Substation No 41 Rum Bar

An old electricity substation at the Breakfast Creek Hotel is home to one of the world's biggest rum bars, Substation No. 41 Rum Bar.

The ambient high-ceilinged space has an indoor outdoor area, preserved features like exposed brick walls and a stunning bar that possesses an historic talking point – a giant beam of ironbark salvaged from the old CSR Sugar Refinery at Teneriffe.

Stocking some 500 rums from around the world – from the French, English and Spanish Caribbean, Latin and South America as well as the odd Indian or Canadian – this is the place to find rare, vintage and collector’s rums (including the 50 yr old rum that is the world’s oldest), as well as a rum for every taste and every season.

For those who think they know and don’t like their rum, the specialist bar tenders at Substation no 41 are out to prove you wrong. Using their encyclopaedic knowledge and a quick quiz about tastes in alcohol they make it their challenge to match-make patrons with a rum. For, depending on whether they are whisky, beer, gin or wine drinkers, the theory is, there’s a rum to suit every palate.

The bar also has monthly rum ‘tasting platters’ featuring a rum theme and with nibbles designed to complement and bring out their unique flavour.

Cocktail fans will find their ultimate rum cocktail here from the list, be it the masculine and ballsy The Admiral or the fruity sangria-like Chilli Jam (based on the Breakfast Creek Hotel’s own home-made chilli jam), or the To The Left – a sweet, clear cocktail with fresh blueberries layered like blue pearls that gradually turn the drink purple.

While more than half of the rum here sells for well below than $30 a nip, the top of the range rare rums (a few, like the Havana Maximo, Bundy 125 or the 50yo Appleton of which there are only 8 or so bottles in the world), can be priced from $125 to $250/nip.

Need to know: As well as a stupendous range of rums, Substation No. 41 also serves craft beers, wines and other spirits.

Insider tip: While visiting Substation No. 41, take a bit of time out with rum in hand to explore the historic nooks and crannies of the adjacent Breakfast Creek Hotel. A couple of small rooms have been turned into a museum of old black and white pictures, stories and memorabilia of the hotel through the ages. The front bar has a tiny gaming room located in an old air raid shelter and the ashes of an ex publican in an urn, and it’s not hard to find a staff member who can tell you tales about the resident ghost.