In Bothy Tales, the follow-up to The Last Hillwalker from bestselling mountain writer John D. Burns, travel with the author to secret places hidden amongst the British hills and share his passion for the wonderful wilderness of our uplands. Sloes are edible raw but you must be careful. While raw sloes are rich in antioxidants with an abundance of anti-inflammatory properties, they have a dark side. If eaten in large quantities they become toxic due to the presence of amygdalin in their stones. Once consumed the human body metabolises amygdalin into cyanide which can be lethal in large doses. So, if you do eat any raw sloes always spit out the stone. Under the Bothy trading label Hipflask is a separate brand with a Sloe Bramble liqueur and a full strength Golden Spiced Rum launching today, and a blended whisky in 2022. However, what’s key is that there is more room for creativity. There are several upcoming collaborations, new flavours and products the Bothy team are working on which we’re really excited to announce later this year.”

This is no mean feat as it’s a dynamic forest with over 1000 hectares and restricted access definitely a long term project - a 200 year vision project with a 20 year plan! John has taken his one man plays to the Edinburgh Fringe and toured them widely around theatres and mountain festivals in the UK. John ‘s first play, Aleister Crowley: A Passion for Evil attracted great audiences in the Edinburgh Fringe of 2010. Eleanor’s event starts at 6.30pm on Tuesday 14 November. Bothy Tales with John D. Burns is being held on Monday 13 November at 6:30pm. The events will include an audience Q&A and a chance to buy signed copies of books. I’m really looking forward to reading from Connective Tissue. The story is set in Berlin, England and Scotland, and I’ll be talking about the process of researching and writing a novel based on a real family history. Lemon isn't added to jam simply for zesty flavour, it plays an important role in the science of jam making.The title of this book is misleading, there are no folk tales or myths and legends in this book, it is simply the wanderings of a grumpy old man who immensely dislikes sharing the outdoors with others, and seems to be something of a technophobe.

This is a really special occasion for me because Elgin's been a place that’s been home to me all my life. I’ve always spent my holidays with my aunts, uncles and cousins in Elgin, and we’re a close family. I love the warmth of the people and the landscape, it’s definitely a kind of homeland for me and a place of comfort.” A gin bottle from us tells the story of Scotland's seasons. It's an infusion of nature and culture. A distillation of our respectful, cherished relationship with rural Scotland. It’s why we only use fresh, local strawberries, raspberries, refreshing rhubarb, and botanicals for our fruit-infused gins. It's why we place stories at our heart. A good bottle of rhubarb gin, a place to shelter after a long day, and swapping stories with kindred souls — that's the Gin Bothy spirit.Full strength, rich in flavour, Gin Bothy Smoked Gin is 100% natural and sugar free and is classed as a London dry smoked gin, with a burnt orange deep citrus forward with the smokiness following. Gin Bothy founder, Kim Cameron said: “With a growing team and demand for our products, our office and storage space simply needed to grow to support demand. This is an incredibly exciting move for the team as the Forfar facility gives us room to expand, create several more jobs and means we don’t have to outsource warehousing.”

Oh, what a shame you weren’t here last week,” she says, pity radiating from behind her horn-rimmed specs. “You’ve missed him.” Wait a couple of months before taste testing. If your sloe gin is a rich, berry red then it’s ready!

Summary

Alex Spink and Sons have been making smokies in Arbroath since 1977. They worked with Gin Bothy Founder, Kim Cameron applying their traditional smoking techniques to juniper, orange peel, coriander and lemon which were then distilled, creating the Gin Bothy’s first smoked gin.

We ventured up the lochside, off road into the heart of the forest guided by Steve from Woodland Trust, you think a forest is a forest until you experience it with a man who knows more about the land than I could ever imagine!At this time of year we're busy bottling and batching our delicious infusion of rhubarb gin liqueur. Inspired by the traditions of the past, we only use what's in season. So it's important to not miss out. Following the fruit calendar of Scotland she produced a range of jams and marmalades and sold them in the shop and local markets. Rather than see leftover fruit juice go to waste, Kim's mum suggested adding the juice to gin. The Jam Bothy became the Gin Bothy in 2015 and the rest is history. Kim used leftover fruit juice from her homemade jam to lead the charge for the creation of Scottish flavoured spirits with the launch of her Gin Bothy Raspberry Gin.