By Andy Young
Melbourne Cocktails, a blog which features Melbourne's best cocktail bars and events, plus recipes and techniques for the home bar, is a finalist in the annual Saveur Blog Awards.
The blog was selected as one of the top six in the "Best Spirits and Cocktail Coverage" category, from a pool of around 50,000 submissions. It is the first Australian blog to be nominated for this award.
Written by Melbourne-based consultant and university lecturer Melissa How, Melbourne Cocktails launched in late 2014 and already boasts over 2,000 followers on Instagram alone.
How told TheShout: "After I read the terms and conditions, I didn't actually think that I qualified for the awards. So when I got the email about my nomination I was absolutely mind-blown. This has only really been live for about four month, can you imagine if I won?"
Melbourne Cocktails will now compete for both "The Editor's Choice Award", which is selected by a panel of judges, and the "Reader's Choice Award", which goes to the finalist that receives the most votes.
How added: "I was looking for a creative outlet that would let me practice my skills in social media, writing and photography, and found the answer in a highball. I just love cocktails and bars, so starting a blog was a natural way to go.
"That was in October and within a month I had built the blog, branded it, written back content, set up my social media and it has built up from there."
Voting opened on 30 March and closes on 31 April. For more information head to either melbournecocktails.com or saveur.com/blogawards.