A Midsummer Night’s Eve potion

There is something so magical about Midsummer Night’s Eve that it calls for a potion — something drawn from Shakespeare’s green world to induce dreams of love and pagan revelry, safely resolved with all the right embraces after a dalliance with comic mayhem.

Elderflower cordial and rose lemonade, with or without a measure of gin, is the basis for an elixir given a magic touch with petals of rose and rose-geranium, elderflower, borage, a little mint and a few strawberries.  I suspect Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustard Seed might have sipped something like this…

There are two offerings here: one is a non-alcoholic glass or jug you can make for everyone, from children to blokes. It’s floral and slightly sweet, diluted with just enough soda water to make it delightfully refreshing, not cloying or at all soapy.

It is also the basis for a long gin cocktail with a summer solstice twist, making a change from the favourite tonic and lime.

Midsummer’s Eve and the summer solstice

As well as being Father’s Day, today, June 21^st, is the summer solstice – the longest day. Our modern-day Druids had a good morning at Stonehenge this year, as the day dawned bright for their rituals of sun worship over the ancient stones.

Midsummer’s Eve and Midsummer Day (a “day” as a unit of time was considered to start on the previous evening when the sun set), have always been linked with the summer solstice, but are not actually the same day, as pagan celebrations were appropriated by the early church to mark the Feast of St John the Baptist on the date it designated as June 24^th (perhaps to make a point of distancing it slightly from the pagan festival).

Typical of such Christianisation, the pagan rituals with their aura of magic endured alongside the religious commemorations of the church, in the lighting of bonfires (thought to drive away dragons and demons), dancing, drinking and feasting. Fairies and witches were thought to be at their most  mischievous on midsummer eve — the premise for Shakespeare’s  A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Medieval accounts of St John’s Day tell of men turning from prayers in the morning to debauchery by night; and establishment disapproval of Midsummer celebrations persisted until the pagan festivities gradually declined or were transformed to tamer secular affairs, now treasured once more for their colourful local history.

In Cambridge there has been a Midsummer Fair on Midsummer Common for over 800 years, and in Cornwall bonfires are still lit on Midsummer’s Eve. Throughout Scandinavia, where the presence or absence of the sun guides the rhythms of the year so dramatically, Midsummer remains one of the most important celebrations of the year, its pagan origins still evident in the burning of imposing bonfires to drive away evil spirits at the turning of the sun. I once saw an awesome tower of flames against the midnight sun at the Sankthansaften or Jonsok (St Johns eve, or “John’s wake”) celebrations in Norway, just outside Bergen. It was a friendly family affair that still managed to make my spine tingle with the connection, on that very place, to pagan times, as I enjoyed my grilled pork with sour cream potatoes, eaten on a paper plate with a plastic fork, in the company of Nordic revellers.

There is something mysterious and magical in this moment of the sun’s turning that penetrates even the contemporary scene. It is a day, and eve, worth celebrating — a way to honour this blessed season and all the energy it has yet to give at that incongruous moment when it starts its progress towards autumn. Suddenly the sun is impossible to take for granted.

I’m all for pagan revelry and seizing the sun while we have it (when we have it, and if we have it – this is, afterall, Britain) – maybe with some Shakespeare in the park, a picnic, or a cocktail in the garden. Toasting the moment helps a little, even a lot, to counter that “downhill from here” feeling that comes with the knowledge we are making the transition, even if we can’t yet (and don’t want to) see it.

Bottoms up, hee haw, and be careful who you fall in love with tonight. There’s magic in the air.

Recipes

 Elderflower rose cooler (alcohol free)

Quantities and directions are given separately for one individual long drink, and for a jug to serve 4-6.

Ingredients for ONE long glass (can easily be doubled for two)

• 30 ml (1 ounce) elderflower cordial
• 100 ml (3 ½ ounces) soda water, cold from the fridge
• 80 ml (2 ¾ ounces) rose lemonade, cold from the fridge
• 2 small strawberries, reserving 1 for garnish
• 3 mint leaves, reserving 1 for garnish
• 5-6 ice cubes
• A few unsprayed rose petals
• 2 leaves of unsprayed rose-geranium leaves, and one of its flowers for garnish (“Attar of Roses” has a very good rose scent and taste)
• A few newly opened elderflower blossoms – one small head will do more than one drink; check that it has a pleasant smell and is free of blemishes
• 1- 3 borage flowers

 Directions

1. Measure the elderflower cordial into a half-litre (2 cup) measuring jug.
2. Muddle 2 of the mint leaves and 1 of the strawberries, along with the rose geranium leaves and rose petals if using, into the cordial in the bottom of the jug, using a spoon to bruise them to release their flavours. You can leave it for up to two hours at this stage to infuse, or proceed after 5-10 minutes with a milder taste.
3. Prepare your decorations: break apart the elderflower into very small heads or individual flowers; have ready two rose-geranium flowers or a couple of small rose petals; carefully take the stem end off the back of the borage flowers.
4. Just before serving, add the cold soda water to the jug with the cordial and herbals, and strain the mix into a second pouring jug. Add the ice and the cold rose lemonade, and stir well for about one minute until icy cold.
5. Pour into one long glass. You can strain out the ice if you prefer to avoid diluting the drink, but I don’t, as I like it cold. With this amount of ice, it should not melt too quickly; the more ice you use, the less quickly it melts.
6. Garnish with one strawberry and one mint leaf, and add a borage flower, a rose geranium flower and a little sprinkling of the elder flowers.

Elderflower rose cooler (alcohol free)

Ingredients for a jug to serve 4-6

This makes one litre of drink, so use a 1 ¼ or 1 ½ litre jug (a pitcher just over one quart), to allow room for the fruit and flower decorations. Alternatively, save some of the liquids in one of the measuring jugs to top up.

• 120 ml (½ US cup) elderflower cordial
• 400 ml (1 ¾ US cups) soda water, cold from the fridge
• 320 ml (1 3/8 US cup) rose lemonade, cold from the fridge
• 8 small strawberries, reserving 4-6 for garnish
• 12 mint leaves, reserving 4-6 for garnish
• 20-25 ice cups (2 cups)
• A handful of fragrant, unsprayed rose petals (from one or two roses)
• 8 leaves of unsprayed rose-geranium leaves, and 4-6 of its flowers for garnish (“Attar of Roses” has a very good rose scent and taste)
• A few newly opened elderflower blossoms – one small head will do a whole jug; check that it has a pleasant smell and is free of blemishes
• 6-8 borage flowers

 Directions for a jug to serve 4-6

1. Directions are the basically same as for mixing a single glass, above, but you will need one litre (or US quart) measuring jug for muddling and for straining.
2. Add the ice and rose lemonade directly to the serving jug after pouring in the strained elderflower and soda water.
3. Either add all the fruit, mint and blossom decorations to the serving jug itself, to pour into glasses randomly with the drink; or reserve some for individual glasses if you prefer, which makes a personal (and neater) touch.

Elderflower Rose Long Gin Cocktail (alcoholic)

If you have a choice of gins to hand, Hendricks is good for this drink as its herbal notes go well, but any good gin will be beautiful. You could add a slice of cucumber, especially if using Hendricks.

 Ingredients for ONE long gin cocktail (or 2 short cocktails)

• 30 ml (1 ounce) elderflower cordial
• 100 ml (3 ½ ounces) soda water, cold from the fridge
• 80 ml (2 ¾ ounces) rose lemonade, cold from the fridge
• 60 ml (2 ounces) gin
• 2 small strawberries, reserving 1 for garnish
• 3 mint leaves, reserving 1 for garnish
• 5-6 ice cubes
• A few fragrant, unsprayed rose petals
• 2 leaves of unsprayed rose-geranium leaves, and one of its flowers for garnish (“Attar of Roses” has a very good rose scent and taste)
• A few newly opened elderflower blossoms – one small head will do more than one drink; check that it has a pleasant smell and is free of blemishes
• 1- 3 borage flowers

Directions to make ONE long gin cocktail

Add 60 ml (2 ounces) gin to the single recipe above for the non-alcoholic elderflower rose cooler. Add the gin after straining out the petals, and stir in well with the ice and rose lemonade.