Ginger & Plum Cordial — 500ml

Dark fruit first. The heat arrives after.

Ripe plums cooked down until they go almost savoury, then enough fresh root ginger to stop it being comfortable. Deep red, far less sweet than the colour suggests. It does everything the other bottles do — long and cold, sharp with soda, in a glass with a spirit — but it is the one that earns its keep in winter, in a mug, at the end of a cold day.

One bottle, every occasion:

1. Still: 1:5 with cold water, ice, a strip of orange peel.
2. Sparkling: 1:4 with soda. A dash of Angostura if you have it.
3. Hot: 1:6 with hot water and a slice of lemon. The one to make in January.
4. With alcohol: 25ml Drouth, 50ml dark rum or Scotch, top with soda. Or the same again hot, as a toddy.

500ml. Makes about 12 drinks. Store in a cool, dry place; refrigerate after opening.