Move over High Tea, Gin High Tea has returned to the Flinders Hotel on the Mornington Peninsula.
Hugely popular over the summer months and now a permanent fixture for the year, Zigis Bar at the Flinders Hotel on the Mornington Peninsula has put a unique spin on the traditional High Tea experience with their Gin High Tea.
A twist on your traditional high tea experience, this 3-hour experience held on Saturdays includes everything you love about traditional High Tea, the tiered serving trays, the savoury treats, the decadent sweets and of course unlimited scones, cream and jam. The difference? A gin cocktail on arrival, followed by two premium gin drinks per person.
Recently Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula region has been a hot spot for boutique gin distilleries popping up and the Flinders Hotel’s Gin High Tea is the perfect way to both showcase and sample some of the best with gins from local distilleries such as Bass & Flinders, Rocky Jones, The Original Spirit Co and That Spirited Lot all from the Peninsula and all on the menu with their gin varieties. You’ll also find Yarra Valley-based Four Pillars Gin and Ink Gin from the New South Wales North Coast all accompanied with premium tonics from Fever Tree and Capi.
The good times be-gin at your midday arrival where guests are seated and given a gin menu featuring an assortment of gin varieties from the distilleries mentioned above and a selection of five gin cocktails ranging from fruity to fresh and zesty.
Order your cocktail to kick off the experience and enjoy as you nibble away on your multi-levelled high tea tray where you can indulge in savoury treats such as smoked salmon blinis with Yarra Valley salmon roe and soft herbs, a chicken, zucchini and comte tart and pork, veal and fennel sausage rolls, served with a house made spicy plum and rhubarb sauce.
There’s also a selection of finger sandwiches that go one level above your typical cream cheese and cucumber and include flavours such as cucumber and prawn and chicken and pistou (a sauce, similar to pesto and made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil.)
Sweets included oversized rose, raspberry and lychee macarons, chocolate mousse with pistachio cream and a passionfruit cream choux pastry with cream cheese and orange marmalade.
There are two types of unlimited chef-made scones, buttery traditional and pumpkin. Ours were served with a house-made rhubarb and strawberry jam and fresh Chantilly cream. Both flavours incredible fluffy and light and the jam not too sweet.
Throughout the experience guests are also served two additional gin ‘tipples’ with a mixer from a menu of gins ranging from berry to citrus flavoured, traditionally gins and even a salted caramel flavoured gin by Rocky Jones and a Turkish Delight flavoured gin by That Spirited Lot for those with a sweet tooth.
We tried the original Spirit Co’s Wild Sloe gin and the Four Pillars Shiraz gin following our cocktail, the ‘Zesty Gin Collins’ made with Rocky Jones Signature Gin, Limoncello, lemon juice and soda.
Mocktails can be created to replace the gin, just chat with the bartender and of course, tea and coffee are also on offer.
The Flinders Hotel’s Gin High Tea experience has a coastal cool feel to it. It’s casual, but still special enough to feel like an occasion. It’s non-pretentious, fun, and a great way to sample a variety of boutique locally made gins.
Held each weekend in the bright and beachy Zigis Bar, it’s an ideal way to celebrate a birthday or special occasion with a small group, or simply ‘just because’. The Gin High Tea experience does book out a few weeks in advance so plan accordingly. It’s also a great opportunity to make a weekend of it and book a stay at the Flinders Hotel to make a mini-getaway of it.
High Tea Victoria – find more experiences
in our High Tea Venue Directory
