Dutch Courage Officers’ Mess

I LOVE GIN! This lovely little cocktail bar is like a dream come true for all gin lovers. The bar itself has great aesthetics and the barman who served us was lovely. Will definitely be heading back whilst I’m I. Brisbane, favorite bar I’ve been to here so far!

Excellent drinks menu and knowledgable staff. As an avid gin drinker I love the variety here!
Décor is funky and inviting with a cool vibe. Gets busy on weekends. Limited gluten friendly food options.

Gin lovers unite! I know neither why I’ve not been to a gin bar before, nor why the Brisbane booze scene hasn’t thought of this earlier! What a great venue! The interiour is spacious yet cozy, and has a definite ‘adult’ feel. Plus, the staff are as chatty and informative as you need them to be.
If you’ve not strayed far from a classic gin and tonic, now would be the time to try a flight. Choosing three out of four categories of gin helps guide you within the different varieties so it doesn’t get overwhelming. By the end of it, you can at least conclude things like «hmm, the citrus is stronger than the juniper» or «the spicy tastes like firewater».
And for those of you who are more experienced gin lovers, you can have these conversations here too, chatting away about notes and aromas galore. As the menu is epic, I would be surprised if you didn’t find something to love.

I ought to hand back my gin drinking card for taking far too long to venture to this Brisbane bar which, thankfully, has carved it’s niche in the juniper-​based spirit. With over 105 gins to select from there’s no time or room for a bland and boring gin and tonic. Straight up I adore that the three pages of gin selections are categorised into sweet, spicy, citrus and so forth. For the new-​to-​gin drinker this makes your introduction to the spirit that much easier.
For example, my first drink of the evening was made with a gin called Pinkster with subtle raspberry tones. Who knew?! The guys behind the bar are only too happy to share their enviable gin knowledge with you and craft you a drink that strays from the menu.
And amidst this Fortitude Valley bar in a precinct known for it’s flashing neon lights and devil may care attitude, DCOM is the subtle and quietly confident grown up sister. It’s a bar where you won’t feel out of place for enjoying one drink and being satisfied.
We visited as a group of five for their Tuesday evening ‘Beer & Boardgame’ evenings that they run each week. It’s $ 7 with a beer on tap of your choice, or $ 5, if like us you opt for gin. There’s a selection of games like Cards Against Humanity, Connect Four or Scrabble. Lucky they’ve got plenty of tables for groups to set up and settle in for a few rounds of a nostalgic board game.
For all their gin-​loving, DCOM also deliver a food menu that’s a cut above most bar menus and transcends the standard chips, chicken schnitzel or steak «sanga».
I was quite content with my lamb meatballs with hummus, yoghurt and a pommegranate herb salad. The rest of the menu ranges from Crispy Pork Dumplings, Calamari, a hearty Ploughman’s Plate or Gin-​Marinated Green Olives. There’s also a simple two-​option dessert menu.
Of course, the beauty in this menu is it’s brilliant for you to piece together a meal worthy of solo-​dining but also ample per serving to order several dishes and share amongst a group!

Gin lovers will be thrilled when they stop in here. I never knew that there were that many choices of gin. I personally have never been a gin fan but my Peach Lavendar Fizz was great. My husband got a martini with Australian gin– Who knew that Australia made great gin.
The only real issue i found was the drinks seemed to take a while to make as many people were getting a special cocktail or a martini. I could see waiting a while on a packed night.
We didnt try the food but from the menu and what we saw it looked like some great bites including camel on the menu.
I will be bringing my mom here when she is in town as she loves a good G&T.

Dutch Courage Officer’s Mess follows the lead of places like Cobbler in West End: do a thing, and do it well. Cobbler does whiskey, DCOM does gin. Glancing behind the bar presents your standard view: an enormous number of bottles lined up like soldiers ready to do battle. But on closer inspection, the vast majority of those bottles contain gin. View the menu and find page after page of gins, organised into varietals (fruity, spicy, earthy, etc) with origin and tasting notes on each. Impressive, to say the least. Once you’ve selected your gin (no easy task), you then choose from a traditional gin and tonic, a Spanish-​style gin and tonic (stemmed glass, with garnish) or a martini made with your selection.
On a quiet-​ish, rainy kind of Saturday night atmosphere was a little subdued, and service was more difficult to come by than you’d expect, considering the smaller crowd. However when nabbed, staff proved to be enthusiastic gin lovers who were happy to provide recommendations. The stir fried duck dish sounded amazing, but alas, we didn’t try the small food menu.
Good gin, done well. Dutch Courage Officer’s Mess is a success.

If somebody asked me to take them to a place which summed up «the Valley», I would probably take them to this place. Nothing wrong with that if that’s the sort of thing you’re going for. Just wear your designer jeans, really, is my advice. If you like gin, you can drink some of that here. If you don’t, well, they have beer on tap too, although I didn’t see anyone drinking that.