Juniper from Tuscany, Italy

He believes the wild berries grown under the Tuscan sun ripen more fully than the berries available from other producing countries such as Serbia, Macedonia or India. There are two suppliers with whom he has been working with for many years, one of whom harvests exclusively for Bombay.

These bluish berries are harvested by hand between September and November each year, after the summer sun has naturally dried the berry whilst still on the shrub. The farmers harvest the dried berries by hitting the branches of the shrub with a large stick. Sheets are held underneath to catch the berries as they fall from the tree. They are then cleaned to remove any shrub needles, un-ripened berries and any other impurities and then further dried in large sheds to reduce their humidity to an ideal 15%, so ensuring their longevity.

Every year Ivano selects juniper berries from up to 25 different batches from the two suppliers. In some cases he can tell the quality of the botanical based on the colour alone. The berries should be a dark plum colour, whereas lighter or green colours indicate a bad harvest. The main flavour comes from the essential oils (Alpine Pinere & camphor) within the three seeds inside each berry and this oil content is analysed before selecting the batches that will be shipped to England for distillation.