Dinner By Heston cocktail flights perfect excuse for luxe night out
Heston Blumenthal’s culinary creations are far from conventional — and this cocktail on offer at his Crown restaurant could be his most unusual yet.
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Heston Blumenthal’s culinary creations are far from conventional — and the cocktail flights at his Crown restaurant are chic, creative and complex.
On the drinks list, there’s even a martini that’s ‘wet, dry and dirty all at the same time’.
The cocktail flights have been served at Dinner By Heston’s The Bar since earlier this year, and from this week the team will welcome new Christmas themed drinks.
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Sneaking in for a quick after-work tipple at Crown may not meet everyone’s budget, but there’s a mix of people at the bar sharing our company when we visited last month.
Couples on date night, groups sharing a bottle of bubbles to ring in the weekend and those celebrating a special occasion.
Assistant bar manager George Cook says the Dinner team aims to make an impression with its cocktails.
“We want to give a unique spin on the classic,” Cook says.
When we visited we indulged on a martini flight, including the Radish Gibson, Olive Leaf Martini and Chamomile Martinez.
The first is inspired by the cocktail’s creator Charles Gibson, behind the famed Gibson Girls illustrations.
The drink is made from London dry gin paired with dry vermouth, white wine and pickled brine, with a radish in place of the pickled onion.
“We took it a bit further and added a radish. The (ingredient) is in-season, all year round, and it’s pickled, so adds acidity and a savoury zing.”
The second, an Olive Leaf Martini, should be a fan-favourite for dirty martini lovers.
The drink is a Dinner classic, appearing on the restaurant’s first drinks list.
It’s been described as ‘wet, dry and dirty all at the same time’.
“We use olive leaf distillate. We get that by distilling the olive leaf in a vodka base.” Cook says.
The team also use a dry essence through a liquid tannin, which is a flavour indistinguishable on the palate.
“You can’t percieve it on your palate, but your brain knows it’s there,” Cook says.
“Adding that to vermouth gives it that dry kick and allows us to serve the martini with more vermouth than we normally would.”
“It’s still a dry-style martini, but the vermouth makes it super approachable.”
The third and final drink, is a Chamomile Martinez — the predecessor to the martini.
“It is similar to a Manhattan, but with gin,” Cook says. “But over the years it has developed and changed.”
The Dinner team cook chamomile flowers into a liquor mix, including maraschino cherry.
It may be a sweeter note to finish, but provides a welcome balance to the slow-cooked crispy pig’s ear and duck and beetroot crackers, served on the side.
Cook says the Dinner team was collaborative when creating new cocktails for the flights.
“It’s always a team effort, we develop it in a way where it goes through everyone before it goes anywhere,” he says.
“You always give your (drink idea) to someone else. We’ll take it through the wine team and see if they have any ideas, or the head chef who has an amazing palate.”
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The Olive Leaf Martini and the Chamomile Martinez are still available at Dinner.
The Christmas flights are available from Monday December 3.
Dinner by Heston Cocktail flights cost $80 per person for three tasting size cocktails and bar snacks.