Chambord is a supposedly French liqueur made with raspberries. It’s an odd one as the bottle looks like Liberace’s ashtray and the price tag is not far off either. It looks so outwardly gaudy that the drink inside cannot match the bottle and it will all be just a bit Umbongo once tasted. But… Chambord is as lovely as it is gaudy. It is French and made from raspberries with a rich but not overly sweet taste from honey rather than sugar and complimented with herbs and spices. Nice on its own but better with a gin or best of all in a Kir Royale!

I have seen no internet recipe that comes close to it with only rather sweet simple looking raspberry liqueurs on show. I wanted to see if I could get at least close with a drink with a little more character and a lot less sugar.

The main fruit seems to be raspberry though the bottle refers to it as black raspberry which I thought was an American variety only. Looking about it might just be plain old raspberries with a smaller volume of blackberries and what seems a small pawful of blackcurrants too. I have all these fruit at my disposal either through foraging or on the allotment but they can be easily bought.

The base alcohol is said to be Brandy but I think this is only a finishing taste and the fruit macerate in a neutral alcohol like vodka. There was brandy added but this is only about a third of the total which provides a definite character.

Clove is certainly one of the spices used though the official version may have a few extras – a hint of allspice, nutmeg or cinnamon or things altogether more exotic than Tesco’s spice rack. I did not want to stray too close to Christmas spices preferring a summery fruity punch with just a hint of bitterness. One single almond did make it in and I added three strips of Seville orange zest I had stored in the freezer. Most recipes suggest a stronger lemon zest but that would be too citrus and over power the raspberry in my view. I did think of experimenting with orange blossom and may do in the future but not now.

The herb component was the most puzzling. Basil, thyme, sage, parsley etc, seemed too herbal and forward facing which left nothing at all. In the end I went a little off key and used three raspberry leaves to add a little hint of freshness and then just the tip of a bay leaf for a hint of woody depth.

After maceration of about two weeks the fruit was pressed to get all the liquid out and then a syrup of water and honey added. The honey adds extra depth than just plain sugar and compliments the brandy.

SHAM-BORD – 2ish litres

750ml vodka (50% ABV preferred)

300ml brandy (does not have to be expensive)

600g raspberries

300g blackberries

50g blackcurrants

A third to half a vanilla pod

1 clove

1 almond

3 strips of orange zest (no white pith)

3 raspberry leaves if you can

just the tip of a bay leaf (about 1cm in total)

250g honey (good quality)

200ml water.

Rinse the fruit and pour over the vodka and brandy. Leave at least a week to macerate.

Add the herbs, spices and zest and leave another week.

Drain the alcohol into a bowl separating the fruit with muslin. Squeeze as much of the juice as possible from the fruit back into the liquor.

Make a syrup with the honey and water and once cool add half and taste. Add more if desired.

Filter through coffee filters into a clean bottle and then you can use after three days once the flavours have fully muddled together.

Add to gin cocktails or even better make a Shambord Kir Royale with five parts dry champagne/prosecco to one part shambord.