“I said to the man, ‘are you trying to tempt me?
Because I come from the land of plenty!'”

– Down Under, Men at Work (1980)

We definitely have a sweet and sour temptation for you today. We can’t go past a Friday cocktail hour during the Australia Issue without popping by to visit with the good folk at new St Kilda venue The Land of Plenty. Not only is their recipe to the ‘Flamin Galah’ cocktail inspired by all things local, but their entire bar is too! If you’re a couple who loves supporting local spirits, your next wedding planning date night could be here!

We can certainly imagine an Australiana-themed engagement party upon The Land of Plenty‘s airy rooftop, where there is plenty of space for your guests to mingle or share a bench over locally-sourced craft brews. Here they’d serve an upscale charcoal barbeque celebration feast (over mallee root coals, naturally) with mini milo dampers for dessert! Plus there are a variety of steaks and snags on the menu here to kick off a discerning buck’s evening in style.

The drink they have shared with us today is named for one famous Australian bird, includes a flower that shares its name with another, and is as colourful – and as welcome a sight in your backyard – as both!

Flamin Galah by The Land of Plenty

  • 45ml dry gin (simply pick your favourite Australian label)
  • 30ml lemon juice
  • 15-20ml rosella syrup (see note)
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 lemon myrtle leaf, to garnish

Chill a coupette or cocktail glass. Add all ingredients – except garnish – to a boston shaker. Dry shake (without ice) for 30 seconds to create foam. Hard shake with ice for a further 30 seconds. Double strain into your cocktail glass/coupette. Garnish with fresh lemon myrtle leaf.

Note: To make rosella syrup. Combine 1 cup rosella leaves (native hibiscus), 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Heat gently stirring to help the sugar dissolve. Bring to the boil, allow to cool, then strain leaves out. You can also cheat by buying hibiscus flowers in jars and use the syrup from that.

Aside from being Ms Polka’s Editorial Assistant, Ms Fleur de Lys is also Polka Dot Bride’s Melbourne correspondent so you’ll see her running all over town finding wedding inspiration. As both a lifestyle journalist and cocktail aficionado, Fleur appreciates the power of words whipped up as deftly as a good martini.