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When bar manager Ryan Noreiks tendered his resignation in September, owner Kelley Lee managed to regroup faster than a thirsty punter can toss back a shot. And if their résumés are anything to go by, it looks like Lee has assembled an impressive team.

First she brought on Yao Lu as a bar chief. Of Shanghainese extraction, Yao Lu hails from Texas where he boasts a stint at Houston's , a cocktail lounge that has garnered from the likes of Bon Appetit Magazine.

Then, to oversee operations, there is Chris Peart. Peart used to work for premier Aussie celeb chef Neil Perry at The Waiting Room, in the Crown Casino, Melbourne's only 6-star hotel. After that, a stint at Berlin Bar, where he conceived off-kilter cocktail mixes of asparagus and grapefruit or white chocolate and beetroot -- you can see some examples of his work .

We caught up with The Alchemist's new team to talk shop over a few stiff drinks...

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Chris Peart: Opportunity, really. I did my time in Melbourne, loved it a lot and probably would've stayed there had this not come up, but I saw a chance to see a new country and experience some new challenges. So why not.

Yao Lu: Opportunity for me as well, and also there is the fact that I speak Chinese. I've always had a lot of passion for what I do...and you realize that what we do in terms of cocktails that no matter what style [of bartender] you are it's not just limited to one state or one country or whatever; it's a global thing. I've been to Shanghai before...because my parents are Shanghainese, so I've always had a love affair with Shanghai, but I never really found a good enough excuse to come back until I was here on holiday in June and I realized that there was actually a growing cocktail scene going on. You know, you've got a lot of local bartenders who have a lot of passion who are really hard working and they just need someone to pass on some knowledge a little bit and for this whole scene to work, you've really got to do that at a grassroots level.


CP: Cash in the first place. I was in Townsend, this sleepy little town in North Queensland, for Uni. And I got a job glassing [bussing tables] and it just grew from there. I just saw what an amazing industry this is.... You meet a lot of great people. No night is the same as the next. You get to be around people having a great time and enjoying themselves, so why not get paid to do that.


YL: Well, I think this whole cocktail renaissance we've been witnessing for the past decade or so is really just an extension of the food movement. People are actually starting to care about what they eat, what it tastes like, where it comes from. That just carried over to cocktails and once you've moved in that direction, there's just no going back. Being in the global community that we're in right now, word just spreads.

CP: Yeah. We're here now. We're going to bring our experiences from Australia and the US and that's just happening all over the world. People are moving from London, people are moving to London, New York. Especially with the internet now, there is so much exchange of information. Someone might come up with an idea in one city, the next day it's happening all over the world.


YL: I totally think so... I mean the Cosmo came out in... what?

CP: The early 80s.

YL: Right. And now it's considered a classic. But it really all depends on the style of the cocktail bar itself. Obviously when you got house-made syrups, tinctures and infusions it's hard to replicate, therefore it makes that bar unique... But I think as long as the ingredients are there, as long as people like. It's gonna stay.


CP: I think it's a bit wanky. It's just part of your job as a bartender, to be honest. If you're a skilled bartender, you should know how to mix a cocktail. So the word "mixologist" is just used by somebody who's taking himself a bit too seriously, I think.

YL: Yup. I completely agree. The word "mixologist" is a douchey term. I'm just a bartender, man. I just happen to care about my job.


CP: I was a massive Southern Comfort fan when I was younger. I know that much. I thought the stuff was amazing. Although, if I were to drink some now, I would probably hate it.

YL: Gin. I was young. I guess out of peer pressure, I probably liked it. But I didn't feel so hot the next day and then I hated gin for about a year. I didn't drink it until I got into bar tending.





CP: Blazers. Any stir drink, made properly with the correct dilution is difficult to make. Tom and Jerrys are hard to make. Ramos Gin Fizzes are hard to make.


CP: Because you've just gotta shake the shit out of a Ramos Gin Fizz. Back in the old days they would have ten shaker boys who used to take turns shaking this drink.


CP: I tried to do a Laphroaig [single malt Scotch] and blue cheese flip. It was horrible. Straight into the sink.

YL: I did this trinity syrup. "Trinity" is the three basic ingredients in Louisiana cooking. It's bell peppers, celery and carrots. I made a cocktail out if it. The first couple of tries it tasted like chicken soup. I just wanted to add MSG or something to it and call it a day.


CP: Red wine and coke, rum and milk. They're definitely the top two.

YL: For me it's anything that glows in the dark. Anything neon blue or neon green.


CP: Alizé. Advocaat, I just don't understand that.

YL: Like I said, again. Anything that looks like it belongs in a rave.


CP: It's just trial and error at the end of the day. And after working in a bar for a number of years you can pretty much work out what flavors will work with what.

YL: I always like to use a classic cocktail as a base and then see how fucked up I can make it. You always have that centerpiece flavor in mind and then you just see what you can do to work with it.


YL: Oh yeah, man. I think just overall learning the Chinese way of doing things. Even though I speak the language, there is still a cultural barrier there that comes from the words that I use or the tone that I take.


YL: Well, this is going to be fall/winter menu. We're going to be using a lot of warmer Christmastime spices like cloves, cinnamon. And one thing that's really exciting for me, because of my heritage, is that we have a whole line up of awesome Asian ingredients that are underutilized and I can't wait to get that stuff in our cocktails as well.


YL: There is one drink I call "Sunrise in December," which is an inspiration crossover between a Texas High Ball and a White Lady using Earl Grey-infused gin, peach brandy, citrus and then a brûléed triple sec foam on top. It's going to have three distinct textures: a crust, a foam, a drink.