With roots stretching from Australia to Taiwan, Millie Tang's identity is as rich and diverse as her career. Known primarily for her award-winning skills as a bartender, the 34-year-old's portfolio of work delves into photography, videography, creative direction and more. These creative outlets inform a wealth of bartending expertise that drew her a series of accolades, especially in 2023, when she ranked within the Bar World 100 Most Influential list and took home the Australian Liquor Industry Awards (ALIA) Best Bartender Award for the second.

Busy conducting guest shifts with friends across the globe, all while juggling a plethora of creative freelance projects, Tang's story is not just about mixing drinks; it's about mixing cultures, skills, and passions to create a life that's as intoxicating as her concoctions. We caught up with her at the end of a colourful tour across India with Dewar's, as she slung some old favourites and new scotch-infused marvels across Aer, Mumbai's sunset-lit terrace bar. Excerpts:

We know that 2023 was quite busy for you. Can you tell us a bit about how the last year went by, and some experiences that changed the way you look at your work?

I spent about six to seven months of the year traveling, doing events and guest shifts. It only happens to a very select number of people in the industry, and it’s a very new part of the industry as well. I feel very lucky to be able to do this.

Mexico has always been on the top of my list of countries to visit, and it did not disappoint. The bar that I got to go over with didn’t actually have a big sponsor, so they were kind-of allowed to do whatever they wanted. They took us to Chiapas — a Mayan municipality state bordering Guatemala. They’re closed off, have no outside police and govern themselves… and we went to this ridiculous church where we witnessed a chicken sacrifice *laughs*.

The other big trip was China. I went to China for seven months doing a gin pop-up at Chengdu in Sichuan, so lots of spicy food! I’ve always wanted to go there because of my Taiwanese heritage, so it was good to spend time there connecting with and exploring that part of myself. China is such a curious place, even though it’s so big and well-travelled, there actually isn’t that much outside information available. It surprised and blew me away in every aspect.

How was your trip through India.

So, I was in Delhi last year just for a couple of days to judge the World Class. India is another one of those places that I’ve always wanted to visit — I’ve been very surprised at how supportive the [alcobev] community here is, in terms of hospitality, showing up for masterclasses, coming to guest shifts… it’s very heartwarming. The standard of venues and offerings here is world-class.

I touched down in Delhi, jumped right into my shift at The Leela. Then on to Bangalore, which I explored the most — saw amazing venues and tried to eat some street food… though I unfortunately fell sick soon after. I was very excited to see Goa because of how famous it is… though I couldn’t explore as much. And then, here in Mumbai — I expected it to be much like Delhi, but they’re very different places.

What’s something you’ve tried during your visit that’s served as inspiration for a drink?

Oh my god, Bebinca from Goa! I’m going to try and put its flavours into a drink as soon as I get home, I had that dessert and I think it’s so delicious.

How was your experience partnering with Dewars for this tour?

They’re extremely experienced in doing these kinds of things — I’ve had a lot of history working with the market back home in Australia as well. But with this trip, they’ve been absolutely perfect — anything I could ever need, they’ve helped with. The support and organisation was just great.

Tell us about your current tour menu.

So, I have six drinks on hand. I’ll take you through the major ones. There’s a drink that’s served at where I work in Brisbane — The Gresham — that’s been on the menu ever since it opened ten years ago, and we call it the Sunny Boy. It’s coconut butter-wash vodka, pineapple juice, passion fruit cream, vanilla syrup. It’s simple, but it’s almost always the first one to sell out. And then there’s the Monkey Business. [India] doesn’t have a lot of liqueurs or bitters available, so I brought in quite a few indigenous ingredients myself, such as wattleseed nougat. The result is a really beautiful twist on a Manhattaner.

There’s also the IDGAF, which obviously stands for I Don’t Give A Fuck. That’s a very personal dessert cocktail, the style of drink that I really enjoy drinking myself — made of clarified milk, cranberry, tonka beans… don’t ask me how I got them here. Then there’s an Australian native ingredient called strawberry gum; which isn’t actually strawberry bubble gum. It’s an indigenous eucalyptus leaf that’s found towards the north of New South Wales that smells and tastes like strawberries… it’s amazing. The drink takes like a strawberry biscuit, it’s delicious.

You’ve been able to balance bartending and creative work for several years now. How does being a visual artist influence how you approach making a drink?

So I’ve been bartending for fourteen years now, and I think that having a creative influence outside of bartending is both highly important and possessed by everyone. I don’t think you necessarily have to be working as a creative or  in a creative industry to be creative. It’s like a muscle — you have to flex it and work it out just like getting good at anything else.

I certainly didn’t come into creating cocktails naturally at all. I really had to learn how to make flavours work together; it was like building up a huge base of knowledge of flavours, how they work, and how ingredients work together to become something palatable. I always say — particularly when speaking to other bartenders — that there’s more to a cocktail than what’s in the glass. The appearance, the smell of it, the garnish, the glass, the feel and how the tasts change over time. There’s so much influence you can have on that drink before people even reach the liquid, that has nothing to do with the flavour. Drawing as many points of inspiration for that is incredibly important.

Otherwise, if people just look to others’ drinks for inspiration, we tend to relplicate. But if you draw from sources like books and movies and films — particular your own culture’s books, movies and films — history, cooking, art, ingredients, concepts — you can manifest what strikes with you in so many different ways with a drink.

It happens to be International Women’s Day today. India, unfortunately, has a pretty high degree of gender inequality, which is something female bartenders have to contend with. Have you come across other women on this tour that struck a chord with you?

"Yeah, there are a couple. Obviously, there's a nod to two of the more influential women in the Indian bar scene, both from Delhi, who I met last year during World Class. You had Aashi Bhatnagar, and then you had Sia Negi, who respectively came first and second in the competition. I think, particularly with Aashi, it felt like almost watching someone get permission to shine in an industry where, as you said, there is a bit of gender inequality. 

But also, on a world stage, where I feel like people from India don't think they measure up to what's happening in bars globally. How well she did in that competition, for someone so young and coming from India, should really just be showing India and the rest of the world not just what women, but everyone from India, is capable of.”

What’s something you’d like to tell a young bartender who wants to travel the world and make a name for themselves?

I’ve become quite obsessed with the questions ‘why’ and ‘how’ over the last two years. They’ve really informed how I’ve thought about my future and what I want to do and leave behind as a legacy — I guess it comes with moving into that weird little twilight-middle-career life.

With anything that comes up as an opportunity, I always try to ask why I want to do it, and how I want to do it. Unfortuantely with bartending, everything we get exposed to online with people at the very top — it’s all travel, guest shifts, five star hotels and all this… these things are amazing, but if you’re just looking at this as the goal, I truly believe that most people will never, ever succeed at it. You need to be hungry enough, motivated enough — and having a ‘why’, a reason that takes you beyond just success.

Maybe you work at the right bar, you get a job at one of the ’50 Best Bars’, and it goes on. It becomes your new normal, and it hits differently. Kind of like an addiction, almost. Some people in this space get jaded, they’re not grateful anymore, and begin to complain and charge a lot of money. I do sound like a pisshead for saying all this because I do get to live this [lifestyle], but all of these are tools that function towards higher things that I want to achieve for others — for myself and the future of others like me in this industry.

Have a goal beyond the goal! Have ten goals — think Conor McGregor. I’m serious. His goal was never to win a belt — it was to become a partner with the UFC. Everyone else just wanted a belt, but becoming a partner was 10 steps ahead — so he was always going to beat them to get there.

What’s your proudest professional moment?

So I’ve had a personal venture of sorts with the assistant manager from The Gresham, Colby. I first met her three years ago, and she’s always been quite shy, quiet, anxious… kept to herself. When I started getting recognised internationally, I was wondering what would happen if I could share that influence with someone else. I had a couple trips planned, and while not all of them are paid, I tried to get the fees from one trip allocated to bringing Colby with me.

We then went to Dubai, Berlin and Singapore, where we got to do guest shifts together, and she really got the hang of it. Not everything about our trip was perfect *laughs*. We lost our baggage in Berlin, I lost my phone in Dubai… but after it all, it felt like seeing a person change before your eyes, you know? We also went to Mexico together, and I got her to do a small part of a seminar I was there for — so public speaking as well. She hated me for it, but she did it. She’s like a different person now. 

Originally, she didn’t think she could handle hospitality, but now she’s adamant about one day opening her own bar. It’s powerful, and it’s not just about us. It’s about setting an example for others. Suddenly, we have a few dozen more people being inspired to do the same. Those people create pathways for a hundred more people — and before you know it, you’re directly making an impact on the bartending industry. It may be small, but it is direct.