Newcastle's own Rum Diary Bar almost ready to open

The Rum Diary Bar on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy quickly earned a reputation as one of the best rum bars in the country when Hamish Goonetilleke opened the nautical-themed establishment in 2013.

Home to more than 200 varieties of white, brown and spiced rum, including its own branded range, the bar (which takes its name from American author and gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's novel) is as much about creating an experience as it is celebrating the often overlooked spirit.

Bringing that experience to Newcastle is The Rum Diary Bar owner Jacob Goss, who purchased the Melbourne bar from Goonetilleke last year. When the opportunity to open a bar in Newcastle presented itself last year, Goss (who also operates a handful of other bars in Melbourne) jumped at it.

The Rum Diary Bar is located on Hunter Street (previously home to The Terrace Bar) and is set across two levels, with the Melbourne bar's signature aesthetic ("The captain's quarters on a shipwrecked boat," Goss explains) brought to life in Newcastle.

"There's a lot of greenery, a lot of overgrowth, as if the ship has been sitting there for a while," Goss says.

"You've still got the opulent furniture and Chesterfields, but it's a bit tatty, if that makes sense. There's lots of trinkets laying around and candle wax, an old piano, that kind of stuff.

"Cosy during the early night, very personal, and the staff are very highly trained and have great customer service to be able to teach people through rum if they're interested, and also leave them alone if they just want to have a drink.

"In Melbourne there's a lot of fire tricks, cocktails on fire ... there's a lot of things to look at. We don't want to just be another bar. We want people to have an experience and then tell others, 'I went to this bar, you've got to try it'."

A long, copper-lined bar, where a vast collection of rums sourced from around the world line the back wall, has been installed downstairs, along with red velvet booth seating to create a cosy ambience.

A "secret" Narnia-like doorway, made from a repurposed vintage timber wardrobe, opens to a staircase which leads up to the terrace.

The space features an indoor bar area, with Chesterfield-style lounges and ornate furniture, that will eventually include a stage to host live blues music once COVID-19 restrictions have eased.

The bar connects to the terrace which is filled with hanging greenery and a giant octopus mural, as well as a bookshelf filled with vintage encyclopaedias that acts as a hidden entrance to the bar's cigar lounge.

Cigars are on the menu, as well as rum tasting paddles and The Rum Diary Bar's famous dark and stormy cocktail, which is a spicy concoction of house-made ginger beer and Goslings rum.

"That's our signature. It's completely fresh, cold-pressed ginger, coriander, lemon juice, capsicum, and then a load of rum. We cold-press it all on-site, mix it all on-site and we do it all on tap," Goss says. "It's a bit spicy, because ginger is a bit spicy when it's fresh pressed like that, but it's our biggest seller. It's bloody delicious. If you have any inkling of a cold, you drink a couple of those and you're fine."

The kitchen offers dinner service with Caribbean-influenced dishes including peppered prawns with olive oil, garlic, chilli, coriander and pineapple ($18); fried plantain with Caribbean salsa ($16); spiced rum or Caribbean spice wings ($15); jambalaya with house pickled ($20); jerk chicken burger with house fries ($18); chargrilled jerk chicken with house pickles and candied yams ($18/$28), and toasted nutmeg ice cream with candied coconut and sweet lavish ($14).

Although rum is the star, all tastes are catered for. "We are making sure it's still approachable," Goss says. "Toohey's New is still on tap and it's not just rum There's gin, whisky, vodka ... you've got everything but there is, at last count, at least 200 rums on the back bar, which will grow as we go along."

Goss took over ownership in February, not long before COVID-19 hit.

Inevitable delays have pushed the opening date back and forced Goss to oversee the development of the project remotely while stuck in lockdown in Victoria. It also means he likely won't be there for the opening. "I'll have the security camera on my laptop on opening night to watch with a rum in hand."