Considering this year’s Oscars “incident”, and the plummeting ratings for the Grammys, we may not exactly be in a golden moment for the entertainment biz. So it surely could not have been better timing for Sydney, Australia’s Maybe Sammy to reach back across time to the enduring stars of decades past, with its new cocktail homage to some of the most talented women of more, shall we say, glittering and glamorous eras of yore?

Indeed, the exalted cocktail hotspot – which came in #22 on this year’s World’s 50 Best Bars list – has just introduced its decidedly fabulous new ‘Stardust’ drinks menu, featuring twelve original creations, each inspired by a female icon of stage, screen or fashion.

“We love 1950s Hollywood and Vegas glamour,” explains Co-Owner and Creative Director Martin Hudak, “so that will stay at the heart of our aesthetics and design. We just wanted to focus our attention on these seminal women and their [considerable] contribution to the arts.”

Hudak and Bar Manager Paolo Maffieti collaborated on the concept and the recipes, and the women being paid tribute include superstars of song like Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald, Hollywood leading ladies Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, but also pioneering fashion designer extraordinaire Coco Chanel, and even Andy Warhol’s beautiful and tragic muse Edie Sedgwick. Fittingly, the menu has been beautifully illustrated by another singularly creative female, rising Australian artist Clementine Roslund (who sometimes goes by KlemeKleme), whose portraits of Sedgwick, Grace Jones and Marilyn Monroe depict them in a most unexpected but newly enlightening way.

Hudak describes Roslund as, “exceptionally talented and making her mark right now.”

Of course, much as we’d love to just hop a flight to Australia tomorrow to enjoy a couple of Hepburn or Chanel inspired tipples, life has other plans for us at the moment. So we asked Maybe Sammy to share the alchemy behind five of their most exquisite ‘Stardust’ cocktails.

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Nightclubbing: Grace Jones (pictured top)

30ml Bacardi Carta Blanca

10ml Clairin Communal rum

15ml Pomelo Oleo

10ml Banana Giffard

10mp Supasawa

65ml Tiger Nuts Milk Wash

Stir, pour into pony glass and garnish with tropical pearls

Who Has Seen Coco!: Coco Chanel

30ml Johnnie Walker Black

15ml Earl Grey tea infused with Oscar Rosso Vermouth

20ml Pecorino cheese-distilled Ketel One Vodka

5ml sugar syrup

0.25ml Free Brother grapefruit bitter

Stir and serve in a rock glass over a large ice cube

My Fair Lady: Audrey Hepburn

20ml Ondina gin

20ml Lillet Blanc

20ml Umeshu/plum sake

10ml Giffard Apricot Liqueur

10ml malic verjuice

5ml agave

20ml water

Shake, pour into pony glass and top with bubble

Beauty No. 2: Edie Sedgwick

30ml Suntory Haku Vodka

30ml lychee puree

10ml Campari barrel syrup

15ml fino sherry

20ml lemon juice

10ml Pavan Liqueur

Shake, pour into coupette glass and garnish with shaved chocolate

Dancing Queen: Cher

30ml Tequila Blanco Don Julio

10ml Aquavite

30ml Mr Black Coffee Liqueur

30ml passionfruit puree

20ml lime juice

Blend ingredients, pour over blended ice