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Hugging Lake Wakatipu and fringed by The Remarkables, this city of around 30,000 is walkable, compact and vibrant, making it a rewarding spot to bar-hop. Add in nearby gold-era Arrowtown – a 20-minute taxi or bus ride away – and it’s easy to craft a drinks-focused itinerary that’s fun, scenic and even educational.
Spending weeks in New Zealand is wonderful but Queenstown (Tāhuna in Maori) is just three hours by direct flight from Melbourne or Sydney, making it perfect for a long weekend with a couple of cocktails along the way.
Little Blackwood
The most striking physical feature of central Queenstown is the way the town wraps around the lake, framed on one side by the botanical gardens and on the other by Steamer Wharf, where you’ll find Little Blackwood. Sitting on the deck with a beverage, the views of The Remarkables live up to the ranges’ name, with serrated peaks cutting into the broad sky. Cast your eye tablewards and it’s all about charcuterie and cheese platters, which may include wild Fiordland venison salami and local jersey cow brie. Signature drinks include the Vino Acasa, shaken with smoky mezcal, cherry liqueur and a pinot noir float. Ask also about the Wharfe to Wharf, a competition-winning fragrant vodka cocktail from English bartender Xander Bairstow that includes ingredients that tell his family story. A focus on reducing food waste means dehydrating some fruits and sending other scraps to a town-wide compost collective.
88 Beach Street, Steamer Wharf, Queenstown, littleblackwood.com
Tommys
Energy levels are high at this pink-toned margarita bar with first-floor views of the lake and mountains. Margaritas dominate the menu but there’s plenty of variety among the classic and signature offerings. The Coco Bolada riffs on coconut and blueberry, the Smokey Romero kicks mezcal along with Cointreau, rosemary and cloves, and the frozen marg is the one time you’d be happy to see slush in a snow town. Bartender Chris Bremner moved from Scotland to New Zealand and became an instant fan of the scene in Queenstown. “The mountains are so close and there’s a great sense of community and culture,” he says. “Queenstown has the best nightclubs and bars in New Zealand – there’s a consistent party feeling in the town.” Tommys is part of Republic Hospitality’s group of 11 local venues. Their rooftop bar The Sundeck is just upstairs – head up if you want a vibe shift and some fresh air.
Level 1, 4 The Mall, Queenstown, tommysqt.co.nz
Upstairs @ The Bunker
Cow Lane is so named because cows used to wander along here on their way to the dairy; it’s now a street for humans to graze. One of the stalwarts is The Bunker which has a restaurant downstairs and a bar upstairs, in a hidden space which used to be an apartment. It’s particularly good in winter with cosy nooks, a clubby feel and a log fire but anytime is a good time for an expertly made Bunker cocktail. Along with well-crafted classics, there are house specialties like the soul-warming Land of Fire, made with rum, caramelised pineapple and flamed absinthe.
Upstairs, Cow Lane, Queenstown, thebunker.co.nz
Rifters Gin
Take a 20-minute cab or 40-minute bus ride to pretty Arrowtown, where walking along the old gold-panners’ trove of Arrow River and the well-preserved main street are good ways to build up a thirst for locally made gin. Owner Stu Clark is a builder with a penchant for spirits and his boutique brand taps into Arrowtown’s history with its name (a rifter is a fossicker, searching for nuggets of gold). The Central Otago landscape is represented in the gin bottles’ ridged shape and ice-blue glass, and local botanicals such as wild thyme and manuka give the gins local character. Drop by the cottage headquarters for free tastings or book ahead for an extended masterclass, and look out for Rifters gin in cocktails around the region.
4 Buckingham Street, Arrowtown, riftersgin.com
Blue Door
A reservation at fine dining Aosta is a nice way to round out your Arrowtown adventures, especially if the meal is book-ended with a cocktail at nearby Blue Door, the bar that’s part of the same hospitality group. Duck through the door – yes, it’s blue – to find yourself in a cosy speakeasy where there’s always excellent local wine on pour, as well as classic cocktails, and often live music. Further along the same alleyway, Dorothy Browns is an arthouse cinema and bookshop with a balcony bar and an excellent range of gin cocktails.
18 Buckingham Street, Arrowtown, bluedoorbar.co.nz
Sherwood
Back in Queenstown, Sherwood is a refurbished motel with wellness programs and a glorious indoor-outdoor restaurant driven by the on-site produce garden and a wood-fired kitchen. The food is a wholesome, elegant representation of region and season with a philosophy that carries through to the cocktail offering. Concoctions change frequently and often include homegrown herbs, shaken or stirred with local spirits. I lucked onto the Sweet Dreams, made with Rifters gin infused with foraged elderberries, plus lemon, lavender and honey from the garden. Sherwood is about 3 kilometres from the centre of Queenstown – maybe you’ll do as I did and walk back to town along the lake, plotting your next New Zealand expedition.
554 Frankton Road, Queenstown, sherwoodqueenstown.nz
Discover Queenstown
Image credit: Rob Locke.
