A collection of Elderflower Drinks II

I had another flush of seasonal food excitability about a month ago, and went out to pick a lot of elderflowers. I came back with maybe 100 heads of elderflowers, plus a whole lot of bugs. Two years ago, I made elderflower cordial from this recipe- it was really good, so I made some more- I think I had just over two litres of cordial, which I mostly mix with gin, fizzy water and lemons for a very refreshing drink. I am considering trying to turn some of it into sorbet too.

As well as the cordial, I made three alcoholic drinks:

Gooseberry and elderflower vodka- a few elderflower heads, a punnet of gooseberries, and about 8 tablepoons of sugar, and topped up with vodka. I made this last year, and it was really successful, so I felt it was worth repeating. I am going to leave this to steep for a tear again.

Elderflower liqueur- from the Wild Cocktails book- This had 20 heads of elderflowers, some sugar and vodka. You then cut up two lemons, and use it to help keep the elderflower heads under the vodka. This was left to infuse for a month. The elderflower flavour of this is incredibly intense. I have tried it out in the book’s suggested recipe of an ‘Elder sour’, but found it a bit too sour- I think it needs a touch of sugar syrup so it tastes more balanced- at least for my tastes.

Cherry, elderflower and honey gin- A more improvised recipe- I had used up all my sugar making the cordial, but had some orange blossom honey- I am hopeful the honey flavour will come through too. I crushed the cherries (about a punnet, but left the stones in, as they add to the flavour. Like, the gooseberry vodka, I just added a few heads of elderflowers. This was just topped up with gin, and I will try it over the next few months until I get a strong enough flavour.

Quince Vodka

This is very easy to make- slice the fruit, put in a jar, add some sugar and top up with vodka. And then you wait. Quinces are very hard and don't give out their juices quickly, so I recommend leaving this for at least a year. Your patience will be rewarded with a golden, fragrant liqueur, good to drink  on it's own or in cocktails. It's nice mixed with some whipped cream too, to go with mince pies or Christmas pudding.

To make it, I sliced 2 quinces, (not huge ones), leaving the core behind. I put them in a 1 litre jar. I added about 50g sugar, and topped it up with about 600ml vodka. Put the lid on the jar, shake to help dissolve the sugar, and then leave for about a year. When it is ready, strain out the pieces of fruit. After the infusing period, I recommend storing in the fridge, as it is nicer to drink cold, but it can be stored at room temperature.

Charred Pineapple and Vanilla Rum

I have been making differently flavoured alcohol for a few years now, mostly vodka and occasionally gin. I tend to let the flavourings do their thing for at least a year before tasting. There a few exceptions, I recently made a horseradish vodka that needed a few hours infusion time, max, but generally with fruit I like to leave it for as long as possible. Not too long ago, I wanted to make a flavoured spirit for a gift- not vodka or gin- and with only about a fortnight to make it in. I turned to my fried Toby, who makes incredible cocktails, as well as tinctures, homemade ginger beer, and all sorts of delicious things to drink or make drinks with. He suggested charred pineapple and vanilla rum, which could be done in a week. I was surprised, but not sceptical about the short infusion time- I trust his advice in these matters completely.

This is how I did it:

Peel and cut one ripe pineapple into slices . Char the pineapple slices- I did this by skewering it, and holding if over the flame of my gas hob. You could use a blow torch, or even a lighter. Put the pineapple slices in a 1 litre jar, add a few spoons of demerara sugar, and top with rum- I used golden rum. Put the lid on, and give it a shake to help dissolve the sugar. Leave for 6 days, then add a vanilla pod- I crushed it slightly with the flat side of a knife before adding it, to help release the aromatic oils. Leave for another day, strain and bottle.

I was really pleased with the results- I had to try some before giving it away, of course, for quality control purposes. Now, I like to always have a bottle on hand for myself. It's nice on its own, but I like it even more in a daiquiri. The basic recipe for a daiquiri is here, I substituted the white rum for the pineapple rum, and cut used a touch less sugar syrup, as the flavoured rum is sweetened already.

I've been playing with the recipe too- I don't always include the charring step, depending on what I feel like drinking, and how bothered I can be. The last batch I made, I used spiced rum, and added a bay leaf instead of a vanilla pod for the final flavoring- this has been my favourite version so far.

Vodka Resolutions

I nobly stuck to 2013's resolution- to make a flavoured vodka every month (except for the months where I used gin).

Here is a photo of the fruits of my labours.

The flavours go as follows:
January: Lychee, Star Anise, Schezuan Pepper and Tangerine Peel
February: Pomegranate, Cardamom and Rose
March: Rhubarb and Raspberry
April: Blueberry, Vanilla and Lime
May: Vanilla
June: Strawberry and Black Peppercorn
July: Gooseberry and Elderflower
August: Redcurrant and Raspberry
September: Pear
October: Sloe Gin
November: Ginger and Lime Gin
December: Cranberry

For 2014, I will be starting a new resolution- to drink and review a flavoured vodka a month.

A Small Collection of Elderflower Drink Recipes

Gooseberry and Elderflower Cordial, Gooseberry and Elderflower Vodka, Elderflower Cordial

To make elderflower cordial, you will need:
2.5 kg sugar
about 30 elderflower heads- check for bugs, thick green stalks removed
2 unwaxed lemons
85g citric acid

Put the sugar and 1.5 litres of water in a large saucepan and put over a low heat to dissolve the sugar. Stir from time to time. When all the sugar has dissolved to syrup, bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Leave to cool slightly- go and pick your elderflowers now if your you have a nearby supply. Pare off the lemon zest with a peeler, and then cut the lemon up into slices. Add the lemon, the elderflowers and the citric acid. Leave for 24 hours.

The next day, strain the elderflower cordial through a sieve lined with muslin. Using a funnel, pour the cordial into sterilised bottles.


To make gooseberry and elderflower cordial, the procedure is much the same. When the sugar has dissolved, add 1kg of halved gooseberries (no need to top and tail) and boil the syrup for about 8 minutes. Let it cool slightly, and add the elderflower and citric acid in the same quantities as the above recipe. No lemons this time. Leave to cool and bottle as above.

For something a little stronger, and even easier to make, you can try gooseberry and elderflower vodka. I filled a jar about halfway with halved gooseberries, about 8 elderflower heads, a good pour of caster sugar and filled it to the top with vodka. The only downside is the waiting time- at least a month is recommended. I am trying to leave all my vodkas for a year, so I can drink suitably seasonal alcohol all year round come 2014.

Ginger Beer

A friend, an exceptionally good cocktail maker, got me into home-brewing ginger beer. Several months ago, while I was in the UK, I watched him painstakingly grate his way through several ginger roots- at least until I felt sorry for him and finished it off- and mix it with lemon juice, sugar syrup, yeast and water, and leave it to do its thing. I put it on my mental to-do list, and eventually got round to it in April.

This is Toby's recipe for ginger beer:

50g grated or juiced ginger root
75ml lemon juice
125ml Simple syrup
300ml warm water
1 tsp yeast

Mix together and fine strain into a fliptop bottle. Leave to ferment for 1-2 days and don't put it next to the oven as I, being an idiot, once did. You may need to add more sugar after this as the yeast eats a lot. Also, this recipe shifts a lot so play with the proportions until you're happy. 

The first time I made ginger beer, I followed these instructions to the letter. It was excellent, not too sweet and with a cold-clearing amount of ginger flavour. 
Since then I have played around with the recipe. I always double the quantities (at least) because there isn't a huge yield, and instead of faffing around with a hand grater, I throw the peeled, roughly chunked ginger into a food processor and pulse for a few seconds. I have been letting it ferment for longer too, up to one week. Personally I think I prefer the shorter time, but others who have tried it are keen on a higher alcohol content. 

My favourite variant has been a coral-pink rhubarb and ginger beer. I replace half the weight of ginger with rhubarb (chopped in the processor along with the ginger) and used half orange, half lemon juice. The flavour was still predominantly ginger, but you can tell the rhubarb is there. 

A ginger and pear version was also good, but does come out a rather unappealing colour.

Jeepers Creepers

This is a horrible drink, and shouldn't be attempted by anyone. If you are curious, the recipe can be found on the alt-text on this Achewood strip.

Flavoured Vodka

I like vodka. Or, I like getting drunk. Maybe both. Flavouring your own vodkas is a great way to feel superior to your run-of-the-mill lush. There's even something slightly wholesome about having a cupboard dedicated to glass jars filled with fruit macerating in alcohol. Maybe not so much as jam making, say, but certainly a lot less effort.Over the past year there has been raspberry, blackberry, quince, cranberry, lychee, passionfruit, rhubarb, kiwi, gooseberry, and currently peach vodkas made and drank. And they've all been great nights.

All you need is a glass jar (Kilner or otherwise), cheap vodka, sugar, and your chosen fruit. Mash/crush/grate your fruit, depending on what sort it is, add sugar to taste, top up with vodka. Shake the jar every day for the first two weeks or so, and leave for a few weeks more. Hard fruit like quince needs a longer time then something soft like raspberries. But you can keep tasting until you are happy with the result. Strain into a clean bottle, and serve very, very cold.

The only non-fruit vodka I have made is vanilla vodka. It has the benefit of having a short flavouring period, and not needing to strain it, so it's even easier than fruit vodka. The same principle applies here, only use a vanilla pod in place of fruit. I leave the pod in when I bottle it, I think it looks quite beautiful. Vanilla vodka is an essential ingredient for Orange Creamsicles, the recipe for which can be found here.