ROASTED STRAWBERRY AND FENNEL HIGHBALL WITH SAM PAGET STEAVENSON

British Strawberries have a brief season. Blink, and you'll miss it. For Sam, co-founder of Botivo, that’s exactly what makes them so special. Picked and eaten at peak ripeness, they have a depth of flavour that makes them worth celebrating while they’re here.

For the RHEA nutrient density event at this summer’s Groundswell Festival, Sam put them at the centre of a Roasted Strawberry & Fennel Highball, creating a bright, bittersweet and refreshing drink with real depth.

“The roasted strawberry gives you warmth and concentrated fruit up front, while the fennel adds a savoury, aromatic lift,” Sam explains. “Adding Botivo to the mix brings bitterness and botanical complexity."

Long, light, and opening up the appetite, this summer drink works brilliantly as an aperitif. Sam suggests serving it over plenty of ice on a warm afternoon.

“It also pairs really well with food that has some char or savoury depth to it, like grilled vegetables, barbecued fish, or a good charcuterie board – since the roasted fruit and fennel have enough backbone to stand alongside real flavour.”

ROASTED STRAWBERRY AND FENNEL HIGHBALL

INGREDIENTS

For the strawberry cordial

500g British Strawberries
125g Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
125g water
Citric acid 

For the fennel and star anise tea

12g fennel seed
1 star anise
200g boiling water 

For the strawberry and fennel soda

25g roasted strawberry cordial
150ml fennel and star anise tea

For the final drink

25ml Botivo
150ml roasted strawberry and fennel soda
Cucumber ribbon
Fennel frond 

METHOD

1. Add British Strawberries, vermouth and water to a roasting tray. Cover with foil
2. Roast at 160°C for 40 minutes, until soft and juicy
3. Strain gently and collect the clear red juice
4. Weigh the juice and add 30% sugar by weight
5. Add 1.5% citric acid by new total weight. Blend until dissolved
6. Next, pour boiling water over fennel seed and star anise
7. Leave to cool, then strain
8. Mix the Botivo, roasted strawberry cordial and fennel and star anise tea
9. Chill well and carbonate to 45 psi
10. Finally, to bring everything together, line a highball glass with a cucumber ribbon and fill with ice
11. Add the carbonated Botivo and Strawberry Fennel Soda.
12. Garnish with fennel frond and enjoy!

Every bottle takes over a year to produce and is still made by hand. Could you talk us through that process?

We make Botivo on Lannock Farm in Hertfordshire. We start with a base of raw honey and raw apple cider vinegar that we age for a year to soften the acidity and develop complexity.

Over several weeks, we infuse this base with the bright citrus notes of orange zest, the aromatics of fresh rosemary and thyme and finish it off with the complex bitterness of gentian root and wormwood.

Nothing is rushed or forced - the slow infusions are what allows us to draw out the natural complexity of our botanicals.

In a world that often prizes speed and efficiency, why is taking the slower route worth it?

For the simple reason that it tastes better. In a world of mass produced products, there is often a pre-packaged shortcut to make things easier - but it usually comes at the cost of flavour.

I wanted to bring the craft and depth you find in the best spirits and wines into the non-alcoholic space, and that meant accepting the same patience those categories demand. Slow isn’t a marketing angle for us, it’s just what creates the best flavour.

Balance is such a defining characteristic of Botivo – the bitterness, brightness and aromatics all feel carefully considered. How did you go about developing that flavour profile?

It was a lot of trial and error. I started formally developing the concept for Botivo during the third COVID lockdown, when my event company had its event calendar wiped. I turned my home into what looked like an apothecary, with vinegar pots, demijohns or Digiboils on every shelf and surface. I was trialing homemade vinegars and more than 60 different botanical infusions and macerations, all held at different temperatures.

Aperitifs and bitters had always played a key role in the cocktail menus I had developed, so I already knew how important bitterness is to a well-rounded, balanced drink. That is the tradition Botivo draws on.

Your ingredient list is beautifully simple. What have you learnt about flavour by working with so few ingredients?

Botivo is made from seven key ingredients: rosemary, thyme, orange zest, gentian, wormwood, wildflower honey and apple cider vinegar.  With a list that short, every single one has to earn its place - there’s nowhere to hide a weak link. It’s taught me that complexity doesn’t come from quantity, it comes from how deeply you understand each ingredient and how long you let it do its work. And I love that you can genuinely taste each one in the glass - nothing is hidden.

British Strawberries have such a fleeting season. What do you think makes them special?

The fleeting season is exactly why they are so special. Because the season is so short, British strawberries are picked and eaten so close to peak ripeness rather than bred and shipped across the world.

For the RHEA nutrient density event at Groundswell Festival, you created a Roasted Strawberry & Fennel Highball using British Strawberries. What inspired that combination?

Groundswell is all about soil health and regenerative farming, so we wanted a drink that put a seasonal, British ingredient front and centre rather than treating it as garnish. Roasting the strawberries concentrates their sweetness and brings out a deeper, almost jammy note that stands up to Botivo’s bitterness instead of getting lost in it. Fennel felt like the natural bridge - it’s aromatic and slightly anise-forward, which echoes the herbal side of Botivo’s own botanicals and ties the whole drink together.

How would you describe the flavour profile of this drink?

Bright and bittersweet, with real depth. The roasted strawberry gives you warmth and concentrated fruit up front, the fennel adds a savoury, aromatic lift, and Botivo underneath brings the bitterness and botanical complexity that stops the whole thing tipping into something too sweet. It is super refreshing, layered and complex.

For those recreating this highball recipe at home, how would you recommend serving it? Is it best enjoyed as an aperitif, over a long summer afternoon, or alongside a meal? What might you pair it with?

It works brilliantly as an aperitif — long, light, and it opens up the appetite rather than filling you up. I’d serve it in a highball over plenty of ice on a warm afternoon, ideally outside. It also pairs really well with food that has some char or savoury depth to it — grilled vegetables, barbecued fish, or a good charcuterie board — since the roasted fruit and fennel have enough backbone to stand alongside real flavour rather than disappearing next to it.