Rhubarb gin

Use seasonal rhubarb to make this G&T-with-a-difference, or top the finished gin with soda water for a refreshing and gloriously pink summertime drink

Ingredients

• 1kg pink rhubarb stalks
• 400g caster sugar (don't use golden - it muddies the colour)
• 800ml gin

Directions

1. STEP 1
2. Wash the rhubarb, trim the stalks and discard the base and any leaves. Cut the stalks into 3cm lengths. Put in a large jar with the sugar. Shake everything around, put the lid on and leave overnight. The sugar will draw the juice out of the rhubarb.
3. STEP 2
4. After 24 hrs, add the gin, seal and shake everything around. Leave for about 4 weeks before drinking. You can strain the liquor off through a muslin-lined sieve and transfer to a bottle, but I often just leave the rhubarb and booze in the jar and ladle it into drinks that way. Over time the rhubarb and the gin go a much paler colour – this doesn’t look as dramatic. The upside is you that have to get through it fairly quickly!