Once there is a bottle in the fridge, what do you do with it?
Last month we answered some of the first questions people ask us when they meet Elderflower Mist Sparkling at a market or festival: Is it a wine? How alcoholic is it? Is it sweet? How is it fermented? And what do we mean when we say it is made from flowers?
The short version is that Elderflower Mist is its own kind of drink, it is a category in and of itself. We make it in small batches at Widden Brook Farm from elderflowers, our pure mountain spring water and other carefully chosen ingredients. It is naturally bottle fermented in pét nat style and usually sits at around 1.9 to 2.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). We have had some recent batches edge up to 3.0 percent ABV, however, that is not the norm and we have never had a batch go above 3.0 percent.
It is not trying to be a wine, beer or cider with something removed. It starts with flowers and fermentation, and we let it be itself.
That usually leads to the next set of questions, which are much more practical: How should I drink it? Which variety should I start with? What food goes with it? And can I mix it with something else?
The answer to the first one is reassuringly simple.
How do you drink it?
Chilled, that is where we would start because that is how we started it when we started making elderflower sparkling for ourselves because we had a pair of vigorously growing elder trees covered in flowers..
Elderflower Mist is made to drink by itself, so you do not need to turn it into a cocktail or add anything to enjoy it. Pour it into a wine glass, tumbler or whatever glass you actually like using, and give it enough room for the aromatics and gentle sparkle to show themselves.
We drink it before dinner, with food, over a long lunch and on the deck in the afternoon. Our customers have shown us that it also belongs at picnics, paddling a kayak on a lake, quiet dinners, celebrations and the kinds of gatherings where people want to share a bottle without making alcohol the centre of the occasion.
The 750 millilitre bottle is part of the pleasure. It can sit in the middle of the table and be poured in the same generous, social way as other sparkling drinks, while the lower alcohol changes the pace of the occasion.
There is no ceremony required. Chill it, open it and pour.
Which one should I try first?
If you have never tried Elderflower Mist Sparkling before, start with our Classic.
The Classic is our signature variety and remains the clearest introduction to what Elderflower Mist is. It brings together elderflower, citrus, freshness and a clean finish, with side notes of ginger and lemongrass. It is the bottle that gives you the best starting point before exploring the variations.
From there, it depends on what you tend to enjoy.
If you like brighter fruit and floral complexity, Crimson Delight is the natural next step. The berry infusion brings a rosewater note forward, with broader fruit character behind it.
If you prefer bitterness, darker flavours or drinks with more savoury weight, try Wild Mountain Hop. The hops balance the elderflower sweetness and bring out ginger and caramel notes, giving it a very different personality from Classic.
Our small-batch and limited releases change over time, so if you meet us at a market, taste what is on the table. One of the advantages of buying from the people who make it is that you can ask us what is drinking particularly well and what is unlikely to be around for long.
What do you serve it with?
Quite a lot, which is one of the things we enjoy about it.
Classic is the easiest place to begin because its elderflower, citrus and fresh acidity work across a broad table. We particularly like it with spicy food, seafood, salty or creamy cheeses, preserved meats and vegetables, roasted nuts and crisp raw vegetables. It can also work surprisingly well at the end of a meal with cheesecake, crème brûlée or simple sweet biscuits.
Crimson Delight suits food with aromatic herbs and spice. Its berry and floral character works well with Thai and Vietnamese dishes, and it also sits comfortably beside Mediterranean food such as grilled seafood, mezze, hummus, tabbouleh or a Greek salad.
Wild Mountain Hop goes deeper. Its hop bitterness, ginger and caramel notes make it a natural match for richer dishes, curries, casseroles, oysters and nutty Swiss-style cheeses.
None of these are rules, they are places to start.
The more useful principle is to think about balance. Classic brings freshness and lift, Crimson brings fruit and floral complexity, while Wild Mountain Hop brings bitterness and deeper flavour. Choose the bottle that gives the table what it needs.
Can you use Elderflower Mist as a mixer?
Yes, and it makes a very good one.
Classic and Crimson Delight both work well with white spirits. Our tasting notes suggest gin, vodka, white rum and tequila, particularly with flavours such as citrus, lime, mint or orange around them. However, one of the most common combinations is with gin. Classic works perfectly with a lighter, more floral gin; while Crimson Delight works well with a drier, full on navy strength gin.
Wild Mountain Hop naturally leans towards darker spirits such as whisky and dark rum. Its bitterness and caramel notes give those spirits something to work with rather than simply adding sweetness. In winter, we have even served it warm as the sparkling base for our Wild Mountain Toddy.
Elderflower Mist can also take the place of things such as ginger beer or prosecco in a mixed drink when you want something lighter and more distinctive.
The important point is that mixing is an option, not a requirement. We made Elderflower Mist to have enough flavour and complexity to stand on its own.
When does it fit?
This may be the question behind all the others.
We see people trying to work out not only what Elderflower Mist tastes like, but where it belongs in their lives.
Our answer has become broader the longer we have been making it. It belongs at the table, certainly, but it also belongs in that late-afternoon glass on the deck, at brunch, beside a picnic, with an unexpected visitor or in the middle of a celebration where you want the ritual of sharing a bottle without the evening becoming about how much alcohol is being consumed.
One customer once stood at our stall, tasted it and asked his partner whether she could see herself sipping a glass of it on the deck in the afternoon. She could, and they bought a mixed case.
That remains one of the clearest explanations we have heard.
The product details matter, but at some point every bottle has to answer a simpler question: can you see a place for this in your life?
If the answer is yes, then the next decision is only which bottle to open first.
