Most Brisbane/Meanjin pubs will have a few decent whiskies on the top shelf, but here at Urban List we strongly think that one bottle of Johnny Walker Black does not a whisky (or whiskey, depending on your preference) bar make.
If you’re looking for the best whisky bars Brisbane has to offer, these are the pure breeds, serving up glasses of smoky Speyside, peaty Highland malts, award-winning Japanese blends and a few select drops from Australia. Brisbane’s whisky scene isn’t as mature as Melbourne or Sydney, but the bars we’ve got are pretty bloody good. From Petrie Terrace to West End, these are the best whisky bars in Brisbane.
Cobbler
7 Browning Street, West End
These guys take their whisky seriously. One of the few pure whisky bars in Brisbane, Cobbler boasts Scottish, Irish, Japanese, Australian and Canadian varietals, and the experts behind the bar can discuss the merits of every single dram. The atmosphere in here is just right too: walls of recycled brick, moody pendant lights and a huge solid timber bar. A boozy little nook in Brisbane’s West End, and one of our personal favourites.
Death & Taxes
36 Burnett Lane, Brisbane CBD
Image credit: Death & Taxes | Instagram
A sleek and sophisticated watering hole hidden away down Brisbane City’s Burnett Lane, Death & Taxes will whisk you away from the buzzing CBD outside and into its moody, leather booth-lined interior. Another one from the connoisseurs behind Cobbler, Death & Taxes also has a legendary whisky collection, but their real specialty is cocktails, so if you know what's good, you'll order one of the many whisky concoctions listed in their cocktail bible.
Malt
28 Market Street, Brisbane CBD
Tucked inside the historic Wenley House on Market Street, Malt's heritage feel is exactly what you want in a good whisky bar. Sip on some Islay Bowmore 18 year, some Lark from Tasmania or a bit of Yamazaki from Japan. It all tasted pretty good up at the solid oak bar, surrounded by 160 year-old vintage brickwork. The bar menu has gotten pretty damn good, too.
Saville Row
667 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley
Widely regarded as the classiest bar in Fortitude Valley is the stunning Saville Row. Younger sibling of Cobbler, this watering hole was named one of the Top 10 whisky bars in the country in 2018. The guys have done the décor in here just right: think warm mahogany bar, leather seats, candelabras, and not a lightbulb over 30 watts. It’s one of our favourite spots for a late-night snifter. Head down on Saturday nights and you’ll usually catch a DJ playing chillhop from the mezzanine.
Frog’s Hollow Saloon
26 Charlotte Street, Brisbane CBD
Image credit: Frog's Hollow Saloon | Instagram
Inside the heritage-listed John Reid & Nephews building on Charlotte Street, you'll find a 12-metre whisky bar known as Frog’s Hollow Saloon. Though the fit-out here gives off serious country vibes, featuring exposed ceiling rafters, fairy lights and whiskey barrel bar tables, this watering hole is no run down honkey tonk. Frog’s Hollow Saloon focuses strongly on independently bottled whisky, which you can sip on the rocks or in one the expertly crafted creative cocktails on their list.
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The Gatsby Lounge Bar
740 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley
You'll want to have plenty of time to spend at The Gatsby Lounge Bar, because the menu of sips here is lengthy—there's 25 pages dedicated to whisky alone. Highlands, Lowlands, American, Japanese, blended, they're all represented here plus more besides, and you can even get a few of them in a tasting flight if you can't choose just one. Us? We like to build our own Old Fashioned.
Old Bill’s Bar
381 Main Road, Wellington Point
It may be a bit of a drive, but Old Bill’s Bar at Wellington Point is worth it. Tucked in the back of Hogan’s pub, this intimate bar slings up a range of single malt whiskies like you wouldn’t believe. We’re talking 150 varieties from Scotland alone—insane. And if tasting it isn’t enough, you can always take their whisky masterclass. Regularly held, the interactive class is a whisky connoisseur’s dream.
The Gresham
308 Queen Street, Brisbane City
Image credit: The Gresham | Instagram
Set inside an old Victorian sandstone building on Queen St, The Gresham is Brisbane's answer to the classic American whisky bar. It’s hard to do better for ambience in the CBD. The staff at this whisky bar really know their business too, so have a word to them if you're looking for recommendations. Come Friday night, the place is usually pumping with after-work corporate types and whisky nerds looking for a good time. Nothing better than a snifter of Talisker in the leather-clad Drawing Room.
The Walrus Club
543A Coronation Drive, Toowong
An underground speakeasy in the Regatta Hotel, the Walrus Club feels like a whisky-lover’s best-kept secret. Through a sneaky laneway trapdoor, you go downstairs to arrive in a dimly lit brick den, with alcoves aplenty. With an ever changing drinks menu, you’ll be back regularly to suss out their many liquors and cocktails time and time again.
Circa 27 Whiskey & Cocktail Bar
640 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba
With over 300 whiskies, including drops from every one of Australia's 18 distilleries, you’re pretty much guaranteed to find something interesting at Circa 27 inside The Morrison. It’s probably the most comprehensive whisky list in Brisbane. Some of their best bottles include the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (that’s five limited-release editions), and the hard-to-find, Van Winkle's soft-wheated malt bourbons. You can get pizzas from the restaurant, but it’s usually better to go full Ron Swanson and pair your whisky with the 400g Graziers T-Bone.
Looking for more places for a good drink? Head here:
Image credit: Cobbler | Facebook
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