Cocktail stories: Clover Club Royale

Reinvented classics sit at the heart of the menu in bar owner Ryan Chetiyawardana’s first overseas outpost, Super Lyan. The Amsterdam venue has put a sparkling twist on the Clover Club cocktail.

Super Lyan bar manager Dan Garnell

At Amsterdam’s Super Lyan, which bar manager Dan Garnell describes as having a “crazy design”, drinkers can enjoy twists on classic concoctions such as the Old Fashioned, Margarita and Cosmopolitan. While guests snack on vegan donuts in one of the venue’s three distinct areas, they can also sample Super Lyan’s sparkling twist on the Clover Club.

Garnell says: “In the Netherlands they love classic drinks, as it’s something they can recognise and understand the flavour of. With it being a nice bright and fruity drink it’s very easy to sell and get people warmed onto cocktails.”

For its twist on the traditionally raspberry‐flavoured tipple, Super Lyan uses raspberry whey, tropical gin and Champagne to add its own flourishes to the serve. “With the whole concept of Super Lyan being a re‐imagination of the familiar, it seemed fitting to do a nice twist on the classic Clover Club,” says Garnell.

“The cocktail differs a lot from the original. We use a raspberry whey to keep the full‐bodied texture you would get from egg white in the classic, and we also use a Scottish Gin called Porter’s Tropical Old Tom to elevate the fruitiness of the drink while also offering the juniper backbone you want. We also top up the drink with a mixture of Champagne and soda to add the final pop.”

Garnell says the biggest hurdle they faced while developing the cocktail came with their decision to use raspberry whey. “One of the biggest challenges was making sure the whey was consistent,” he says. “We use fresh raspberries to give it the flavour profile, and that could change depending on the flavours you got from the berries.”

Since gaining a place on the bar’s menu at launch, the Clover Club Royale has been well received by drinkers. Garnell says its “complex and delicate” profile has proved a hit with imbibers.

Click through to the next page for a list of ingredients and how the Clover Club Royal is made.

Super Lyan’s Clover Club Royale

Ingredients:

20ml Porter’s Tropical Old Tom

20ml Raspberry whey

20ml Noilly Prat

15ml Lemon juice

15ml Champagne

45ml Soda

Method:

Add all ingredients apart from soda and Champagne to a mixing glass; add ice and stir to chill. Add the Champagne and soda then transfer to a chilled flute. Garnish with a small edible violet flower.