wall is three and half metres by seven metres, with gin from all over the world. It also houses Stuart’s very own gin brand So…Gin, which he launched five weeks ago.
“It’s something cool and fun I’ve started. I make it myself with a mate not far from the bar,” Stuart said.
“We have real unique options with Tropical, Barossan Aurora and Project X which is a really fun.
“With Project X, we have really cool varieties with marmalade and sourdough and roasted quince apple pie – you take the fundamentals of being chef and a distiller and put that together in a gin.”
As well as gin, So…Gin offers other spirits such as Crayfish Vodka and Limoncello too. Stuart says with 430 gins to choose from, it can be overwhelming for guests, but the bartenders make the choice easy for you.
“Within four questions, we narrow it down to three or four gins,” Stuart said.
“It’s a process to choose: we say ‘do you like sweet savoury?’ then go from there.”
Along with the revamped space, there’s a menu shift too with the food offerings changing depending on what’s in season.
“It’s more about high quality produce cooked simply,” Stuart said.
“We have smaller plates that are tapas style with star items including wagyu scotch fillet, homemade pate with Barossa port, and smoked anchovies.
“The menu changes every month on the first Thursday of the month.”
Guests can trust that they will enjoy a delicious meal at Bar:Musque, after winning the 2020 Restaurant Of the Year at the Restaurant & Catering Australia awards.
One of our favourite parts about the new space is the cork tables, and the story behind them too.
“I hand-built all the tables myself,” Stuart said.
“I’ve been saving champagne corks for 12 years now, set them in resin and made a metal frame.”
“Its something a little different and very fun and exciting.”
“We’re redefining the bar and food scene and culture especially in SA.
“We have a massive focus on cool cocktail drinks and diversity and balancing this amongst the current infrastructure and staffing.”
You can find Bar:Musque at Shop 1, 109-111 Murray St, Tanunda, SA.
Keep up to date with Bar:Musque on Facebook and Instagram and take a look at their website.
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