”I collect ingredients throughout the year to create versatile infusions. Here’s the fruit from 2025, strained out to start fresh for 2026. This selection showcases the best and most abundant fruits available throughout the year. I also process many bitter herbs for use in the shoots come spring. I’m having my yearly spring clean!
GeorgeFlavour Fred
This deep purple and tangy infusion features bilberries, damsons and elderberries. The key to its rich complex flavours and colour lies in the simplicity of layering large quantities of fruit and giving it time. This year I was still collecting sloes and rosehips in January. so we’re experimenting with a new Winter mix for 2026.
The Full Year Negroni is finished by blending wild bitters and wild fruits at the end of the year. The quantities of ingredients and volumes of each remain a secret and are safely stored in a well-guarded, uncrackable safe. I infuse wild bitters for 6 months in 60%abv grain spirit. Strain and then at the end of the year I mix that with my wild fruits infusion 2 parts bitters 1 part fruits. I sugar to taste and often I also make a simple syrup with cherries and bay for extra levels. The berries are then cooked down with apple cider vinegar and sugar before being jarred. Here’s a list of my favourite wild drinks bitters, fruits and flavours, in no particular order: Yarrow – Mugwort – Wood avens – Ground ivy – Birch bark – Cherry bark – Tillia leaves – Beech leaves – Bilberries- Redcurrants – Damsons – Elderberries – Japanese quince – Wild mustard seeds – Sweet woodruff – Fig leaves Some things just take time and it’s my favourite process to follow each year. Just like a Rum-topf.
