Swill magazine is far from conventional. In fact, calling it a magazine is almost misleading – the publication has the heft and eye-catching cover of a well-designed coffee table book. 

Launched independently in 2022 by Swillhouse, the restaurant group behind much-loved venues like Shady Pines, Restaurant Hubert, and The Baxter Inn, Swill is a quarterly large format print magazine that’s doing print differently.

Contained within its pages are stories of “restaurant culture around the globe, but not as you know it,” as put by its inimitable editor, Myffy Rigby. Its stories also go beyond the hospitality industry, encompassing art, design, music, books, and entertainment. Basically, if it’s interesting (and probably a bit offbeat), Swill is all over it.

“The bottom line is, if it has heart, we’re interested,” Myffy said.

Gut instinct is the driving force behind Swill, and it has been from the get-go.

“Our launch issue was a pretty ‘suck it and see’ approach and since then, we’ve changed it up with pretty much every new mag. A nip here, a tuck there, and the occasional entire redesign in the case of issue 5.”

While some in the media bemoan the death of print, Swill is confidently turning this common refrain on its head.

“I think the reason Swill is successful in its field is because we deliver truthful, authentic, and engaging content with no agenda.

“We only write about what we’re passionate about and we deliver those stories in a way that would never work online. Print’s not dead, it’s just been taking a rest while people got hungry to read again. And that time is now.”   

All attendees at this year’s Bar Awards will receive a copy of Issue 5 of Swill – get ready to dive into this enthralling celebration of creativity, authenticity, and of course, food.