A few notes for May

I live very close to the distillery that makes Bruadar Single Malt Whisky Liqueur and am fascinated by their story.

Made by Morrison Distillers near Abernethy, this tasty digestif is sweetened with honey from their very own bees who live in hives on the site.

They use a combination of blossom and heather honey from Perthshire, foraged by the bees from nearby clover, heather and thistle, mixed with their single malt. It’s a deliciously fragrant drink. Much less sweet than you might think, with more floral and grassy notes than outright sweetness.

If you, like me, love an Old Fashioned, add 25ml of Bruadar to 15ml of Cointreau, a few drops of Angostura Bitters, a squeeze of orange juice and a few ice cubes. Serve with a twist of orange. Sweet and fruity, and somewhat lighter than the boozy whisky hit of a more traditional Old Fashioned.

I’ve also been foraging this week and picked up some lovely magnolia leaves from an accommodating neighbour.  These are fabulous in a light pickle and served on salads and also make a beautifully aromatic syrup. This will work really well drizzled over vanilla ice cream, or as a cordial with sparkling water. Pick just the leaves and discard any that are discoloured. Make sure that the stamen are not attached to the base of the leaves as these can be bitter.  I took enough leaves to fit comfortably in a jam jar with a bit of room to breathe, probably about 70g or so, then made a very quick pickle of 250ml of sweet mirin and 1 tbsp of caster sugar by heating them gently to melt the sugar. Leave it to cool, then pour over your leaves and seal. They’ll keep in the fridge like that for a couple of weeks.