Elderflower Gin
You learn a quiet country lane isn’t so quiet when you’re trying to pick elderflowers from its verge. Every time you hear an engine, step down to make sure your presence is observed, then tuck back against the hedgerow - that’s when you begin to notice how many cars are using this little lane.
I dawdled along it a few weeks in late May and into June, taking alternate routes home to enjoy the countryside and just a different road and new scene to gaze on. I’d been looking for quiet places to pull over and listen, for places I could safely park up and enjoy some green and trees. I began to notice the elderflower - one more creamy bloom in the succession of whites and off-whites in the English hedgerows, from the earliest brilliance of blackthorn blossom through May’s billows of wild carrot in the verges and hawthorn higher up, in June the viburnum (more prettily named guelder rose) yielding place to lacey billows of elderflowers, flanked by sprays of wild rose in shades of cream or palest pink.
Seeing all the plumy blossom determined me to preserve some in alcoholic liquid form and I stowed pruners and a towel in my car for the now-purposeful journey home from work. It took me two harvest evenings to get the requisite quantities and on both occasions, I was really struck by a difference in growth pattern at the locations where I went. Just looking at the silhouettes side by side, I think most people would understandably conclude they were two different plants.
The elder plants in the hedgerows, probably due to regularly being cut as well as to receiving a lot of sunshine, were upright, bushy, with a practically aggressive quantity of stems, leaves and flowers, all angling sharply upwards. Those on woodland edges, in the shade of other trees, were altogether a more graceful shrub, with elegant branches following much more meandering ways and comparatively sparsely flowered with delicate blooms. Even the leaves grew more gently and the whole impression was airy and light.
Once the gin was finished, on straining out the flowers and stems, (now largely gone brown - apparently this is quite normal) I toyed around and got to the below happy concoction. Whether you make your own gin or buy one ready-made, I’d suggest being prepared to tailor the ratios to your taste and unique batch.
Elderflower Fizz (quantities for one drink)
60ml elderflower gin
40ml elderflower cordial
juice from 1/2 lime
100ml sparkling water
Ice
Slices of cucumber
Mix in a tumbler and enjoy!
