Have I told you I love free things? I especially love free things that taste really expensive and fresh and delicious and grow right outside my window. Elder is one of those things Elder is so very versatile, both the flowers and the berries are incredible useful and readily available. Big flowery perfumed elderflower is right in season. Pick it as early as you can and ideally on a dry day. So its time to grab a scissors and a basket and get foraging. Brides to be, collect elderflower! Elderflower cordial is a magic ingredient and a splash of it in any sparkling wine turns a welcome drink into a really special cocktail. Its also a cinch to make, I’ve used this recipe here year after year. I will add that if you are foraging its important not to be too gready, we have other things to eat but birds will miss out on elderberries later in the season if the elderflowers are stripped. Rule of thumb is forage up to a third of what you find and leave the rest.

Now, ff you don’t fancy making your own, Check out gorgeous Richmount Cordials.

This week on my Late Lunch Live Drinks I will be featuring Elderflower drinks.

Lots of producers have cottoned on to wonderful Elderflower. Fevertree have a super hand-picked elderflower tonic water that makes even a humble G&T extrodinary.

Kopparberg has a new lime and elderflower cider.

I will be showcasing a homemade elderflower fizz. I used Darina Allen’s recipe from her Forgotten Skills of Cooking book.  Darina published the recipe on her blog here. I was just down in Ballymaloe for the literary festival of food and wine in was so inspired that it made sense to feature elderflower this week.

We’re also tasting 2 delicious St. Germaine cocktails. St. Germain is french elderflower liqueur that is truly yum! I’m making a Parisian Daiquiri and The Royale!

Parisian Daiquiri

40ml Bacardi Superior rum

20ml St Germain liqueur

20ml fresh lime juice

1 spoon of castor sugar or simple syrup

Add all ingredients into a shaker with cubed ice, shake well and strain into a chilled martini or coupé glass.

Garnish with a wedge of fresh lime and a small bunch of elderflower.

 

The Royale

25ml St Germain

25ml Martini Bianco

20ml fresh lime juice

Top with chilled Soda water

 

Take a large wine glass and add all ingredients except soda water. Add cubed ice and stir well. Fill glass with ice and top with chilled soda water.

Garnish with a lime wheel and a bunch of fresh mint or a rose petal!