Everleaf Forest

Everleaf are doing some exciting drinks, and this might be my favourite yet. While the Everleaf Mountain has all the charm of a cherry orchard in springtime, this is altogether a more craggy landscape: it’s dry and earthy. Opening the bottle for a first sniff, I’m disconcerted, in a good way, by the confidence and originality of the mix of scents that present. There are notes of aromatic barks like liquorice, cinnamon and cassia which are set off against the creaminess of vanilla and sharpened at the edges by the tang of orange oils. The woody, leathery scent of vetiver does some powerful work in pulling all these scents to a single focus so that on first sniff one is reminded of a spice shop in a souk. The taste is multi-layered, the initial blend of the woody and spicy flavours mellowing into a moment’s sweetness, with the carrageen adding a slight syrupy texture, before it finishes with a long, scented bitterness. Everleaf are using expensive ingredients here, and they’re doing it with great panache and skill. One to keep.