Jeffrey’s new Hand-crafted Cordials – a fresh approach

It’s great to see some different, flavoured soft drinks out there to keep us nicely hydrated.  Each of Jeffrey’s handcrafted cordials has a deliciously complex taste, unlike anything you’ll have tried, and they are the perfect thirst-quencher.

There are three cordials to choose from, all with quite distinctive and well-balanced flavour profiles.  Because each is made with a base infusion of cinchona bark (where quinine comes from) they make sophisticated soft drinks – Hooray!

First up is Oriental Lime, a complex and unusual blend with strong hints of the Far East, using galangal, an Asian ginger, along with orange peel and organic lime juice.  Then there’s Yarrow, Rosehip & Elderflower where dried yarrow flowers (a hedgerow herb), rosehips and elderflower come together to create a delicately floral mix.  The final recipe, Sicilian Lemon & Warm Spices, is a unique marriage of warm spices including cassia, nutmeg and allspice, with organic Sicilian Lemon juice, to make a delicious summer’s drink with ice, but it has also been described as ‘Christmas in a glass’ when used in a hot gin.

These cordials make water taste like heaven – just top with sparkling or soda water.  Because they have quinine from the cinchona bark infusion, they are also a wonderful addition to gin and other spirits.  There are some great recipes for simple but delicious home cocktails on the Jeffrey’s website.

You can buy Jeffrey’s in Booths supermarkets, in a range of farm shops and delis nationally, or online from Ocado, Amazon, Master of Malt, or indeed from www.jeffreystonic.com – £6.99 for a 200ml bottle containing 8-10 serves, or £12 for a 500ml bottle, 20-25 serves.