Foraging tips and drinks,
Our cocktail expert Miriam Nice puts a seasonal twist on a gin fizz, and asks drinks and foraging expert John Wright how to bring summery flavours to our home bars
EXPERT ADVICE FORAGED COCKTAILS
We asked writer John Wright about using seasonal and foraged ingredients in our homemade cocktails.
1 OTHER THAN SLOE BERRIES FOR GIN, WHAT FORAGED INGREDIENTS CAN BE USED?
Raspberry vodka is very easy to make, and will be ready in just three months. It’s also superb, and a first-class cocktail base if you like things fruity and sweet. Rose petals, such as those of rosa rugosa, the Japanese rose, can be steeped in a decent vodka for three days, and are also great in a cocktail. You can even put it in a spray bottle and mist it over a drink to give your cocktail a perfumed top note.
2 AT WHAT TEMPERATURE SHOULD HOMEMADE LIQUEURS BE SERVED?
Body temperature.
3 WHAT ARE THE BEST INGREDIENTS TO LOOK FOR IN AUGUST?
Sea buckthorn is found near the coast; it’s often on the roadside, planted by highway authorities. The brilliant orange berries cluster densely on the branches, and are used only for their juice. This is yellow in colour, often cloudy from suspended essential oils, and acidic enough to dissolve your teeth. Apart from drinking shots of the stu for an invigorating start to the day, I sweeten it and use it to make sea buck’s fizz.
4 DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR COCKTAIL GARNISHES THAT CAN BE EASILY FORAGED?
Watermint makes a great gift, and is much better than garden mint in mojitos. For something really unusual, collect pollen from pine trees in April and May, and use it with honey to rim your glass. It doesn’t taste of much, but looks pretty – and it’s good for you, too.