Fresh raspberries, Treguddick bay leaves and British sugar

This is the shrub that looks innocent until it starts making excellent points.

We macerate fresh raspberries with freshly picked bay leaves from Treguddick, then combine them with British sugar and vinegar to create a shrub that is bright, red-fruited, gently herbal and properly grown-up.

The raspberries give the immediate fruit: vivid, tart, generous. The bay leaf sits behind them like a well-dressed botanical chaperone, adding a green, aromatic dryness that keeps the drink from wandering off into jam.

Taste

Juicy raspberry first, then a savoury bay-leaf lift, finishing sharp, clean and lightly herbal.

Best with

• Sparkling water
• Mediterranean tonic
• Ginger ale
• A squeeze of orange or lime

Garnish ideas

Fresh raspberry, Bay leaf, Orange wheel, Lemon peel, Mint sprig

Best moments

Dinner parties, garden drinks, alcohol-free aperitifs, berry-led mocktails, and any situation in which cordial feels far too cheerful for the seriousness of the occasion.

Cooking with shrubs

Shrubs are not just for drinks. They are fruit, sugar and vinegar in a bottle, which means they are very useful wherever a dish needs acidity, sweetness and aromatic fruit.

Use them as you would use a sweet vinegar, fruit gastrique, cordial reduction or finishing syrup.

Ideas

Raspberry & Bay glaze for duck or pork
Brush over duck breast, pork tenderloin or roasted ham in the final few minutes of cooking. The sugar helps gloss; the vinegar cuts the fat; the bay makes the whole thing seem more expensive than it was.

Goat’s cheese dressing
Whisk 1 tablespoon shrub with 2 tablespoons olive oil, a small spoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Use over bitter leaves, goat’s cheese and toasted walnuts.

Berry compote sharpener
Add a splash to raspberries, blackberries or strawberries as they cook down. It brightens the fruit and stops the compote becoming jam with social ambitions.

Chocolate pairing
Drizzle a small amount over dark chocolate mousse or chocolate torte. Raspberry is obvious; bay is the reason it works.