Toast International Women’s Day At Archie Rose
While we believe that women deserve to be celebrated every day of the year, to officially mark International Women’s Day 2021, we’re rolling out an event series that spotlights women making a difference both here at Archie Rose, and further afield. So, pull up a stool as we venture into spirits, sustainability, and in the case of our bartender, Jami—the joys of surprising your co-workers with your strength.
Dr Lucy Buxton (left) and City of Sydney Councillor Jess Miller
Women on Waste Panel
Hosted by Archie Rose Head of Marketing, Victoria Tulloch, this educational panel will discuss waste from a domestic, municipal and scientific point of view, including the small steps we can all take to make a big difference. Read on to learn a little more about our panellists.
Jess Miller
Jess was elected to the City of Sydney Council as part of the Clover Moore Independent team in 2016, and a big part of her motivation for being on council was to help the City to set a global example of how to deal with the changing climate. Jess’ key areas of expertise are in environmental systems, specifically urban ecology, urban forestry, and local food systems.
How would you sum up your mission? To make Sydney not suck. In many ways - but specifically with regard to the use of single-use plastic.
** What responsibility do politicians have when it comes to tackling the problem of waste?** Good question. In my opinion, the role of politicians is to represent both the views and needs of the current citizens that they represent—but also future ones. So for me that means, being ambitions and brave when it comes to untangling complex problems, like waste, and ensuring that the solutions that we come up with bring about long-term change.
Dr Lucy Buxton
Dr Lucy Buxton is a marine biologist, science communicator and strategist. She currently works as the Industry Engagement Manager in the Climate Change Cluster—a multidisciplinary research institute at the University of Technology Sydney. In this role she is responsible for developing partnerships and building collaborative research programs that support the development and adoption of the circular and bioeconomy; reducing waste, increasing sustainability, and lowering reliance on carbon intensive practices.
Can you sum up what sustainability means to you? To me, sustainability is much more than just the environment. It's about connection and balance across society, the economy and the natural world—collectively looking to inform and support engagement and decision making to ensure a productive and equitable future.
What has been your career highlight so far? It has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside people from a range of experiences and disciplines; to develop multi-faceted projects that support sustainable practice. A highlight was being able to do this on an eight month round-the-world sailing rally that supported education and understanding about the effects of climate change on some of the most at risk island communities in the world.
What does it mean to be a woman in science? In my experience, so far, it has been about being curious, resilient, inventive, adventurous and determined. Having passion for what you do and keeping an eye on the big picture.
What does International Women's Day mean to you? It is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while also seeking to create dialog, will all genders, in order to understand the structural and social changes needed to make full equality of opportunity possible.
Alex Elliott-Howery
Alex Elliott-Howery
Alex Elliott-Howery is the co-founder of what has become a thriving and boundary-breaking food community in inner Sydney. She runs the Cornersmith cafe in Annandale, and is renowned for her big heart and strong conscience when it comes to sustainably sourced food.
Can you sum up your mission? To make cooking from scratch and reducing food waste a no brainer for busy city folk. We need to make better, more sustainable choices in the supermarkets and our kitchens and I want to help make that easy and stress free for people.
What are you most proud of? Aside from my beautiful teenagers, I’m very proud of Cornersmith. I don’t stop and look at what I’ve created enough, but when I do it gives me a little smile.
Why is it important to celebrate International Women's Day? Because collective action makes change and there’s still so much to be done. The future needs awesome people not only to celebrate but to fight for equality, community and sustainability.
Gin Sessions with Riahne
Anyone who’s been lucky enough to attend a session hosted by Riahne will know that they are a superstar. If you haven’t, this is your chance. Riahne is hosting two special Gin Sessions on 7 March, where they will be sharing their knowledge and pouring three Archie Rose gins for you to sip and savour while you’re there.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you? In the past, women’s contributions to society have been brushed over, ignored or incorrectly attributed. International Women's Day is a time for us to acknowledge those who worked so hard to bring us to where we are today, and a reminder to continue to challenge the status quo to create a fairer future.
Favourite thing about hosting experiences? I love that I get to share my knowledge and passion with guests, though my favourite moments are when guests tell me that they had a great time after an experience. That's the reason I'm in hospitality, to leave people happier and more knowledgeable than when they walked in.
Career highlight so far? Having the opportunity to create the Gin Sessions for Archie Rose was a big one. It really allowed me to deliver exactly what I find so fascinating about gin in a fun, casual setting.
Your drink of choice? Definitely a Negroni, every time!
Riahne (far left) and Jami, and Archie Rose distiller Lisa Truscott (right)
Blend Your Own Gin with Jami
In a previous life, Jami hosted tours at Walt Disney World in Orlando—now she provides exceptional spirit experiences at the Archie Rose Bar. Discover how to blend a selection of botanical distillates to create two 200ml bottles of your own signature gin.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you? International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the achievements of women everywhere. There's such a unique camaraderie between women and it's exciting to see women shine in many different fields, especially ones where we're not the majority, such as distillation and hospitality.
The best thing about being a woman in hospitality? I love surprising my co-workers with my strength! Just because I'm a 5’2 woman, doesn't mean I can't lift a whole tray of glassware or huge boxes of spirits. We often joke about breaking down gender norms on the experience team, and it's really cool to see us doing that.
What are you most proud of? I am most proud of how much I've learned since I came to Archie Rose. I was nervous coming in and having no knowledge of distillation or spirits, but I'm really proud of how quickly I learned and how confident I feel sharing what I've learned with guests.
Your drink of choice? My current obsession is whisky with fresh pressed apple juice, specifically, our Rye Malt Whisky with green apple juice from the Archie Rose Bar. This isn't a plug, I'm actually obsessed. Minnesota, where I'm from, is known for our apples, so it's a little taste of home to me. Plus, the caramel finish of our Rye Malt plus the tart taste of the green apple juice tastes like a caramel apple. It's absolute perfection.
Whisky Chapters with Lisa Truscott
Our wonderful distiller Lisa works hard to make the spirit magic happen behind the scenes, but to celebrate International Women’s Day, she’s hosting a very special one-off whisky session at the Archie Rose Bar. Book your ticket here, then read more about Lisa’s journey into distilling here.