Instructions

Take a large mason jar (approx 1 litre) and into it pour the sugar and about 100 ml of the gin. Seal the jar and swirl it around to disolve as much of the sugar as possible. Pour the brambles in, then use the back of a large metal spoon to mash the fruit a little. Peel the apple and then cut into small chunks – no larger than 5cm² (the smaller they are the more surface area there will be to let the flavours impart into the gin), add the chunks into the jar along with the cinnamon.

Pour the rest of the gin in and use the large metal tablespoon to stir everything together, ensuring that all of the sugar is dissolved. Chop sticks also work very well for this!

Seal the jar and store it in a cool, dry place that is out of direct sunlight. It will take about two weeks for the flavours to become just right (it will colour early because the brambles, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s done), you should stir, shake or swirl every couple of days.

After the fortnight, sterilise the bottle(s) it will be going into. Using a coffee filter, piece of muslin or (my preferred option) a sieve lined with kitchen roll to filter out the fruit and the cinnamon. I tend to do this into a just so it is easier to pour into the bottles. Decant the filtered gin into your bottles and seal, serve with tonic over ice.