Overview
Melbourne has hosted some pretty prestigious bar takeovers in the past few years, with New York's Please Don't Tell, London's The American Bar and 28 Hongkong Street just some of the high-profile cocktail-shaking legends that have come to play. But never before have we been part of a week-long international bar swap quite like next month's globe-trotting takeover series, Week Well Spent. This one's the brainchild of UK spirits label Ableforth's and Melbourne is one of the key players, as Fitzroy's famed Black Pearl hosts the crew from Japanese favourite Music Bar.
Running from August 5 to 11, Week Well Spent will spawn seven international bar takeovers in seven days, in a nod to the seven-day cold-compounding process that goes into creating Ableforth's signature Bathtub Gin.
The tour's local leg sees Bar Manager Mizuguchi Takuya of Tokyo's Music Bar descend on Black Pearl for an evening of show-stopping cocktails on Thursday, August 8. He'll be flexing his creative muscle to create a one-night-only drinks list, putting Ableforth's spirits to work in a slew of clever ways.
Elsewhere around the world, global stars including Scotland's Panda & Sons, lauded London bar Lyaness and Parisian legend Little Red Door all help round out the Week Well Spent lineup.
Black Pearl's Matt Linklater will also head to Tokyo to return the favour at Music Bar, taking the acclaimed Melbourne bar — a regular on the World's 50 Best Bars list, and last year's Best Bar in Australasia — on the road.
Catch Black Pearl's Week Well Spent takeover at 304 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, on Thursday, August 8. It all kicks off at 8pm upstairs in The Attic. There's no tickets, just first in, best dressed.