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A Canterbury hotel co-owner has honoured his late wife and business partner in the form of a cocktail, with part of the proceeds going towards a cause dear to both their hearts.
Ōtoromiro Hotel co-owner Jeremy Dyer’s wife Clare Neville-Dyer died in June, aged 66, after a 45-day battle with mixed-phenotype acute leukaemia, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.
Dyer introduced Clarebelle cocktail to the hospitality venue’s menu on Monday, a nickname he would often call her.
It is a premium blend of Little Biddy Gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, raspberry puree and topped with Jansz cuvee brut.
From each sale, $2 will be donated to NZ Blood Cancer to support others in their journeys.
Dyer said he decided to make the cocktail as he was missing Clare and wanted to make something in her memory.
“I’m really happy that it’s going to such a great cause close to Clare’s heart,” he said.
"Hopefully it remains there as a legacy and one of our signature cocktails that will continue contributing to a great cause forevermore.”
Dyer described the drink as a summer cocktail, which encapsulates his wife’s beauty and personality.
The St. Germain elderflower liqueur is a nod to her French heritage and Little Biddy’s spirits are distilled in Reefton, a common stopping point on their caravan trips around the country.
The Jansz cuvee brut in the recipe reflects Clare’s love of bubbles.
“She was a babe, a remarkably beautiful woman, but she was a weapon to those who knew her well, she didn’t suffer fools easily,” he said.
Dyer announced the new cocktail on social media on Monday and has since been overwhelmed with support.
It also reached Little Biddy which sent Dyer an email, saying the distillery is donating a case of its gin to the cause.
“I was not really expecting the response we’ve had,” he said.
“I’ve really been touched by people’s humanity and empathy for the situation.”
Clarebelle is the pub’s second fundraising cocktail, after introducing Rose Collins to the menu about two years ago. It is named after a Governors Bay woman who died in 2023 from breast cancer, which has since become its signature cocktail.
The couple ran the Governors Bay pub for 23 years — two years short of becoming the longest serving publicans in the hotel’s 160 year history.
Clare had a blood test in January after a few weeks of feeling increasingly tired. They thought nothing of it at the time, keeping busy mapping out their retirement plans.
No indication of cancer was found at the time but was still ordered a follow up appointment in May.
Her health had not declined in the four months between and was “reasonably confident” it was going to be a routine blood test.
The results came back the next day and Clare was told she had leukaemia.
Dyer was not there for the appointment but was texted the news from Clare, to which he replied “F**k, f**kity, f**k.”
They still held out hope as the type of leukaemia had not yet been revealed.
People with many types of blood cancer can go into remission on chemotherapy medication, which they hoped was the case with Clare.
A week later, the couple were called back to haematology in Christchurch Hospital for a family meeting. Clare was diagnosed with mixed-phenotype acute leukaemia. She was given a prognosis of one to two months to live.
Intervention was not an option.
“Awful, horrible, devastating,” he said.
They called up their sons Louis and Hugo to tell them the news. Both dropped everything and flew from Melbourne to join their parents. Clare’s sister Tammy was also on a plane from London within a day of learning the news.
Dyer said having that sisterhood around the house gave Clare an extra two weeks.
She did not show any symptoms apart from general lethargy until a week before her death. Clare officially died of a brain aneurysm, caused by a minor fall in their home two days earlier.
Dyer and Clare met while working at a South Melbourne restaurant 35 years ago. Clare went on to manage the Stokehouse in St Kilda while Dyer ran the Metropolitan Hotel in the city’s centre.
The course of their lives were changed when his parents sent them a newspaper clipping in 2003. It advertised a hotel for sale in Governors Bay.
They flew to Christchurch the next week and purchased it within three days.
She spent many years at the front of house, charming patrons as they walked through the door, before transitioning to behind the scenes as head chef for the last decade.
She also helped found Lyttelton restaurant Civil and Naval, which Louis opened in 2013 aged 21, with the help of his brother Hugo.
Hugo still works in hospitality and Louis retrained in IT when he sold Civil and Naval.
Clare’s ashes are currently in a silver cookie jar, one of her dollar purchases she picked up from an op shop.
Dyer, Hugo and Louie are heading to England next year, at the request of Clare, to complete the Wimbledon Eight — a legendary pub crawl through Wimbledon Village in South London.
Her ashes will be spread along the circuit.
“It’s pretty suitable for the most hospo family in the world,” he said.
While Clare was sick, Dyer gave blood and was informed by New Zealand Blood Service it had been transferred to a donor.
At the same time, Clare was receiving a transfusion. While extremely unlikely it was his, even the remote possibility made him feel good.
Clare and her family’s one wish after her death is that if people can, donate blood. Find out if you are eligible here.
kees.chalmers@alliedmedia.co.nz