Mixing with Matt Stirling: Young Liars

Now, someone who needs no introduction – the incomparable, the man, the myth, the legend – is Mr Matt Stirling. If you’re a fan of ol’ Dan’s Daily, you’d be familiar with our best mate Matt, but if you’re new here, first of all, welcome, and second of all, let us introduce you.

Co-owner and master bartender of Melbourne’s much-awarded Caretaker’s Cottage, Matt is not just a legend here at Dan’s Daily but all over the hospo world. We've been lucky enough to work with him a lot over the past few years (check out his Crimes of Passion cocktail), and fortunately for us, he’s back at it again with a new cocktail for us all. Meet the Young Liars.

A perfect blend of oloroso sherry (have a read of our Sherry 101), whiskey, coconut water, raspberries and sugar syrup, The Young Liars cocktail is complex, intriguing and easy to make – basically everything you’d expect from a Matt Stirling cocktail. “Think of a grown-up Cherry Ripe-type vibe,” explains Matt. “But a bit more structured and elegant – it doesn’t read like a guilty pleasure but definitely tastes like it.” This is a drink served tall and can basically be served as Matt (and Shakira) puts it: “whenever, wherever.”

To taste, the Young Liars cocktail plays into that great nutty flavour of both the coconut water and oloroso sherry while still remaining quite bright and textural. “I love it because it's simple,” says Matt. “But also because it uses ingredients that I think, in isolation, most folks love but would not necessarily think to throw together.” As Matt reassures us, this is an easy cocktail to make at home, but to recreate one that's worthy of Caretaker’s Cottage prestige, have a squiz at his top tips below.

First things first, pop your serving vessels in the freezer to get that lovely frosty look to the glass.

Matt’s next tip is not to be afraid to make a little mess. This drink calls for some crushed ice and, in order to do that, you need to do some crushing. “Bash up your ice and have it ready to go before you start building your drinks,” Matt says. As suggested in the method above, do this by grabbing a tea towel (or a few tea towels) and a rolling pin, and, well, you guessed it, put your ice in the tea towel and go ham.

Now, Matt used Irish whiskey for the original recipe, but you can certainly try it with other styles. Also, one of the great things about this cocktail is that you can easily sub it out for most spirits if you're not a fan of whiskey at all. “The drink will change, taking on new life along with its prominent characteristics,” explains Matt. “But I’m all for it; just be prepared to adjust some of the other components to accommodate your desired taste.”

It wouldn’t be a Matt Stirling cocktail without a bop reco, so chuck on Young Liars by TV on the Radio while you’re sipping on a Young Liars (coincidence? We think not).