Nettles feature heavily in both Life in the Making and Wildcraft Homebrew. This time of year there is hardly a day in the kitchen where I am not using nettles for something - pesto, cake and cordial all feature a lot.

A few years ago, a guest gave me a bottle of nettle cordial. I thanked them profusely… and then stuck it in the back of the drinks cupboard. You see, I was sceptical. It sounded nothing short of weird, and maybe bordering on gross. In my mind, nettles were strictly a savoury endeavour.

A few months later, Theo found it and wanted to try some. Honestly it was more of a dare than anything else. But we diluted it with water, added ice and drank…

… and it was delicious. Citrusy and sweet and very unexpected, it has quickly become favourite. Try it with gin for a gimliet