Elderflower gin

Recipe

1 litre gin

25 fresh elderflower heads that are just open (best picked on a dry day in the morning.) Do not collect any that are browning. Make sure you only collect the heads and snip off as much of the stalk as you can.

2 lemons

5 tblsp caster sugar 

Method

1. Take a large jar, I use a large preserve jar. Sterilise it and pour in the gin

2. Add the sugar to the gin.

3. Remove the peel from the lemons with a potato peeler and add to the jar.

4. Shake any insect life from the flower heads (don't worry if any get in as they will all get filtered out) Snip off as much of the stalk a you can and add to the gin. Make sure the flowers are squished under the surface of the gin. Some at the top will brown but don't worry it won't affect the flavour.

5. Seal and pop somewhere cool, give it a shake to dissolve the sugar every day and leave for about a week.

6. At the end of the week pour the gin through a clean double muslin or tea towel (I boil mine to make sure its scrupulously clean) This filters out not only the elderflowers but any tiny insect life. I do sometimes pour through several times to get a nice clear gin.

7. Bottle in a sterilised bottle and enjoy with mixer of your choice.