The Internet is full of wonderful things that I never thought I needed to know and one of them, discovered on the Serious Eats website earlier this week, was a recipe for DIY Drambuie. I am not sure that I have ever had proper drambuie before (I picked up the impression that it can be on the expensive side) but the description as a “Scotch-and-honey masterpiece” was intriguing.

I didn’t have fresh fennel seeds or rosemary to hand, nor three days to steep it but I did have the remnants of a jar of honey that had gone from runny to set and a bottle of scotch, so I decided to experiment. First I diluted the honey with boiling water and then cooled it with more tap water. I then added some whisky, tasting as I went so that I got to the point where its flavour was just starting to establish itself alongside the honey.

The result was very tasty and I am sure one I will try again, although the tendency of sweet flavours to mask alcohol made me decide not to repeat the experiment tonight. Sometime I might even try the recipe from Serious Eats but, for now, I am content to have discovered a mix I will call shambuie.