“Love, care, and attention.” How Hunter Gregory puts together Maybe Sammy’s Tiny ‘Tini riff

Ask any good bartender about what makes a great Martini, and they’ll tell you it’s temperature, dilution, and of course, great ingredients.

But the Martini is about more than that, it’s about how a great Martini makes you feel; the first few sips of a bracingly cold, perfectly executed Martini can make you feel like a million bucks. It’s the cocktail equivalent of dressing to the nines.

The thing is, and as we’ve been writing about this year, with the cost of drinks going up across the board, and guests feeling the pinch, the price of a good Martini is also 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 Maybe Sammy’s talented bar manager Hunter Gregory — one of our favourite people to see for a Martini anywhere, by the way — about what makes a great Martini, and what goes into his riff on the Tiny ‘Tini with Grey Goose.

BOOTHBY: What’s the name of your Grey Goose Tiny ‘Tini riff? What’s in it?

HUNTER GREGORY: So the name of our drink is very simple, very easy to recommend: the Maybe Sammy Tiny ‘Tini is the name. Inside, we wanted to showcase a couple of Australian native botanicals. Of course, our hero, Grey Goose. A touch of a blend of vermouths — we used Oscar Bianco and some Noilly Prat. Then a little bit of lemon myrtle liqueur from our friends at Distillery Botanica. Basically, with Maybe Sammy’s location being in the heart of The Rocks in Sydney, we’ve got a couple hotels all around us and wanted to showcase some native Australian ingredients to our guests.

And what’s the thing with this Tiny ‘Tini trend at the moment? You guys have been doing it for a while.

The Tiny ‘Tini trend has been here at Maybe Sammy for a long time. I’ve been very fortunate to be working here since just after this craze started. It’s something that our co-owner, Stefano Catino, wanted to bring to Maybe Sammy as a showcase to bring smaller serves of cocktails to life, so people can try a whole array of cocktails.

We pride ourselves quite highly on our Tiny ‘Tinis and arguably speaking, our busiest period of the day is our happy hour where we promote our Tiny ‘Tinis, from 4.30 to 5.30 every single day Wednesday through Saturday — a shameless plug but I’ll do it anyway.

What makes a Martini special?

Okay — freezer, a cold glass, and when I say cold glass, a frosted glass. Love, care, and attention. You can judge a bartender based on two drinks they can make, a Daiquiri, but also, of course, a Martini. It’s such a simple drink to put inside the mixing glass, but it’s a drink that so many people do so poorly. So in all honesty, when somebody puts their love and care and attention inside of their Martini, it’s something that I really appreciate.