Beech Leaf & Honey Liqueur

The beech leaf is an ingredient that perfectly illustrates the magic of alcoholic drinks making. To sniff or nibble a raw leaf gives you no indication of the transformation that takes place once it has been dunked in a bottle of booze – a mysterious nutty flavour develops after just a few weeks of maceration. ‘Beech leaf noyau’ (see box) had a spell of popularity during the 1970s thanks to the book Food for Free by Richard Mabey. With the recent rise