Make Your Own Elderflower Gin

This elderflower gin recipe is a fresh twist on the traditional gin and tonic enjoyed during summer (or any time!).

The weather here on the farm is finally getting warmer. The days are getting longer. I love the summer. Late afternoons sitting on the verandah watching the sun go down and enjoying a cocktail are the best. Which is one of the reasons we decided to have a try at making our own elderflower gin.

Last Saturday night the weather was mild so we went for a walk up the hill after dinner. We are lucky to have a small croft of bushland in the top corner of our property and over the past year the cows have done an admirable job of clearing out the weeds. There were so many blackberries I was scared to go in because of snakes. Anyway, since the cows cleared the area we discovered not only do we have a very old fern glade (around 150 years we assume from the height of the ferns) but a number of elderberry bushes. You can imagine the possibilities running through my mind on this discovery and the Googling that was done!

Why an Elderflower Gin Recipe?

Some years ago we watched an episode of River Cottage where Hugh was making Elderflower champagne and I’ve always wanted to try it. We decided however to start simple with an elderflower gin recipe.

But why did we choose an elderflower gin recipe? Well, firstly, I used to love gin. There was a night back in the 80s where that changed (I won’t bore you with the ugly details). I’ve recently reignited my love for the drink and thought a fresh twist on the traditional gin and tonic on the verandah before dinner might be worth a try. Having so many of these bushes growing wild around our property, it seemed a natural thing to use the produce we have, rather than buying something to infuse the gin with from the supermarket.

The Elderflower Gin Recipe

Ingredients

• 6-8 freshly picked elderflower heads
• 1 strip lemon peel
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 500ml gin

Method

• Shake any obvious bugs off the elderflower heads then put them into a large jar or jug. Add the lemon peel, caster sugar and pour over the gin. Cover and leave to infuse for 24hrs.
• Strain through coffee filter paper or 2 sheets of kitchen paper into a clean bottle.
• Keeps for up to 1 month.

How To Drink Elderflower Gin

Elderflower gin can be enjoyed in a number of ways. It’s perfect for the end of the day after you’ve spent it in the garden if you’ve been busy constructing new fencing. Gavin has been doing a lot of this since he got home. He needs a lot of gin!

Drink this gin

• straight, poured over ice
• with tonic and some mint leaves
• mixed with Prosecco, tonic and lemon (I part of each)