Cocktail of the Week: 34 Mayfair’s ‘Something Classic’ Martini

The signature serve of the restaurant’s ‘Spring Dawn’ menu, this twist on the traditional is garnished with a blue cheese-stuffed olive…

It’s a bold name — but then these are bold flavours. A tremendous tang of blue cheese runs through the new ‘Something Classic’ from 34 Mayfair. It’s a piquant, cheek-tightening flavour; one that shocks and charms in equal, martini-twisting measure. But, brimming with salty-spice cheese and ginger-peppered gin, there is little one could call ‘classic’ about the cocktail.

It’s the same with all of 34 Mayfair’s ‘Spring Dawn’ offerings; the menu from which this intoxicating invention is taken. Created in collaboration with KI NO BI Gin, dishes from ‘Surf & Turf’ to a simple ‘Burrata’ starter have been given gastronomic spins to tempt, tease and trick diners’ tastebuds. This cheesy martini is just one of the lip-smacking sensations.

"It’s a piquant, cheek-tightening flavour..."

The partnership also calls on the fine fizz of Perrier-Jouët’s Blanc de Blancs NV. But, if you’re not in the mood for a fluteful, the restaurant’s talented bar team have also curated an array of limited-edition cocktails to be enjoyed alongside the decadent dishes — including the signature ‘Something Classic’ (which will set you back £22).

But it’s worth every expertly-mixed, extravagantly-garnished penny. Bold and botanical, the cocktail throws together Kyoto dry gin, vermouth and Lillet Blanc. But the real star of the icy-sipped show is that olive. Stuffed with Welsh blue cheese, the quirky combination of ingredients creates a creamy, umami burst of savoury flavour that offsets the florals and spice of the spirit. It’s a must-mix.

How to make 34 Mayfair’s ‘Something Classic’ Martini

Ingredients (makes 1 litre of ‘Something Classic’):

  • 630ml KI NO BI SEI Kyoto Dry Gin
  • 78ml Lillet Blanc Vermouth
  • 78ml Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
  • 210ml Bottled Water
  • Nocellera Olives from Sicily
  • Perl Las Welsh Blue Cheese

Method:

  1. Place glasses in the freezer
  2. Mix all liquid ingredients in a jug
  3. Pour into an empty KI NO BI SEI bottle
  4. Rest in the freezer for at least two hours
  5. Use a piping bag to stuff the olives with cheese
  6. Skewer an olive on a cocktail stick
  7. Remove your frozen glasses and bottle from the freezer
  8. Pour your cocktails and garnish with an olive

Want more innovative cocktails? Here’s how to make the ‘Smoke Signal’ Negroni

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