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Rob Uldis Libecans

@pullingcorks

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Owner @caretakers.cottage 🏡 @threehorsesbar 🎠
@boothbydrinks Bartender of the Year 2023
Poppa to Sandy 🏝 & Wren 🦜
Lives in Melbourne 🇦🇺

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Three Horses has landed at No. 84 on 50 Best Bars 2026 51-100 🏆 🏆🏆

To say we’re thrilled is an understatement. What a way to cap off our first year being open!

A massive, heartfelt thank you to our incredible team, the regulars who fill our seats every week, and everyone who has popped in for a Mango G&T & shared our love for Apera and Sherry. We love you all.

Thank you to all that voted and to @the50bars

❤️❤️❤️

We’re raising a Jabberwock (and a whole lot of sherry) to this milestone tonight. 🐎🎠🏇 See you all there!

Where Sherry Reigns

🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎

Open Monday - Saturday 4pm - 1am taken in Three Horses by @pullingcorks

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25 days ago

NATIONAL BAR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY CRAWLEY'S BARTENDER SYRUPS⁠
Fancy Free Group, Melbourne⁠
The trio’s Caretaker’s Cottage landed at 19 on The World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2025, and opened its sherry-led sequel Three Horses on Little Lonsdale; the Cottage continues to collect accolades, with Three Horses scoring a Top 10 for Best New International Bar at the Spirited Awards, and Libecans among the Top 10 for International Bartender of the Year. by @pullingcorks

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4 months ago

Best International Cocktail Bar Shortlist!

What a year for our little pub! To be shortlisted among some of the best and most creative venues from across the globe isn’t taken for granted by us.

We are surrounded by talented people in and around our bar and community. This is a huge recognition for their commitment and dedication for the last year.

Big love to all involved. Staff, suppliers, collaborators and to all those that support and voted for us xxx

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Special thanks to @foodandwine, the oﬃcial media partner for the 2026 Annual
Spirited Awards!
#SpiritedAwards2026 #totc2026 #talesofthecocktail #totc taken in caretakers.cottage by @pullingcorks

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5 months ago

Melbourne’s best behind the bar (and booth) at @elprimosanchezsydney to kick off the final day of the @maybe_cocktail_festival (written with a tear in our eye 🥲) — @aboveboardbarmelb, @caretakers.cottage and @byrdimelb. @ketelone cocktails and a DIY bottomless brunch station situation to fuel the night ahead 🪩🌮🍸

Brought to you by @ketelone. by @pullingcorks

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6 months ago

International Bartender Of The 2026 Nomination!

Honoured and incredibly grateful to share I have been named a Top 10 Nominee for the 2026 Spirited Awards — International Bartender of the Year presented by @brownformanbrands 🥃

To be recognised alongside so many talented people in our industry is something I don’t take lightly. Huge thank you to the team, the guests, and everyone who continues to support what we do every day behind the bar. And a special thank you to my amazing wife that has pushed me and given me the space to achieve. Lastly to my partners for putting up with me in every way.

Proud moment for all of us at Fancy Towers. Congratulations to all the nominees worldwide — and cheers to the craft, community, and hospitality that brings us all together.

#SpiritedAwards #TalesoftheCocktail #Bartender #Hospitality #CocktailCulture taken in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia by @pullingcorks

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5 months ago

The Connaught Bar & Montana at Three Horses 20th April

Our first event ever at our new bar, & what a line up we have in store. We’re hosting two absolute heavyweights for a special takeover — London’s Connaught Bar and Montana from Hong Kong, all under one roof. 🍸

Expect world-class cocktails, big energy, and a rare chance to experience two globally renowned bars right here in Melbourne.

Straight up with style & RITMO, all where Sherry reigns.

Get in early — it’s going to be a busy one.📈

🍸 The Connaught is sponsored by @fourpillarsgin
🍹 Montana is sponsored by @greygoose @bacardi
🫧 All this is made possible by the hard work and love from our friends at the amazing @maybe_cocktail_festival 🫶

🎠🎠🎠 Three Horses
🗓️🗓️🗓️ 20th April
🕘 - 🕐 9PM - 1AM taken in Three Horses by @pullingcorks

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6 months ago

The brilliant @pullingcorks colouring outside the lines in episode 5 of The PAX Hospitality Podcast. by @pullingcorks

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a year ago

Episode 5 is live…

The best venues don’t try to be everything, they just know who they are. When that clarity of identity runs deep, the product, the choices, and the guest experience all align without forcing it.

In this episode of The PAX Hospitality Podcast, the team dig into the “Product” layer of the PAX Pyramid with guest Rob Libecans (Caretaker’s Cottage, Three Horses). They reframe product as the discipline that connects menu, service, space, systems, and culture to true market-fit — not just “what’s on the list.” Rob unpacks how constraint (tight rooms, tighter budgets, hard deadlines) becomes a creative accelerant, and why embracing a little chaos can make a venue feel alive.

We get inside the operating system: empowering A-grade people to make and own decisions, using patterns (not one-off reviews) to guide changes, and running constant test-and-learn at the speed of service.

There’s texture: why a monthly menu cadence beats weekly burnout; how a sherry-led martini (“Jabberwocky”) carries identity between venues without cloning; why glassware, lighting, sound, and that cheeky “See you tomorrow” sign-off are product choices as much as any drink spec. The result is a practical, culture-first playbook for turning mission into moments guests can feel — and come back for.

Topics covered:

- Product vs. “the product” — treating menu, service, environment, and systems as one product discipline aimed at market-fit.

- Constraint-driven creativity — using limited time, money, and awkward spaces to sharpen ideas (and avoid bland perfectionism).

- Feedback that matters — ignoring noise, acting on recurring patterns, and letting data + frontline observations guide changes.

- Empowerment and culture — giving talented teams room to succeed (and fail), codifying guardrails, and reducing friction for guests.

- Test, learn, iterate — monthly menus, small bets, and keeping identity intact as concepts evolve across venues (without copy-pasting).

The PAX Hospitality Podcast is supported by @squareau and @brudibrunswick taken in Brudi - Design & Innovation by @pullingcorks

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a year ago

Worlds 50 Best Bars 2025

You bloody ripper!

Number 19 in the World! Honestly, we’ve been blown away by the love and support from our community here at our little pub.

A monumental amount of gratitude to our staff, guests, friends and the entire village that supports Caretaker’s each and everyday. We love every single one of you.

Here’s to a huge summer ahead. As ever, nothing changes. Just a bit more champagne

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Open Monday - Saturday 4pm - 1am

Always Guinness, punch & wine taken in caretakers.cottage by @pullingcorks

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a year ago

HONKY HOT SHOTS 🔥 - EPISODE 11 PART 1 with @pullingcorks of @caretakers.cottage | presented by @borabiyiklioglu 🤠

🍗 Where @hotones meets @chickshopdate… 💖

Straight off the back of their legendary ‘Best Bar in Australasia 2025’ win and placing No.19 at this year’s World’s @50bestbars—we’re so excited to introduce Rob Liecans.

A little bit about Rob—originally from Liverpool and now based in Melbourne 🇦🇺, he’s one of the co-owners and bartenders behind Caretaker’s Cottage and their recently opened sister bar, @threehorsesbar, alongside other industry legend @mattsstirling. Congrats boys!!! 👏

Watch this episode to learn more about Rob, his love for the industry and Australia before we turn up the heat in Part 2.

Supported by @brooklynbrewery.

#HonkyTonksTavern #HonkyHotShots #CartetakersCottage #50bestbars #worlds50bestbars #melbourne by @pullingcorks

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a year ago

🚨 We’re Hiring 🚨
Three Horses is opening soon — a new bar where sherry reigns, legends pour the drinks, and the music never stops.

We’re building an opening team and we’re after two kinds of legends:
#
🍸 Bartenders – 3+ years experience, big engines, keen to grow, ready to cover all parts of the floor.

🧠 Managers – 5+ years in leadership roles. We’re hiring a Venue Manager, Bar Manager & Supervisors.

All roles are full-time (up to 45 hrs/wk over 4–5 days).
We’re after people ready to commit for at least 2 years.

To apply: send your CV + cover letter to hello@threehorses.bar

Tell us what role you’re after and why you belong on the team.

Let’s build something special.🐎Now quit messing about and send that C.V.

#cocktails #newbar #bar #job #viral taken in Three Horses by @pullingcorks

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a year ago

Progress not perfection.

So, while we didn’t win anything at Spirited Awards this year, I’m not down. It didn’t hurt. We got to see some of our closest friends be recognised and awarded for their hard work, creativity and individuality.

I couldn’t be prouder of our team and our family. I am immeasurably grateful for every single person that has and does help us on our journey. My cup is full and our village just keeps getting bigger.

Maybe next year. Maybe not. But always Guinness, Punch & Wine. taken in caretakers.cottage by @pullingcorks

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a year ago