Happy Hour is being reinvented at Australian bars as they seek to entice budget-conscious but thirsty after-work patrons. Move aside premixed Margaritas and free peanuts, upmarket cocktails and stylish bar snacks are on the menu. And patrons are loving it.

Drinks Digest sampled The Charles Bar’s happy hour this week and the venue was buzzing at 5.30pm on a Wednesday night.

New manager Colin Tam (above) – ex-Charlie Parker’s, Lotus, Little Felix, Hilton’s Zeta Bar – has shaken things up at this CBD-based European-inspired bar with a three-hour happy hour, an elegant new cocktail menu, refreshed wine list, tasty bar food menu and live music on Fridays.

When you stop by between 4pm to 7pm for ‘The Charles Hour’ on Monday to Saturday you can enjoy $6 beers, $13 wines, $15 cocktails and $18 Champagne, paired with $25 pasta or burger specials. 

Drinks Digest sampled a moreish $15 Gimlets with house-made lime cordial on our visit, accompanied by one of the $25 pasta specials, a luxurious lobster butter linguine.

We also squeezed in the $25 aged wagyu cheeseburger special, which is excellent value and available until 6pm each night. It arrives layered with pickles, The Charles signature sauce and comes with a generous serving of seasoned fries, plus a glass of house wine, beer or soft drink for $25.

The regular cocktail list includes 10 elegant, photo-worthy drinks accompanied by delicate garnishes made in-house by the pastry team, it’s hard to decide between a Mango and yuzu martini served with a stunning white chocolate stuffed olive, croissant-washed rum punch (above), an Apple Martini or a strawberry and basil twist on the Americano garnished with dehydrated strawberry and basil toffee discs.

“I like to create cocktails that are layered and technical but appear elegant and unfussy,” says Tam.

“Flavours are extracted from real ingredients that we’re juicing, infusing and washing in house rather than using bought juices and syrups. It allows us to create a really clean taste with a delicious texture.”

For those who fancy treating themselves, luxurious touches on the food menu include blue swimmer crab croquettes with smoked roe, which are sensational at $11 a (literal) pop, and the bar staff will happily shave fresh truffles over your pasta for an extra $15.

The surprising origin of happy hour

Have you ever wondered why it’s call it Happy Hour … other than the obvious effects of discounted drinks?

It turns out the phrase was popularised during Prohibition (1920-1933) in the United States when the sale and consumption of alcohol was banned. Secret bars called “speakeasies” sprang up and the term “happy hour” was used to refer to the time when people would gather for an illicit drink before heading to dinner at places where alcohol wasn’t served.

By the end of Prohibition, the concept of a “happy hour” had caught on and restaurants and legal bars wanted a piece of the action, so the practice went public and “happy hours” spread around the globe during the 1960s.