JANUARY
Oregon grape Mahonia
BEE’S KNEES COCKTAIL
With a lemony, sherbert-like flavour that warms the spirit on the coldest days, mahonia flowers provide floral sustenance for bees and people during winter months.
MAKES 300ML
For the syrup
ο 150ml honey ο 150ml water ο 3 stems of mahonia flowers
For 2 cocktails
ο 120ml gin (choose a light gin) ο 40ml freshly squeezed lemon juice ο 40ml mahonia syrup ο 1 stem of mahonia flowers, plus flowers to garnish ο 1 dash of orange bitters
To make the syrup, put the honey and water in a pan. Heat until the honey has become runny. Stir to combine the honey with the water and then remove from the heat. Pluck the flowers from the mahonia stems and stir into the syrup. Cover and leave overnight to infuse. The next day, strain the syrup and pour into a sterilised bottle. It will keep for one month in the fridge.
To make the cocktail, add the gin, lemon juice and mahonia syrup into a cocktail shaker. Add a mahonia flower stem, a handful of ice and the orange bitters. Shake hard. Strain into chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with a few mahonia flowers. LK
FEBRUARY
Ramson Allium ursinum
WILD GARLIC OIL
Wild garlic leaves contain vitamins C and A and are known to be antioxidant and anti-inflammatory with the potential to lower blood pressure. The leaves are pungent,
