For more than 10 years, Shady Pines has been Sydney’s classic Nashville-style honkytonk. Its admirers come for the laid-back pace, friendly welcome, and an atmosphere built on vintage taxidermy, a salvaged antique back bar, and a deep and abiding affection for good rye, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams and the hard-living men of the highway. Shady Pines draws a lot of its inspiration from the dive bars of old, proud to serve peanuts in the shell and be home to live music every Sunday. But here the small-batch whiskey is good, the guys behind the bar give a damn and the beer is always – always – cold.