Spy: The barman shaking up New Zealand's uber-rich

Cocktail guru Frankie Walker tells Spy the spring party season is looking strong. Photo / Supplied

Cocktail guru Frankie Walker is set to mix it with New Zealand’s uber-rich in a line-up of lavish parties to celebrate the end of winter, lockdowns, you name it.

Walker tells Spy the spring party season is looking strong, with entertaining trends heading European as well as catering to an increasingly sober crowd.

"We're seeing a real desire for people to re-connect and celebrate as we come out of our third Covidy winter," Walker tells Spy.

Walker owns Black Pineapple, a company that has specialised in fabulous drinks menus for A-list and rich-list events for the past six years. He's mixed cocktails for some of New Zealand's richest families but harks back to humble beginnings.

As a 16-year-old in his UK hometown of Birmingham, he worked at parties collecting used glasses.

"I was hooked from my very first shift, being paid to be surrounded by people having a great time. I mean how good!" says Walker.

He moved to London and kept working in hospitality to fund his studies in English Literature before arriving in Auckland in 2006. He's been a familiar face at the party and events scene ever since.

Walker landed what he calls the "dream job" with Lion, spending 12 years as a brand ambassador, then running the company's brand ambassador team across beer, wine and spirits. That's when the 46-year-old spotted a gap in the market, left Lion and launched Black Pineapple in 2016.

"I'd go to heaps of events and it always struck me that the food, music and theming were always amazing, but the drinks were always super disappointing," he says.

"I started Black Pineapple to fix this with next-level cocktails, custom-built themed bars, served by absolute experts, at real pace."

As well as being in demand with stylish corporate events, Black Pineapple launched drinks kits with options for the best in glassware, offerings which became super popular through lockdowns.

However, it's his discretion and attention to the finer things that have made Walker and his team must-haves at some of New Zealand's most lavish soirees.

He made a point of not naming names to Spy, but some of his company's events have mirrored those thrown by the billionaire Mowbray family. Spy knows of multi-millionaire families who enjoy his services.

"One of the best things about the job is that we get to make the party happen for amazing clients in sometimes insane locations," says Walker.

Frankie Walker's Black Pineapple Bar. Photo / Supplied

"From private tastings for millionaires in hidden basement home bars, to extravagant three-day beach weddings in the Coromandel, and seeing New Year in on 100m superyachts surrounded by Burlesque dancers, our team have seen it all."

"There was a famous Cuban party where we shook Latino cocktails till the very early hours, and then there was the highly effervescent Narcos-themed celebration that we shall not talk of."

Spy recalls former All Black Ali Williams famously had a Cuban-themed 40th birthday last year.

Walker says one of his favourite high-rolling clients has a friends-and-family Christmas party each year.

"The last one featured a huge champagne tower, accompanied by the most incredible seafood buffet I have ever seen. Mountains of crayfish, oysters and shrimp washed down with chilled champs - you can't get better than that," he says.

It all sounds ultra-fabulous but Walker says one of the things he loves about Kiwis is that they're more interested in the good times than the bling, so his team can focus on bringing the party vibe to life through cocktails, theming and sheer theatre.

"We have heaps of inventive ways to engage and delight, including fully custom-themed cocktails matched with amazing custom-built bars and drinks trolleys. Theatrical elements like dry ice, a bit 80s but it still creates a buzz, adds a nice touch as do branded ice stamps, and of course, setting s*** on fire," says Walker.

Those emerging from Dry July may wish to stay on trend and Walker has noticed a growing focus on low and non-alcoholic drinking, with at least 20 per cent of guests wanting that option.

"We have non-alcoholic versions of pretty much all the cocktails we make. Non-drinkers are historically treated like second-class citizens at events . . . warm orange juice, anyone?"

"We get a kick from blowing guests away with cocktails like non-alcoholic Old Fashioneds, which taste just like their boozy counterparts."

For a man whose career has emanated out of the booze industry, Walker is on his own sober-curious journey having just done two and a half months on the wagon.

"I jumped off for a bit and am now back on again for six weeks. I'm personally trying to be super-aware of alcohol's role in my life and examine my drinking patterns and triggers, which is mostly stress. Ultimately it's all about balance."