When I had the opportunity to go on a foraging expedition with boutique Scottish gin, Caorunn, I snapped at the chance – my nickname isn’t Marc Moregin for nothing, and being Scottish, well, that was surely serendipitous.
Caorunn is a handcrafted, small batch made on Speyside in Scotland – it’s a blend of five locally foraged and six traditional gin botanicals with the clear waters of Scotland and made in the world’s only working Copper Berry Chamber, where it’s distilled more in the manner of a perfume. The bottle has a distinctive five point base to reflect the 5 local ingredients.
Not having the time to visit Speyside, we headed a-foraging in Epping Forest – our guide was Mark Lloyd, ex-River Cottage chef, TV presenter and all round he-man, who gave us a highly educational guide as to what can easily be found to hand in nature. We spotted dandelion and bog myrtle, two key ingredients of Caorunn – the others being heather, rowanberry and the most northern growing apple, the Coul Blush. These latter items were not to be found on our day out, but we did spot Jack by the Hedge, Sweet Cicely, sloes, Ribwort Plantain, Sweet Water Mint and a myriad other natural and edible plants.
Mark educated us in good practice when it comes to foraging – when and how much is viable to forage in order to maintain stocks and preserve the natural order. We also learnt what not to touch – so much so, that the fear of God was struck in us, and I for one, will stick to what I find bagged up in Waitrose…
All this walking and talking brought out a raging thirst, so the next stage was a sampling of Caorunn and a cocktail master class using the various foraged items we had discovered. We headed to South Place Hotel in the City of London, D & D London’s first hotel, and were welcomed in their Secret Garden – a beautiful space on their first floor with a retractable roof – very chic.
We instantly downed a classic Caorunn and tonic – served with a slice of apple to enhance its crisp taste. We then compared and contrasted the flavours of Caorunn neat with nettle sours and lemon balm cocktails – proof of the versatility of gin. Elderberry syrup, apple jelly and foraged tinctures are all ways to customize your tipple – check out www.caorunngin.com for pointers.
To keep us from getting too sozzled, we ate delicious foraged canapés – chickweed pakoras, nettle and wild garlic rarebit and wood sorrel and sweet onion tart – which all went down a treat. Finally, we were treated to a delicious dinner, replete with foraged ingredients and enough gin to sink a battleship.
A fun and fabulous day and evening, and a fabulous discovery in Caorunn – now firmly at the top of my gin list!
