Poor Toms Oltra

Poor Toms Oltra is the cellar-door arm of a Marrickville craft distillery, set up for tastings inside the working production space. The flagship is Sydney Dry Gin, built on ten botanicals and awarded gold at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, alongside a growing line of amaro, vodka and ouzo. Tastings run through the distillery's range with a bartender on hand to talk through each pour — which is about as close to the ingredients as a spirits drinker can reasonably get this side of the still.

Dogs are welcome inside during tastings, with water bowls on standby. It's a small, functional room built to do one job properly, and the staff seem happy to fold a pup into the experience without making a fuss about it.