Well! had a little slurp of the 2008 today and it's simply wonderful. I had decanted it into small bottles, so will still be leaving some to age further as this really improves a lot over time.
So just a timely heads-up as the beech leaves will soon be unfurling.
1 bottle gin
8 oz sugar
1 glass of brandy
Fill a jar with young beech leaves and pour in a bottle of gin. Steep the leaves in it for three weeks before straining them off.
Boil up the sugar in half a pint of water and add this to the gin with a good sized glass of brandy. Mix well and bottle when cool. Put it away at the back of a dark cupboard and try to forget about it for a year or two!
