Now Open: a Minimalist, Palm Springs-Inspired Open-Air Gin Bar and Distillery From the Sasso Italiano Crew

An Italian restaurant. A chifa spot. A European wine bar. A brief glance at Vincent Lombino and Jared Thibault’s growing portfolio of venues at Woolloongabba’s South City Square and you might wonder if they’re simply ideas being thrown at the wall.

But there’s a reason behind each of these spots and, perhaps more importantly, no shortage of inspiration.

Sasso Italiano hits the local appetite for Italian food, but also references Lombino’s teenage years busing tables in Italian diners on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Casa Chow ’s chifa (Chinese-Peruvian) cuisine is in part a tribute to Thibault’s deceased partner, Fiorella Aguila. South City Wine is inspired by the European wine bars the two would check out when visiting the continent.

Purple Palm is no different. Yes, South City Square – and this part of Woolloongabba – needs a cocktail bar, but it’s the stories that helped create the venue that give it purpose.

“We were always inspired by those classic spots in Palm Springs,” Lombino says, talking about the duo’s time working for Noble House, the American experiential hotel group. “You go to those old school spots, like Parker Palm Springs. They’re white walls and they’re clean. They reflect the heat and just feel good and feel fresh, and they just draw in the people.”

Purple Palm sits in the centre of South City Square. It’s an open-air gin garden of concrete booths, colourful, patterned cushions and plenty of potted greenery. The defining feature is a pair of six-metre-tall palm trees, which act as beacons for potential drinkers wandering through the precinct or arriving off Logan Road.

Collaborating on the drinks is award winning South Australian gin distiller 78 Degrees, which has installed a still in Purple Palm’s bar to distil its own Sunshine State Gin using a recipe written especially for the venue (the still will be up and running in the coming weeks, with Sunshine State gin currently produced at 78 Degrees’ Hay Valley headquarters). The rest of the drinks are a mix of signature gin and tonics, signature cocktails – including a list of signature Martinis – and classic cocktails, most of which are built on 78 Degrees gin.

You might order a Coolcumber Martini (cucumber-infused 78 Degrees Better gin, dry vermouth, lime syrup and a cucumber roll), a Palm Sour (78 Degrees Classic Gin, fresh lemon, blueberries, aquafaba and matcha), or a Garden Party (78 Degrees Better Gin, lemon, honey, cucumber, basil and chilli). The classics include an Aviation, an El Floridita made with Husk Distillers’ Pure Cane rum, and a Tommy’s Margarita made with Mt Uncle aged agave spirit from the Atherton Tablelands. There’s a short, sharp list of Australian wines and a selection of local craft beer.

You might have begun to pick up on a theme: every product at Purple Palm is Australian, right down to the mixers and the garnishes, which are grown in the South City Square garden.

For food, you can order a clutch of dishes from South City Wine across the way: think Australian cheeses, charcuterie and tins of anchovies and sardines.

“The idea is to have this relaxed Palm Springs-style bar that feeds off the other venues,” Thibault says.

“People will start at Purple Palm, and then they’ll go to South City Wine and then go to Casa or Sasso, or they’ll start at the wine bar and then go to the Casa, and then finish back at Purple Palm for drinks,” Lombino says. “You’ll see these people at all three or four, and they’ll tell you about the fun they’ve had just buzzing around in one night. That’s the kind of reaction we’re hoping for.”

Purple Palm
6/148 Logan Road, Woolloongabba

Hours:
Wed to Sat 4pm–10pm

purplepalm.com.au
@purplepalm_bar