Turning problem plant into gin is just the tonic How invasive species is harvested to make brightly coloured booze
AN INVASIVE alien plant species wreaking havoc in the scottish countryside is now being harvested to make booze.
The Himalayan balsam plant is being used to flavour gin by Samantha Farmer, who runs crafts store Highland Magic Fibre Arts.
She takes problem plants like Himalayan balsam to use for her products.
She also uses them to create dye for handcrafted woollen goods such as scarves and ponchos.
Samantha, who lives near Loch Ness, began experimenting last year with balsam-infused gin – with delicious and colourful results.
Initially coming out a warm golden colour, once tonic is added to the gin it turns the drink a vibrant pink.
Samantha said: “My goal is to use as many local materials as I possibly can and I’ve gotten into using invasives because they’re prolific and there’s not really a great use for them.
“Last year, I started experimenting with Himalayan balsam.
“They have these lovely pink flowers with a lot of nectar. That can be a bit of a problem because bees are so attracted to them they avoid other plants.
“So getting in there and removing the blossoms, I created an infused gin which was lovely.” Her husband works in the distilling business, with hopes the experiment could lead to a bigger batch of the balsam-infused gins. However, there are strict rules around the handling of the plant to avoid transporting seeds, with a special licence required. The bright pink flowers can grow up to two metres tall – and in doing so, can crowd out native plants as well as cause riverbank erosion, raising flood risks. With this week marking Invasive NonNative Species Week, Ross Watson of Woodland Trust Scotland said businesses like Samantha’s showed how communities could get involved in solving the invasive plants crisis by finding innovative solutions. He said the gin was a “very Instagrammable, very appealing product that could be utilised as a way of harvesting balsam”.