The bartender

Samuel Thornhill

BYRDI

Sam Thornhill has always been passionate about all things mixed drinks but only fully committed to making it a career upon migrating from Scotland to down under. Following his first Aussie gig as Bar Manager at Lûmé in Melbourne, Sam joined Luke Whearty & Aki Nishikura at BYRDI as Head Bartender in 2021. 

What personal experiences or life events have shaped your approach to bartending and influenced your style?

I’d probably say that emigrating to Australia has had the biggest impact on my career in terms of a specific life event. It gave me the opportunity to really focus on the direction I wanted to move in and the kind of projects that I wanted to get involved with. 

The hero cocktail

Murray Sunset

Ingredients

• Monkey Shoulder

• St Davids Jersey Milk

• Fig Leaf Smoked Raspberry

• Rhubarb & Fig Leaf Syrup

• Tartaric Acid

Like this cocktail? The full recipe can be found in this year’s copy of the Top 25 Bartenders. Get your copy by clicking the button below.

The bar

BYRDI