Mixing up a Storm
DISCOVERING THE BEST COCKTAILS AT PERTH’S STATE BUILDINGS
Destination 4 minute read
Matt Bodycote is one of Australia’s top mixologists, with a run of awards and accolades for his inventive cocktails.
Earlier this year, Bodycote headed to the World Class Cocktail Festival in Sydney, where he reached the top six finalists for Global Bartender of the Year. Here, he gives his top recommendations on the cocktail menus at Perth’s State Buildings’ bars and restaurants, from Wildflower to Long Chim.
Matt Bodycote is the Bar Operations Manager at Perth’s historic State Buildings, working across all its bars and restaurants including COMO The Treasury’s Wildflower, Post, and Cape Arid Rooms. He’s widely recognised as one of Australia’s top bartenders, with recent awards including the National Patrón Perfectionist 2020, Bar Manager of the Year and the National Giffard West Cup in 2022, the World Class Top 100 Bartenders in 2019 and 2023, and a finalist for World Class Global Bartender of the Year 2024, Australia.
Wildflower
Monty’s Peach
Monty’s Peach sums up everything I love about Wildflower; it’s elegant, unexpected and uniquely Western Australian. It’s mixed using mountain pepper distillate, Amaro Montenegro, local Geraldton wax flowers, white peach and sunrise lime juice. The flavour is citrusy and lightly spiced, with aromas that are abridged by the Amaro and white peach. I mulled over the recipe for this cocktail for years, but it needed the right venue — something special. The ingredients are very specific and difficult to source; you won’t find anything like this on other cocktail menus.
Petition Kitchen
The Flourish
The Flourish is made of sliced ginger, lychee syrup, lime juice, elderflower, Bulleit Rye whiskey, seasonal apple juice and makrut lime leaf. The bright, fruity tones open up the flavours in the whiskey, and the ginger and makrut lime leaf create a long-lasting finish. I love how this cocktail blends local Australian produce with Asian influences, and it’s amazing how subtle the mix is. I challenge anyone who doesn’t like whiskey to taste it and see if it changes their mind.
Beer Corner
Lady Jeanne
Lady Jeanne is Beer Corner’s most-loved cocktail. It’s a mix of Blanco Tequila, watermelon honey, Crème de Menthe, MRBH ginger beer and lime juice. The watermelon, mint, honey and ginger are a classic combination of closed circle flavours. It’s a perfectly satisfying balance and the Tequila just adds a pop. At base, this cocktail is a Paloma, but the twist is in the honey syrups we use, as well as the deeper notes added by an alcoholic ginger beer. We have to use very exact measurements to keep the complexity of the flavours in balance.
Post
All Day Mary
The All Day Mary is mixed using Sūpāsawā, Cointreau, clarified tomato juice, and ‘milk-washed’ Worcestershire- and Pepper-infused olive gin. The tomato juice is clarified by ‘racking’; it’s left to sit until the solids separate, then we use the clear juice left behind. For the milk-washed gin, milk is split with the alcohol, which creates whey that acts as a filter. What’s left is a super-refined, very clear cocktail. It’s brilliant because a classic Bloody Mary can feel quite heavy and thick, whereas this is much more refreshing. The fresh tomato juice is a surprisingly good combination with the orange liqueur; I find it modern.
Cape Arid Rooms
The Narrow Trail
The Narrow Trail is a non-alcoholic combination of Geraldton wax flower syrup, Ovant Verve distillate, lime juice and Red Back ginger. Every ingredient holds its own in this cocktail. The ginger juice adds a beautiful aroma, and the Geraldton wax flower syrup has an earthy citrus quality. The lime juice cuts through it all, while the Ovant Verve — a mild, slightly sweet aperitif — holds the middle. The name ‘The Narrow Trail’ is a reference to Western Australia’s Cape Arid region, which has some challenging walking trails with spectacular views. This cocktail is so good I often find myself heading to the Cape Arid Rooms for a non-alcoholic midday refresher.
Long Chim
Dawn of Happiness
Dawn of Happiness is a mixture of Thai Basil distillate, Aperol, Bird’s-Eye chilli, lime and durian. It’s a bit like a Daiquiri, with classic Thai basil, chilli and lime functioning as the heart of the cocktail. The addition of bright orange Aperol compliments all the layers of the durian’s flavour. We first made this cocktail in an effort to use up a kilo of Bird’s-Eye chillies; each team member made their own addition — one turned the chillies into an oleo saccharum (a kind of syrup); another wanted to add Aperol, and so on. It was a fully collaborative effort which has closed the gap on any food waste. The name ‘Dawn of Happiness’ comes from the translation of ‘Sukhothai’, a province in Thailand, where I first learned to enjoy the taste of durian.
To try these cocktails, please get in touch with our COMO The Treasury concierge, they can arrange a reservation for you at any of our restaurants.
