Quick festive quiz question, what connects Buck & Birch with Elton John, Charles Dickens, Monty Python and your father? 

The answer? Well, Elderberries of course! 

Elderberry it is said, is the Englishman's grape and as well as being used to make immune-fortifying Winter syrups, jams and condiments, there has long been a tradition of making elderberry wine here in Britain. So good is it that at Christmas time, street sellers would spice some up, fortify it a little with rum, and take it to the streets, selling it hot. Dispensed from great copper urns in pennyworths or half pennyworths it would have been of great comfort to many through the winter months and was enjoyed in generous quantities in Dickens's famous 'Pickwick Papers'. Elton John even wrote a song about the stuff.

Apart from their great colour and flavour (the Portuguese fortified wine industry had a long history of using them to bolster the qualities of their port), elderberries are packed with all sorts of goodies that will help ward off winter colds and flu and maybe this above all makes them more than perfect as the basis for our take on the Classic Hot Elderberry Wine. Refined slightly, yet simple and easy to enjoy, Hot Aelder Punch is made using our award-winning Aelder elderberry Liqueur combined with apple juice and fortified with some smooth Birch Spirit for extra warmth. 

Aelder, with its blend of exotic spice and wild Scottish herbs, is the real star of the show. It contains around 3,500 elderberries per bottle (that's a lot) and really makes this drink sing. It's the perfect modern take on a traditional classic and dare we say even better than mulled wine. Certainly more Scottish. Get yours hot from our stall at the Edinburgh Christmas Market where you can sample and buy all our goods from the awesome team there. You can try before you buy too. 

Alternatively, you can make your own at home easily with the following steps. 

Per person, you will need 

-175 ml of Apple juice 

-50 ml Aelder Elderberry liqueur 

Warm over a gentle heat and serve. It's that simple. No spice bags or sugar or anything else is needed.

This drink can be prebatched and if you fancy 'pepping' it up a little, use cider instead of the apple juice or add a measure of Brandy or our smooth BIRCH Botanical Vodka. It's a drink not just for Christmas but one that will keep you right through the colder months and is great to enjoy after long winter walks or just in the evening by the fire. 

Here's to old traditions becoming new ones.