Mary Manners, the wife of our founder Lord John Manners, started making cordials in her kitchen in the Seventies by infusing the elderflowers and pressing the fruit grown on the farm. Since then, Belvoir has carried on the same infusing, pressing and cooking of fresh flowers, fruits and spices, which are then blended with local spring water to make our delicious drinks. We never compromise on quality, and choose only the best ingredients. Everything that goes into our drinks is real and natural with nothing artificial at all.
We like to think that our elderflower drinks are a taste of the English summer in a glass. The delicate scent of elderflowers is as quintessentially English as tea parties and village fetes and, in the countryside, it’s often said that summer has only really arrived when the elderflowers start appearing in the hedgerows at the beginning of June.
Here at Belvoir Fruit Farms in Lincolnshire, we have 90 acres of our own organic elderflower plantations. That’s an awful lot of flowers to be picked during the harvest in June, so we’re glad that the lovely local villagers all lend a hand. During elderflower season, we also ask the villagers to go out and pick elderflowers from the hedgerows which we pay them for, so making our cordials is a great community effort. Last year, we were the only elderflower producer to use only English elderflowers.
Once the harvest is in, the flowers are then infused by Phyllis Howitt, the former shepherdess who has been single-handedly making our cordials for over 20 years, in vats of lemon and sugar syrup.
Elderflowers have long been used as a herbal remedy. Traditionally, infusions of elderflower were used to ward off colds, sore throats and hayfever, and herbalists still use elderflower leaves to treat sprains and bruises, and the berries to treat rheumatism.
Belvoir Flavours
Elderflower Pressé
Belvoir’s Elderflower Pressé is the unforgettable taste of summer – freshly picked elderflowers, fresh lemon juice and water from the Belvoir springs are blended together to create this scented, refreshing and extremely quaffable beverage. You’ll find no artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners in this or any of our Pressés. Their real taste comes from real fresh ingredients – which is why we say that they’re 100% good. Serve Elderflower Pressé chilled as a sophisticated and refreshing alternative to alcohol at any time, or add white wine for an aromatic spritzer. It also creates fabulous cocktails when mixed with gin or vodka
Cranberry Pressé
Belvoir’s Cranberry Pressé is made with masses of real cranberry juice, so it tastes amazingly rich yet dry and fruity, and seriously refreshing. As with the entire Belvoir Fruit Farms range, you won’t find any artificial flavours, colours, sweeteners or preservatives in this Pressé. Its delicious, real taste comes from real ingredients – we don’t think you’d want it any other way. Chill Cranberry Pressé in the fridge and serve over ice to refresh your friends and family, or be a little creative and mix it with gin or vodka to create some splendidly fruity cocktails and long drinks.
Apple & Melon Pressé
A deliciously sweet, lightly sparkling pressé made using the finest pressed English apple juice and honeydew melon juice blended with a hint of chamomile extract. Our Apple & Melon Pressé is a light refreshing drink – perfect to sip as you relax in the shade after a long, hot summer afternoon. As with all our Pressés, it doesn’t contain any artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners but gets its sweet and delicate taste from real, fresh ingredients – which is why we say it’s 100% good!
Raspberry Lemonade Pressé
Made using lots of real pressed raspberry juice blended with squeezed lemon juice and lightly sparkling Belvoir spring water, this has a soft and fruity yet zingy fresh taste which makes it incredibly refreshing and good. As with the entire Belvoir Fruit Farms range, this zesty combination of raspberries and lemons with sparkling Belvoir spring water gets all its taste from real, fresh ingredients – not artificial, colours, sweeteners or preservatives. For a refreshing taste of summer, try Raspberry Lemonade over ice with Pimm’s. It’s also the perfect accompaniment to a plate of scones and Cornish clotted cream, or to raspberry ripple ice cream.
Organic Lemonade
A classic reviver for a hot summer day. Traditional, home-made lemonade packed with whole organic lemons for a real zingy flavour.
Become everyone’s favourite host by serving a chilled bottle of our Organic Lemonade straight from the fridge on a long, hot summer’s day. Belvoir Organic Lemonade is made to an original home-made recipe. We press whole organic lemons, then cook the rinds to extract the lemon oil, before blending it with lightly sparkling Belvoir spring water to give a really zesty, refreshing taste. We recommend serving it chilled over ice as a refreshing alternative to alcohol. Nevertheless, you’ll also discover it’s great for cocktails, and a delicious mixer that goes well with gin or vodka.
Organic Ginger Beer Pressé
Handfuls of fresh organic ginger root and whole lemons give this deliciously refreshing ginger beer a memorable, fiery punch. If you like your drinks bold and tangy, this Organic Ginger Beer is undoubtedly the Pressé for you. This is a proper old-fashioned ginger beer, made by cooking plenty of fresh organic ginger for an authentic fiery taste. We then blend it with lots of organic lemon juice and lightly sparkling spring water to create a seriously spicy yet refreshing drink. Serve Belvoir Organic Ginger Beer chilled to wow the tastebuds of your friends and family. Or, if you’re having a party, mix it with vodka to create a truly memorable Moscow Mule.
