Cocktail of the week: Pignut’s hedgerow highball – recipe | Cocktails

This easy, food-friendly drink is built around the flavours of the countryside – sharp apple, local honey, garden herbs – rather than imported citrus. A touch of blackberry gives colour and depth without turning it too sweet, and echoes the kind of preserves and foraged fruit that run through our food menu.

Hedgerow highball

Serves 1

40ml London dry gin – any classic dry one will do
50ml cloudy apple juice, ideally a tart one
1 tsp local honey
1 tsp blackberry jam or preserve
2 small sprigs fresh thyme
Sparkling wine, to top
1 blackberry, or 1 thin apple slice, to garnish

Measure the gin, apple juice, honey and jam into a cocktail shaker or jam jar filled with ice, then add the thyme and shake hard for about 10 seconds, so the honey and jam dissolve. Fine strain into an ice-filled highball glass, top with sparkling wine (ideally a local one), garnish with a blackberry or slice of apple, and serve.