Cocktail stories: Speed Bump, Byrdi
Nights at Melbourne bar Byrdi are no slow burner thanks to its signature cocktail, which puts an Aussie spin on the classic vodka-caviar pairing.
*This feature was originally published in the May 2025 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
The idea for the cocktail that kicks off most visits to Melbourne’s Byrdi dates to a night out in London. The bar’s co-owner, Luke Whearty, was so taken by Martinis from two bars – One Sip Martini at Tayēr & Elementary and the ice-cold Martini he later experienced at Dukes – that he wanted to incorporate something of both into his menu.
Looking to replicate Tayēr & Elementary’s small serve at Byrdi, he says: “I just loved the moment; it relaxes and sort of disarms people. At some points with Byrdi, we’ve been fighting people’s perceptions of the bar being a bit too serious. The bar should be fun.”
The Speed Bump is designed to lighten the mood and leave any talk of ‘pretentious bar’ at the door. Guests are served the cocktail tableside and next to a bump of caviar that they take from the back of their hand – but not the fancy kind. “Local caviar,” Whearty says of his Yarra Valley caviar. “It’s not like Beluga, where they’re gonna be stung 200 bucks or whatever.”
The cocktail is served undiluted and ice cold at -20°C, straight from the freezer – the same execution as the Martini at Dukes. The temperature is crucial, as no one wants to sip a warm drink at 50% ABV. “It’s not that pleasant,” Wheatley says, to put it nicely.
It’s made with only Australian ingredients, as with everything else that comes out of Byrdi’s bar.
“All the ingredients are from within an hour and a half from the bar,” Wheatley says of the hyper-local Aussie ethos. “Basically, the only thing that’s not Australian, I think, is some cork on the walls from Portugal.” Sheep Whey Vodka from Tasmania’s Hartshorn Distillery is redistilled with roasted macadamia and cacao butter before heading to the freezer.
“We call it white chocolate liqueur because it’s just easier to understand,” he says of the distillate.
The Speed Bump is designed to be knocked back quickly as a shot straight after the bump of caviar. “Whenever we have friends at the bar or a lot of regular guests bringing in people from out of town, they’ll put in the request: ‘Can we do a round of speed bumps?’, Whearty says of the cocktail’s notoriety.
Speed Bumps were first given out for free to regulars, with Whearty knowing full well they would be enjoyed and ordered more. “We lost a bit of money in the first month giving a heap away,” he admits. “But we’ve made it back tenfold because now every time they come, they’ll order around 10.”
Speed Bump
Ingredients:
30ml Sheep Whey Vodka from Hartshorn Distillery
5ml White chocolate liqueur
2.5ml Macadamia distillate
1tsp Yarra Valley caviar
Method: For the white-chocolate liqueur, combine 400ml Queensland Vanilla Bean Vodka (made by sous viding one whole Queensland vanilla bean split with a litre of vodka for four hours at 55°C), 200ml distilled cacao butter, and 100ml two-to-one sugar spirit.
For the macadamia distillate, roast 300g of fresh macadamias at 180°C in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool then blend with 1 litre of vodka, and distill using a rotary evaporator. Batch Martini in the freezer at -20°C. Serve as a chilled shot and place caviar on the back of the guest’s hand. Instruct them to eat caviar first then chase with the Martini shot.
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