PRESS RELEASE: The Gorgeous Holiday Cocktail That Captures the Fresh Spirit of Sydney Harbour. It’s about Colour, Sparkle and Flavour, with a Touch of Pomp, Personality and Presentation.

There is a fabulous way to put more Zing in your Cosmo, more Jazz in your Martini, more Magic in your Margarita. The finest and freshest ingredients, we can take for granted; an elegant, skilled Mixologist is always a treat; but what if the bar is boring, the decor uninspired?

Can a sensational piece of Art Deco, Fine Art Furniture make the joint jump and the cocktails fizz?

Michael Gill has just launched his life’s long-awaited masterpiece – The Sydney Harbour Cocktail Cabinet. It is a vibrant symphony of Art Deco colour and design, a huge, functional Work of Art that works for its living. It is an island bar – staff serve cocktails from all four sides.

The most popular spirits and mixers are housed discreetly in the pylons.

Apart from the exquisitely fine wood craftsmanship of the gorgeous Bridge itself, executed using precious woods of the 1920s and 30s, the Cabinet features 13 views of Sydney Harbour’s foreshore attractions, made by hand in coloured glass, and beneath the surface, Sydney’s underwater life done in mosaic. It’s not just a swanky cocktail bar, it’s a living thing.

Hundreds of bottles and glasses live hidden in sophisticated lockers beneath the mixologists’ work-surface.

“Michael Gill is not a minimalist kind of guy – ‘More is More’ might be his mantra.” – Linda Nathan, in the Australian Wood Review #119.
She published a major feature exploring Michael’s “life’s masterpiece” – “Intricately constructed and ornate, it is a monument to Art Deco inspiration and his love of Sydney.” Linda dug deep and found this nugget:

“So where did Michael’s mad skills come from? Surely he was trained by the woodworking gods and legends?

‘I failed woodworking at school – I hated woodwork’, said Michael. ‘The teacher had only three fingers on one hand – I think he argued with a bandsaw.’”

It was Art School that shaped Michael’s life – art history, drawing, painting, sculpture, design and, above all, Colour.

Decades later, now a celebrated master craftsman and educator, Michael explains: “Something drove me to create a major work that brought all my skills together. Something Australian. Something iconic. Something exciting. I think the Devil made me do it. Mr.666 has always been a lover of Cocktails. I poured my heart, my soul and my guts into The Sydney Harbour Cocktail Cabinet.”

The most entertaining way of exploring the making of the Sydney Harbour Cocktail Cabinet and its details, in all their glory, is via a 13 minute video: https://youtu.be/kfD6naGxGzc Here you will find the full recipe for The Sydney Harbour Cocktail, perhaps the most delicious holiday drink you’ll ever sip.

Michael Gill and his partner of 52 years, Chris Payne, are designer/craftspeople, artists, radio presenters, snake rescuers, educators, owners of a wildlife refuge and worshipers of The Sydney Harbour Bridge.

###

We have many good quality images of the piece and will create an article of any length for you – please indicate the word-count you would prefer and the approach you’d like us to take.

CONTACT: Michael Gill. phone: (02) 48461066 (10am-5pm). email: [email protected]

website: https://www.sydneyharbourbridge.biz