Reserve Liqueurs

New for 2008

These reserve liqueurs really are the best of the best. Made without compromise, packed with fresh fruit and presented in a new unique bottle. Truly beautiful liqueurs.

Reserve Liqueurs 350ml Description Alc by Vol. Price
Quantity
Sloe Gin This traditional English liqueur is hand made in small batches using the finest hand picked sloes, steeped in high quality London Gin with added sugar. 26% £11.95
Damson Gin Softer and drier than our Sloe Gin, we use hand picked damsons, quality London Gin and a little sugar. Left on the fruit for many months to allow the full complex flavour of the damsons to emerge. 26% £11.95
Raspberry Hand picked whole fruit, steeped on vodka with a small amount of sugar to retain the fresh Raspberry flavour. A truly luxurious taste of summer. 22% £10.95
Elderflower and Lemon Made from hand picked elderflowers, steeped on quality spirits with a little sugar and Sicilian Lemon juice to enhance the delicate floral flavour of elderflowers. 22% £10.95
       

Time, time, time

When making a liqueur that's distinctive and unique, time is all important. For instance, did you know that if sloe or damson berries are left in contact for too long with the gin, they'll actually begin to smell more like cherries? This is because of the stone the berry encapsulates - it gives a distinct almond character when in contact with a spirit!

These are the types of experiences that fascinate and motivate us at Lyme Bay Winery, we are after all trying to create the best examples of drinks possible, be they wines, ciders, cream liqueurs, or fruit liqueurs!

The Sloe and Damson gins, both 26%, require the longest soaking period.We use London Gin as we think the flavour profile fits well with the style we're trying to create, and a touch of sugar and water. The berries are collected locally (seasonally), frozen, and added while frozen. The thawing process, speeded up by the alcohol content, helps to draw as much flavour and colour as possible, then the mixture is left for around four months.

The resulting drinks, when diluted and balanced, display the fresh berries, and are smooth and well balanced. The raspberry, elderflower and lemon are soaked in vodka at 40% ABV. With both styles, the soaking period is much shorter - we found that, especially with the raspberries, there is an ideal time to take the berries out. Strangely, if left for too long, the drink actually loses some of its character!

When we think we've picked up enough character, the mixture is diluted to 22% with water and sugar. In the case of the elderflower, we then add Sicilian lemon juice. This is all done by taste, as each batch and character is unique.Finally, in order to preserve the lively, delicate characters, we only give all the liqueurs a very light filtration before bottling, thus a little sediment may be thrown in bottle.

The batches may be small, but the care and attention certainly isn't!