Australia's laneway bar landscape first emerged in Melbourne, fostered by ample narrow, winding lanes in the the central business district and an easing of laws on small bar operation. By the early naughts a lively network of tucked away bars had emerged, all with their own idiosyncratic style and cocktail agendas, but almost all sharing that enduring speakeasy legacy, the hidden entrance. In 2010 Eau de Vie opened in Sydney, mining a similarly discrete entrance style (an unmarked door tucked away in the back lobby of the Kirketon hotel 229 Darlinghurst Road) front loaded with heavy duty cocktail sophistication, a gentlemen's club atmosphere and luxurious, meticulously crafted cocktails. The equivalent bar in New York or London would likely be rather formal or even a bit grim in its cocktail erudition and Prohibition era drag, the staff at EDV displays that Aussie bonhomie and refusal to take themselves too seriously that cuts through all that fussiness, making the bar so very pleasant to spend time in.

Eau de Vie went on to sweep the International Bar Awards in 2011 and emerged as the undisputed champ of the now booming Sydney cocktail scene. Now, in an audacious act of reverse locale engineering, Eau de Vie has opened a second location in the heart of Melbourne's more famous laneway district. EDV Melbourne (1 Malthouse Lane) sticks to the same charmed combo of bespoke, classy atmosphere, dizzyingly erudite cocktails and convivial, attentive bartenders who seem to intuit precisely what you want to drink before you even know yourself. The dimly lit, sexy lounge has quickly pulled in a good-looking media and restaurant & bar professional crowd -- the cocktail smart set. The addition of a savvy degustation menu keyed to cocktails means the night can go on longer, and go better. Look for this new lounge to take home some more prizes this awards season.

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