Whisky Den

Whisky Den opened on Russell Street in 2016, modelled on a cross between the tiny yokocho alley bars of Japan, the kind packed into Tokyo's Golden Gai, and the hutong bars of Beijing. It's bigger than those, with room for about 40, a booth at the back and a mezzanine of couches, but it keeps the closeness. The bar itself has only a handful of seats, and they're the ones to get.

The list runs to around 380 whiskies and says it sets out to highlight Japanese and Australian bottles, with Scotch, bourbon, rye and the rest of the world alongside. The bartenders will pour to your taste and your budget, and it's worth asking what's new or off the menu. The Old Fashioned has a following of its own.

It's walk-in only, with no bookings and no bucks or hens groups. The bar suggests coming in the afternoon, when it's quiet and you get more of the staff's time.