Have the Perfect Drinks for your 'at Home' Hotel Experience

Curated by Cocktail Porter

There's nothing quite like taking your first steps into a perfectly made-up hotel room...The look around the room to see what this one offers, the perfectly made corner beds, the discovery of slippers and a robe hidden within the cupboard.

A hotel experience is always attached to a sense of adventure, a first time in a vibrant city, a celebration of a milestone. It's something to be savoured, like a night of decadent food and cocktails, as one of the finer things in life.

Whilst travel has been put on hold for the minute - giving ourselves permission to feel excited again can help to boost our morale and resolve to keep moving forward.

Crystalbrook Albion partnered with Cocktail Porter for the perfect drinks for your at-home hotel experience. It's time for a little indulgence...

The welcome drink

Permission to wind down!

The welcome drink should be effervescent and light - something that helps to get the taste buds moving to assist in the anticipation of dinner. Something bitter like a traditional Italian aperitivo can ignite your senses and balance the idea of your five taste senses.

An aperitivo drink can simply be 30ml Campari or other bitter liquor, 100ml Soda Water, served in a highball glass with an orange wedge – voila! Or try the Botanical Spritz Gift Set, perfect with three options in one. Try the zesty and bitter tones of the Orange and Passionfruit Spritz with soda, the vibrant Australian Elderflower Spritz or the twist on a classic with the Blood Orange Negroni.

Pre-dinner drink

When you first sit down together, eager in anticipation of the decadent delights of the culinary world you'll be experiencing for the evening, take the opportunity to indulge in the magic of flavour combinations with a cocktail. Whilst you peruse the menu - or decide what you'll be cooking - a Martini in hand will start the conversation flowing.

The great thing about Martinis is they are the truth behind Frank Sinatra’s “I did it my way!” You can drink it anyway you like! If you’re new to the Martinis we suggest starting with a wet (plenty of vermouth) and working backwards from there.

Classic Gin Martini

50ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin
20ml Nolly Prat Dry Vermouth
Two olives or a twist of lemon over the top
Chill in glass with ice, stir down to add plenty of water (dilution) to the drink. Serve icy cold.
Missing the ingredients? Cocktail Porter’s Gin Martini is crisp, herbal and bold.

Matching cocktails with dinner

In the 1960s and 70s Australian culture saw a rise in at-home cocktail drinking. Homes had inbuilt bars with standard bottles of liquor and vermouth, as well as cocktail books and equipment ready to serve to guests.

Making cocktails can be incredibly easy with the right tools - and matching a cocktail to your dinner is as easy as choosing a bottle of wine once you know the rules.

Spicy dinners

Thinking Thai or something with a little bit of kick? Flavour combinations are built around compliments and contrast so consider a cocktail that's a little sweeter to take the edge off the heat of the dinner. A Salted Honey Old Fashioned would be perfect!

Old Fashioned

50ml Bullet Bourbon or favourite American Whiskey
10ml Sugar syrup
Two dashes Angostura bitters
Stir down over ice, serve with an orange zest

Big and bold

Big, bold dinners like spaghetti bolognese or lamb ragu can accommodate a more acidic style drink like a famous Margarita. Think anything that features a good drop of citrus or yuzu style flavour.

Margarita

50ml Don Julio Blanco Tequila
20ml lime Juice
15ml Curacao
5ml sugar syrup
Salt rim Shake in cocktail shaker over ice, fine strain into your favourite cocktail glass with a salt rim.

Seafood and light

Thinking of white meat or lighter dishes featuring seafood? The perfect cocktail will add a dash of spice and bold flavour. Try the Johnnie Walker Highball with Ginger.

After-dinner nightcap

Full after a big night of celebratory food? Your stomach will thank you for a sweeter affair like the Treacle Old Fashioned. If you're tired but keen to stay up and enjoy your night, the Espresso Martini will keep you going until you're ready to rest your head on your perfectly fluffy pillows.

Espresso Martini

50ml Ketel One Vodka
30ml fresh espresso
15ml Coffee Liqueur like Mr. Black
5ml sugar syrup

Written by Cocktail Porter in collaboration with Crystalbrook Albion