It might not currently be easy to jet off and work your way through some of the world's best cocktails, but a new hospitality outfit is hoping to fill the void — and whet your whistle with first-class tipples — in a new series of pop-up events.

Choice Boomerang is a collaborative effort from the folks behind Choice Hospo. The consultation initiative was launched in the thick of New Zealand's first nationwide lockdown by Adam Neal (The Parasol & Swing Company) and Mikey Ball (Ballin' Drinks) in an effort to help the industry become more creative, intuitive and professional in trying times. Or raise the bar of bars.

It hopes to provide further understanding about tools and techniques commonly being used in bars, how to build 'hella good drinks', as well as host seminars and events.

Choice Hospo say the idea of the Choice Boomerang event series is to activate an international venue in New Zealand to help them out and give Kiwis the chance to taste something entirely different. All profits from the series go to the host venue and venue abroad to give them a much needed boost in what has been a horrific 12 months for the industry.

The second event in the series will see much-loved San Francisco bar Smugglers Cove take over the site that previously housed the extremely popular Hyderabad Hotel. The team from Karangahape Road's GG Flamingo will present the one-off cocktail experience, while the Satya team will be doing tiki-inspired Indian food. You'll be able to find many of your favourites from Hyderabad Hotel, too, but with a coastal twist to linking back to the tiki theme.

There are going to be rum tastings and tiki masterclasses, along with a silent auction for Smugglers Cove's James Beard award-winning cocktail books and tiki glasses. To make you feel like you've stepped into the San Francisco bar, the venue has been reworked into a tiki oasis by Hayley Brown from The Art Dept.

The three-day pop-up experience will run from Friday, 19 to Sunday, 21 March at 40 Pollen Street, Grey Lynn.