Ex-squeeze me?

Yeah, that's right. Bartenders Lee Potter Cavanagh, Ben Blair and Reece Griffith (all ex-Victoria Room) are taking over both floors of Oxford Circus (once Ruby Rabbit) for five weeks from February 18 with Whisky Jerx, a Wayne's World-inspired pop-up bar.

The bar was made possible after the trio won Monkey Shoulder whisky's nationwide Ultimate Bartender Competition. The prize involved $20,000 to fund a pop-up the team could design, market and run themselves.

Cavanagh says the idea behind the bar came about after the three got together to brainstorm the kind of place they would want to hang out in.

"We realised we all had similar upbringings, we're all mad keen surfers, we're all really into rock'n'roll and punk, and we all had a mutual appreciation for Wayne's World," he says.

Wayne's World was released in 1992 and starred Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth, twenty-something Alice Cooper-enthusiasts with a community television show broadcast from Wayne's basement. A sequel was released the following year to less critical success.

"Level one will have a Wayne's basement vibe," says Cavanagh of the venue.  

The level two bar will be a bit fancier and quieter with actual glassware. Wayne's basement on level one will have red plastic cups and a house band rocking every night until 3am with fast, loud, good tunes, Cavanagh says.

The drinks list will be comprised of five whiskies, spirits, beers, wines and non-alcoholic beverages. The guys will also be making their own sodas (hence the "jerks" in Whisky Jerx).

No word yet on how many gun racks and Tia Carrere posters will decorate the joint, but the party time does indeed sound, well, excellent.

231 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, whiskyjerx.com

smh.com.au