Get a look at a very luxe take on the Martini from SK Steak & Oyster
Caviar? Check. Highest quality wagyu for fat-washing? Check, check.
Ask any good bartender about what makes a great Martini, and they’ll tell you it’s temperature, dilution, and of course, great ingredients.
You know what goes well together? A good Martini and a steak. That’s something that the team at Brisbane restaurant and bar, SK Steak & Oyster, know well, as bartender Jack Ryan talks about here.
But, as we’ve written about before, the cost of a great Martini keeps going up. That’s why small Martini serves — Tiny ‘Tinis, if you will — have become a go-to option in some of the country’s best bars. They offer guests a less expensive way to get a taste of luxury, letting you taste a range of Martini riffs without breaking the bank.
That’s why Grey Goose has partnered with three top bars — one each in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne — to offer a flight of a trio of Tiny ‘Tinis with a drink from each venue, so guests can sample some modern riffs on the classic, each of them spotlighting Grey Goose in their recipes.
If you want to try them for yourselves, you can visit SK Steak & Oyster in Brisbane, Maybe Sammy in Sydney, and Apollo Inn in Melbourne — each of the venues are offering the trio of serves in venue from now until October.
Below, lightly edited and condensed for clarity, we hear from Jack at SK Steak & Oyster about their luxurious approach to their riff on the Tiny ‘Tini with Grey Goose, and loads more.
BOOTHBY: What’s your role at SK Steak & Oyster?
JACK RYAN: My name’s Jack, I’m the bar manager at SK Steak & Oyster out of Brisbane, and I’m representing the restaurant in this Grey Goose Tiny ‘Tini activation.
And what’s the name of your take on the drink?
So the name of our take on the drink is the SK Oyster Tiny ‘Tini. Our Martini is a kiwami fat and caviar-washed Grey Goose base, which we combine with our house vermouth blend and our Queen Cerignola olive brine, which is also serves as the garnish for the drink.
Can you explain what kiwami fat is?
So, kiwami fat is a specific classification of wagyu coming from one of our main beef suppliers’ stockyard, out near Darling Downs in Queensland. We’ve worked with them for a long time. So, kiwami is Japanese for excellence and it’s what we try and bring every day in our service and our food at SK, and I think that’s reflected in our Tony ‘Tini.
What does the kiwami fat do for the drink?
When we’re washing it with the kiwami and caviar, we’re getting a little bit of saline from the caviar and we’re getting a nice, round, buttery umami note throughout which we then add to our freezer Grey Goose.
And what’s the idea behind the Tiny ‘Tini serve?
So I think Tiny ‘Tinis are great for a few reasons. The first one: you get to try more. It can be a bit much for people to commit to a full Martini when they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into, particularly people who are new to the Martini scene, people who haven’t got the experience of what they like, how it should be served.
And what do you like about the Martini moment?
For me, a Martini is just a perfect way to start an evening. Many of our guests at SK agree — it’s probably our biggest selling classic cocktail, which is insane for a restaurant environment. We’re trying to elevate our Martini experience and we’re really happy to partner with Grey Goose to do so.
Can you walk us through how the drink comes together?
It starts with our fat washing process where we’re taking our kiwami wagyu fat, and our Art Italica Ossietra caviar, washing our Grey Goose with that, which we then use as a base for our Martini. So we’ll start with a little bit of the fat wash, then go in with some Grey Goose. And we have our house vermouth blend, before finishing off with the Queen Cerignola olive brine.
Why does Grey Goose work so well for this?
Grey Goose is a clientele favourite at SK, and that’s for a reason. It’s got such a crisp, clean palate which is absolutely what you’re looking for when it comes to a vodka Martini.
Sam Bygrave
Sam Bygrave