Three Bees Raspberry & Elderflower Gin comes from the beekeepers behind Market Harborough Honey Co. The company presses fresh raspberries for the recipe, adds elderflower and finishes with a little of its own honey. The gin is distilled and bottled in Market Harborough at 38% ABV in 70cl, and the pink colour and berry aroma both come from the fruit rather than from anything added afterwards.

The producer names eleven botanicals in the gin base, alongside the raspberries, elderflower and honey. Juniper, coriander and angelica give the dry frame; orange and lemon peel sharpen the citrus; orris root and liquorice deepen the middle; and cassia, pink peppercorns, Szechuan pepper and allspice supply a gentle warmth that keeps the raspberry from reading as jam. The honey does the work sugar would otherwise do, rounding the fruit's acidity without weighing the gin down.

The nose opens on raspberry with the lighter scent of elderflower behind it. On the palate the berry brings both sweetness and acidity, the flower stays delicate, and the spices arrive late and quietly. Fresh raspberry returns on the finish, followed by a mild honeyed roundness and a trace of pepper. At 38% the texture is light, which suits a fruit gin meant for long drinks rather than sipping.

A light, well-chilled tonic keeps the raspberry vivid and lets the elderflower stay delicate. Add fresh raspberries and a small elderflower sprig among the ice, and go easy on the mixer so the citrus and spice survive the dilution. Taste the drink once before garnishing: the fruit is clearer then, and the honey is easier to tell apart from outright sweetness. The finished glass is bright and gently floral, with juniper still there beneath the berries.