DISTILLATION DAYS

How I would love you to join me for an immersive day, to enjoy the whole intoxicating experience of distillation!

The day will begin, baskets in hand, collecting plant material…in either the garden or the field. The material we choose will be entirely dependent upon the season and the day…for we can only use plant material at its absolute peak…when it encapsulates that exquisite moment of viriditas…the term coined by Hildegard von Bingen in the C12th…that means vibrancy or greenness…when at its most alive.

Depending on the time of year (likely dew, my pruning regime, and which particular plant is ripe for distillation) we’ll most probably need to begin collecting at an earlier hour than most days here generally start, in order to collect before the sun gathers strength. In fact we may need to get to work the moment you arrive…and ask Kim to bring us morning tea on a tray, or in a basket!

After collecting we’ll return to the Dairy to sort, prepare and weigh our material, then I’ll introduce you to all the components that make up Hildegard, my traditional copper alembic still (yes I named it after you-know-who…I couldn’t resist!). We’ll piece her together, connect the pipes, seal her up and watch and wait with anticipation as she rumbles and gurgles to life…ultimately drip, drip, dripping pure aromatic botanical water (hydrosol) into a glass beaker…which we can decant into a size appropriate bottle for each person. Bottle size will depend on the number of participants (fewer participants, larger bottle per person / more participants, smaller bottle). But truly…it’s the experience that will be the pure joy of the day and there will certainly be enough botanical water to go around!

As always, you will enjoy a garden-inspired seasonal lunch. The timing of lunch will depend entirely on the plant material; number of hands and preparation…some take longer than others to prepare and to distill, but as with all the days, they will end at around 3.30 / 4.00’ish, after a visit to the Barn.

Days of distillation will require maximum flexibility, both on your part and mine, as you can see from the descripton above. Being entirely season and weather dependent, it’s why I propose they fall into the ‘private day’ category (so if we really do need to change the date if the weather forecast looks bad, we can).

These days are newly minted! I wonder who amongst you will be the first to join me?

As for other ‘private days’ the cost per person for six is $475.00 or a minimum of $2,850.00 for the day (to be split between a smaller number of participants). If you are more than six please contact me to discuss.

I will  point you in the direction of the Booking Form once we’ve had a chat either by email or phone…it’s simply best to contact me. Here is where you can read more information about the Field of Flowers and the Botanical Water!

I do hope you will be tempted to join me for an intoxicating day of distillation very, very soon!