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Salads made in heaven.....
 Team Demijohn headed for the hedgerows a couple of weeks ago to pick the elderflower for our freshly made Elderflower Vinegar. It is now in stock in our shops and online, but there will definitely not be enough to satisfy this year's unprecedented demand despite us picking like mad things! It is simply delicious on salads when mixed with our new harvest Villa Montalbano extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany, we are talking about a salad that is possibly made in heaven. Read about our elderflower picking adventures below.....
Also in this letter:
 A Sporting Box. If you like Country pursuits or a picnic, then our newly created drinks set is worth a look. More below....
Fairly busy at the fairs. We will be at the CLA Game Fair, will you? Find out what events we are doing near you below.....
Keep in touch and you might just win a prize! We are on Facebook and Twitter. More below....
Demijohn News - July 2010
 Our News: Biting off more than you can chew is maybe a good analogy for team Demijohn's elderflower pickathon which took place this year on Mon 21st and Tue 22nd June. I apologise now if you found a shop shut. The task: 2 days back to back picking! Due to greatly increasing demand for our wonderful Elderflower Vinegar over the last  couple of years, and our complete failure to satisfy demand, I decided in my wisdom to attempt to resolve the supply problem this year. I calculated that we would need to pick furiously in both Yorkshire and Scotland at exactly the right moments to ensure that we gathered enough of the naturally occuring elderflowers. If we gathered 3 times the crop of 2009, the goddess of elderflower vinegar making, Anne Sinclair, could then be fired into action and successfully create her magical potion for us in reasonable  quantities. The cold winter followed by the sudden and wonderfully quick turn of Summer, created ideal conditions for elderflower. But timing is crucial, giving us a window of barely a week and a half to catch the crown like flowers at their very best. Decision made when to close up shop and attack the hedgerows, we headed first to Lilac Farm near Wetherby, West Yorkshire with kind permission of the Kilby  family (who make our Yorkshire Chilli Rapeseed Oil). The weather was beautiful and flowers in plentiful supply. Picking was only broken to be filmed by BBC Look North, eat our very civilised lunch of course (with Sam the dog!) and take a quick paddle in the River Wharfe. Finished for the day, we loaded the van with the booty and, waving goodbye to our Yorkshire team, who were heading to the pub, I drove hastily North. With barely  a few hours sleep in me, I woke in time to meet our Scottish contingent ready to pick more flowers on the Dalmeny Estate, just North of Edinburgh, with kind permission from the Sinclairs. Once again the weather was spectacular, but then so was our lunch. My dear Wife Frances had been up all night creating a feast for kings. Eating sausage rolls large enough for a hungry army and swilling a few of our Elderflower Vodka  Cocktails was certainly an important part of the day! However, to dispel any myth that this all sounds very romantic and fun, may I remind you now that elderflower grows in the most scrubby, prickly and over nettled places on earth. And as Gina Davidson from The Edinburgh Evening News explains in her extremely well written article, composed after she bravely joined us for a few hours of Scottish picking, you need to be brave to "ignore the stings of ill-tempered nettles..!" I leave it to you therefore if you wish to follow our itchy example and gather your own elderflower!
Product News - Introducing our new Sporting Box
 A year of contemplation, design and development work have resulted in our latest hand made wood product being ready for inspection. Welcome our very new Sporting Box, perfect for shooting parties, race meetings and large family picnics! Our standard edition is pre-loaded with four of our most popular liqueurs, Sloe Gin, Seville  Orange Gin, Brammle Scotch Whisky Liqueur and Organic Rhubarb Vodka. But like all our range, you can make it your own unique box by choosing your four favourite Demijohn drinks. With 16 elegant glasses in two removable trays of 8, this set is perfect for the host who enjoys his or her own party. For shooting parties one set of 8 glasses can even be provided with numbered gun posts. We will be launching our new Sporting Box in the British Food Village at this years CLA Game Fair in a little over a weeks time. But if you cannot make the show, we are now taking orders for delivery in October 2010. Simply register your interest by email now and we will contact you to discuss an order. The fun times are here again!
Event News
The Demijohn road show has had a bit a face lift which some of you will have witnessed at Scone Game Fair last weekend. But with our exhausting programme over the next 6 months it is likely to need another one soon! Here are some of the events we will be taking part in up to the end of October:
- CLA Game Fair, Ragley Hall, Warwickshire: Food Village from Fri 23rd to Sun 25th July
- Huddersfield F&D Festival: from Thurs 12th to Sun 15th Aug
- York F&D Festival: from Fri 17th to Sun 26th Sept
- Coo Cathedral, Aboyne Castle, Aboyne: from Wed 6th to Thurs 7th Oct
- BBC Good Food Show Glasgow: Stand D120 from Fri 22nd to Sun 24th Oct
Stay in touch and win a prize!
 We are always looking for new ways to stay in touch and some times an email or a letter through the door is just not the best way. Many people are now following my tweets on Twitter @demijohnthedeli or have joined our Demijohn Appreciation Group on Facebook. Over the next few months, using Facebook and Twitter, we are going to promote a number of fun competitions. The first will be for all you budding home producers who are making things in your kitchens and garden sheds but as yet go unrecognised in your valiant efforts of home production. You could say this is the Britain's Got Talent of Home Made Stuff, but it will be done in our own Demijohn way and be a damn sight more classy! I would hate you to miss out on this chance to be involved, so to share your thoughts and skills with us and other like minded Demijohn types then please join in on either Facebook or Twitter or both. After all its free to join!
Angus Ferguson
Managing Director
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