All the signs are there and there is no getting away from it. The nights are drawin’ in, the clocks will going back next weekend and before long it will be Halloween. There is no denying that we are coming to the dark half of the year and we move into the days of walking the dog in the gloaming. In Celtic culture, Halloween or Samhain, is the transition from the autumn festival into winter. Samhain was believed by the ancient Celts to be a liminal time, when the veil between the human and spirit realm is at it’s thinnest and when spirits can move between worlds, as Tam O’Shanter and his mare Meg found out. With the cooling and darkening of the days there is a natural tendency to reach for warming, comfort food and warming cocktails. And in the world of wild flavours and foraging there is so much to gather and celebrate and at this time of year. Sloes, the fruit of the blackthorn tree are now ready to pick. Some say you need to wait until the first frost to pick these – but you can always just put them in the freezer! Pick some now and we’ll talk about this wonderful flavour and tackle recipes for sloes next month.
The last of the late apples are still on the trees and of course the Halloween tradition of apple dookin’ makes for a fun evening. After all the well wet hair and water up your nose, you can warm up with our fabulous warm apple cocktail named for this tradition. The combination of the fruity apple and the warm freshness of the birch is one of my favourite combinations. For a more sophisticated, shorter apple and birch cocktail try the White Raven, one of our Outlander Themed cocktails described in earlier articles. Named after the white witch in the Outlander series this is a great Halloween cocktail, without going to the dark side. The witch trials (that persecuted both men and women, but mostly women) between 1563 and 1763 in Scotland resulted in around 1500 executions were likely triggered by the Reformation of 1560 and may have also been a response to poor climate during the “little ice age”. With my interest in (some may say obsession with!) wild plants and making concoctions with them, I might have been considered a witch and suffered this same fate, had I lived in Medieval Scotland. So when celebrating Halloween we should remember these people that were often just different, poor, unmarried, midwives or healers – and remember that in fact that they were innocent victims. So let’s raise a glass to their memory and be grateful for the times we live in now.
We’ve added a recipe for a lovely apple based mocktail. The Gorse and Apple sparkle is an easy recipe to follow and packed full of fruity and floral flavour.
A different take on a mocktail for this time of year is a shrub - with it’s tangy kick from vinegar (we have used raw apple cider vinegar in the recipe below).
Our wildlife is getting ready for winter too – birds are feasting on the last of the brambles, elderberries and rowans, squirrels are gathering hazelnuts nuts and, well…….squirrelling them away for the winter. So remember when you are foraging not to take everything, as our wildlife is really depending on our wild bounty at this time of year as winter approaches.
Warm Apple Dookin’ Cocktail
Ingredients
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200 ml apple juice
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1 small cinnamon stick
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2 orange slices
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apple slices, to garnish
Steps
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Add all ingredients except garnish to a saucepan.
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Heat gently without boiling.
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Warm for 3 to 5 minutes to develop flavour.
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Pour into a heatproof cup.
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Garnish with apple slices.
Gorse Apple Sparkle Mocktail
Ingredients
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15ml Gorse Wild Scottish Syrup
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100ml clear apple juice
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Small handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
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Sparkling or soda water to top up
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Ice
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Slice of apple to garnish
Steps
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Mix the Gorse syrup with the apple juice.
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Add the mint leaves and stir well.
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Pour into a tall glass.
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Add ice and top up with sparkling or soda water.
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Garnish with some mint, a slice of apple and serve.
Bramble Shrub Mocktail
Ingredients
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200ml raw apple vinegar
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200g sugar
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200g brambles and apples (or other fresh or frozen fruit is fine too)
Steps
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Combine equal parts of chopped fruit (use apples and brambles), sugar and raw apple vinegar in a pan.
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Heat the mixture gently until the sugar dissolves and the fruit softens (about 20 minutes — but don’t boil).
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Let cool and strain the liquid into a bottle (keep the fruit for a pudding or breakfast)
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Chill and use right away or can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days – the flavours will meld together
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Pour over ice and lengthen with sparkling water for a less tangy version
https://www.witchesofscotland.com/
Remember to practice sustainable foraging: be sure you have identified the plant correctly, pick only what you need and take a little from many different plants and places https://foragers-association.org/principles
This article is written by a real person, without the assistance of AI.