Stars in my eyes

I should have gone to a stretch class last night. I agonised over whether to book it.

But I had a better offer …

What’s a girl/middle-aged woman supposed to do when she’s invited to the InterContinental Sydney’s rooftop bar Aster to experience its new cocktail menu, alongside a guided astronomy session overlooking the city and harbour?

OK, I actually agonised for maybe five seconds before saying yes to the astronomy session and cocktails.

lnterContinental Sydney’s Director of Bars Mattia Arnaboldi has created a new, experiential concept menu called “Ascend, Expanse” that launches on October 1.

I was invited along for a preview and took my friend Ania as my plus one.

Inspired by the layers of the atmosphere and the mysteries of deep space, the menu unfolds across two “acts” and 15 cocktails, each representing a different point along the journey from Earth to the stars.

The journey begins with ‘Grounded’, an intentionally savoury, earthbound combination of tequila, heirloom tomato, avocado, yoghurt and herbs and heads up into the atmosphere with cocktails inspired by celestial bodies and cosmic phenomena.

We tried six mini versions of cocktail from the new menu, with my favourite being the Particles Martini – Papa Salt Gin, Manzanilla sherry, nectarine mead, lemongrass, grains of paradise, saltbush and clay. Absolutely knock-out gorgeous. Best Martini I’ve ever tasted.

There were some very interesting cocktails in the mix, such as the Aster-Belt, with Glenfiddich 12, sesame, watercress, galangal, Kisekirei Junmai sake. Its flavours were so funky and unexpected.

While we sipped a DJ played silky dance versions of everything from INXS to Phil Collins songs.

We ducked outside at regular intervals to admire the outlook and chat. Perched on Level 32 of InterContinental Sydney, Aster has spectacular 270-degree panoramic views of Sydney Harbour, from the Sydney Opera House to the Harbour Bridge. It’s truly one of the city’s best spots to sip a cocktail, but expect to pay at least $32 for each of the cosmic concoctions on the menu.

The price wasn’t deterring patrons, with the venue packed on a Monday night.

As for the astronomy session … I was a bit nervous when the sky was so grey and overcast all day. And, sadly, there were no stars visible during our visit. But we had a lovely chat with the astronomer, who’d brought along two telescopes just in case.

It was very noisy at the bar and I was a bit taken aback when the astronomer told me his name, as I couldn’t work out what he was saying. He explained his name meant “Angel”, so that’s what we called him.

I asked if he knew my astronomer friend Orsola, and of course he did. They work together! The astrophysics world is very small, especially in Australia.

He showed me photos on his iPad of what the stars and nebula would have looked like on a clear night …