Sharanne Witt brings a moody vibe to Captain’s Flat with her new whisky bar, 1938. Photo: Tenele Conway.
A new era has launched in Captain’s Flat with the opening of a flashy little whisky bar, and you could say it’s right out of the last century.
The velvet-lined, speakeasy-inspired space sits within the walls of the Captain’s Flat Hotel. Named after the year the pub originally opened, 1938, it may share a date, but it’s a big departure from the look and feel of what is one of Australia’s best-preserved pubs of its era.
The new bar, which opened its doors on 17 July, has been a handmade labour of love for the pub’s owner, Sharanne Witt, who has even surprised herself at what she’s managed to pull together in an essentially dead area of one of the longest bars in the country.
“Every person that walks through just goes, ‘Oh my God!’ So it turned out a lot better than even I expected,” laughs Sharanne.
The speakeasy-inspired bar designed and built by Sharanne herself. Photo: Tenele Conway.
If you’re worried about what happened to the original wall tiles and heritage bar, Sharanne had no intention with this project of ripping out any of the pub’s original features; instead she cleverly hid them all under draped curtaining suspended from the picture rails.
“It’s all still there; we had my mum upstairs in her little sweatshop making the curtains and we’ve spent months collecting the furniture and decorations,” Sharanne tells Region.
With the pub best known for pulling a good beer, the process of moving into whisky and cocktails has been one that Sharanne explains is all new to her, but for a woman who purchased a pub with no hospitality experience, it’s not a stretch to believe that she’ll master the medium of spirits.
“We’ve been practising smoking whisky which helps mellow it out and build the complexity, so the team are all across that now and we’re working on the perfect whisky sour for the cocktail menu.”
Sharanne has spent months collecting decor to bring to life her vision for 1938. Photo: Tenele Conway.
In the coming weeks Sharanne will launch a menu of nibbles designed to complement the whiskies from around the world that they’ve sourced and stocked.
“We’ll have cheese platters, cob with baked brie, oysters, and the whisky menu will show what they each pair with.”
With the town embracing the new social space, Sharanne’s newfound enthusiasm for the brown stuff will take full flight next year when she and her sister head to Scotland and Ireland to tour the distilleries and really delve into what makes a great whisky, and she’s excited to bring her knowledge back and continue the journey with the people of Captain’s Flat.
“It’s a fun experience; we’re headed to Scotland, we’ve joined the Whisky Club of Australia, and the locals are sharing their knowledge with us. One of our locals gave us a $360 bottle of whisky for the collection, and it’s now one of our feature whiskies.”
1938 is open Friday and Saturday night from 5:30 pm, or for the original country pub experience the Captain’s Flat Hotel is open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 am until 10 pm, Friday and Saturday from 11 am until 12 am and Sunday from 11 am until 7 pm.
