Meet Your Mixologist: Matt Bax
There is a great bar community in Melbourne, a well informed and adventurous customer base, and I think it shows in the variety and depth of bars we have.
When I asked Australian Gourmet Traveller editor Pat Nourse about mixologists Down Under who were a must to know, his answer was well-informed and pleasantly comprehensive. A host of bartenders from Sydney to Hobart lined his list, with one shining star on top. “The number one dude,” Nourse wrote to me, “is Matthew Bax.”
A bit of research later and it turns out Nourse was right. Now a decade into the bar business in metropolitan Melbourne, Bax has staked his claim in mixology as co-owner of Der Raum, a hip members-only hideaway specializing in an ever-revolving menu of scientific imbibery. An international resident — Bax splits his time between Germany and Australia — the studied artist had plans to focus on his artwork before he realized the ongoing demands of being an owner.
“I was an accountant/painter in a past life so I opened Der Raum thinking I would have plenty of time and money to paint,” he explains over e-mail. “Needless to say, I was a little naive, but sometimes ignorance is bliss. If I knew what really lay before me, I probably would have never taken the risk.”
Now ten years and two bars later (he and Der Raum partner Matt Rees recently opened Bar Americano, described as a mash up of "European culture with American prohibition era bars"), he’s finally able to spend a bit more time with this art, settling in to a successful groove.
“No secret here - just hard work, great staff and sticking to your beliefs (regardless of public opinion or how quiet last Saturday night was)…We work really hard at trying to improve. We invest a great deal of time and money developing new ideas and techniques. We also are not afraid of taking risks.”
Why Melbourne?
Matthew Bax: Ten years ago, you wouldn't have said we had a strong cocktail culture, but I'm very proud to say that we are now are very competitive on an international level. There is a great bar community in Melbourne, a well informed and adventurous customer base, and I think it shows in the variety and depth of bars we have.”
What inspires your bar menu?
Seasons have always been a strong reference point — we have always developed entirely new menus for each season. Now, we actually change the menu daily/weekly to keep up with our crazy climate. We find inspiration everywhere, art, street food, music, literature, film....
What are some of the signature Der Raum cocktails?
Signatures are really our bread and butter — we make less and less classics each year actually. The Velvet Fog, The Smokey Old Bastard, and Big in Japan have been replicated a lot around the world so they are some good examples.
What's up next for you?
I'm currently researching/planning a concept that I hope to open in Munich. I've been meaning to get around to a book project for sometime — we have been cataloguing our work for many many years — so I just need some time to write and think of something to say!
