bottlegreen - Sparkling pressé - elderflower
produced in the UK, boasting an elegant design, and focusing on one of my favourite flavours: elderflower. does it live up to my (bloated) expectations? the list of ingredients is delightfully short: water, sugar, elderflower… and “natural flavourings.” what’s that supposed to mean?
• taste profile: the acidic, slightly fermented smell of homemade elderflower cordial hits you as soon as you crack it open. it’s a little sweet, a little sour. a first sip greets me with the botanical complexity of elderflower. the sting of fermentation is present throughout the experience and certainly lingers into the aftertaste, leaving behind a hint of salinity. this is not sweet; in fact, the sugar/fructose combo is only there to offset the sourness - it’s very, very well balanced. the complex, floral flavours of elderflower soars as the carbonated, sweet and sour base rests on your tongue. not only is it a pleasure for the mouth, but also for the nose - this is an intoxicating experience all-around.
• rating: 9/10. solid. it’s such a beautiful wedding of fermentation, sweet and sour, while the elderflower’s naturally complex flavour and smell put on, figuratively speaking, their Sunday clothes for this one. goes to show that it only takes a few ingredients to obtain a wildly complex experience. quite frankly, i couldn’t recommend this enough - this dances to the warm notes of an eastern European childhood.
• background: according to the company website (which is one of the cutest i have ever seen, not even joking), bottlegreen was founded in 1989, somewhere in the Cotswolds. under the Our Story page, i found the following:
Inspired by their background in wine making and with a desire to create something out of the ordinary, the couple began experimenting with an abundance of local elderflowers growing right on their doorstep.
you bet i was sold as soon as i read that. everything about this is great - from the exemplarily green colour scheme of the website, to the existence of a Recipes page, this exudes positive energy. i will definitely be trying out the rest of their stuff over the coming weeks.
