MENU dorset issue 20 MENU20..dorset pdf issue 20.final | Page 65

SEA DRINKER
t he
with Nick Moyle & Richard Hood
The Two Thirsty Gardeners
Wild Berry Booze
T
his time of year, our foraging fingers start a’ twitching in anticipation of relieving the hedgerows,
trees and bushes of their bounteous goods. This year’s harvest looks particularly plentiful, judging
by the proliferation of fruity jewels that are shining from the hedgerows and dangling off our fruit
trees. Our normally sparse Kingston Black apple tree has developed an alarming stoop due to the
stack of swelling fruits weighing off its branches, and even the allotment bramble bushes – usually stripped
bare by the local pigeon population – are still laden with blackberries, proving too plentiful for our avid
avians to contend with. “Help yourselves, we’re done”, they coo, through purple-stained beaks, their eyelids
heavy and content.
We plan to push some of our fruity bounty into jams and press them into pie-filling purees, but most of our
foraged goods will end up plunging into booze in some form or another. Some of the South West’s finest
drinks makers have also been plundering the hedgerows, boosting their beverages with a bevvy of berries
and fruits.
Commercially-oriented, mainstream cider makers have been churning out fruit flavoured ciders for quite
some time, but now the craft side of the market have jumped on board, bringing a touch of finesse to a
berry-soaked market. Divert your lips to a pint of West Milton’s Purple Haze – a mouth-puckering, delicious
blackcurrant cider with a gentle sparkle.
Lyme Bay Winery’s Damson Wine is a great grape alternative – it’s a maroon-hued, juicy booze with bags
of dark fruit flavours and subtle hints of pepper.
Gyle 59 – one of our favorite Dorset brewers – are never shy on casting fruity ingredients into their beers.
Their Elderberry Stout is a potent brew, cask matured and bursting with jammy flavours. Go easy though... at
7.3% ABV, you might wish to postpone any planned foraging expeditions for a nice snooze on the sofa.
Blackberry brandy
liqueur recipe
One of the most popular recipes on our website is for this blackberry
brandy, as eager foragers look for something other than crumbles and
jam for their bags full of blackberries. You can use the same quantity
of gin or vodka for your spirit base but we think the fruitier depths of a
brandy works best.
To make, simply grab yourself a 700ml bottle of brandy, summon into
action 320g of blackberries from your bounty and weigh out 160g of
white sugar.
Put all ingredients into a clean, sterilised jar with a tight fitting lid and
shake. Set aside somewhere cool and dark and shake daily over the next
week or two until the sugar has dissolved. A few more shakes every other
week won’t go amiss, but don’t get upset if you forget.
As with all such liqueurs, the longer you leave the berries to infuse, the
more fruity, mellow and delicious your drink will be. Three months is
usually adequate for blackberries, but if you can’t resist temptation an
earlier unveiling is fine. When ready, strain into clean bottles and sup it
neat, drizzle over a cold dessert or send a few shots into your favourite
fruity cocktail.
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