Thorny Drop

This boxthorn berry wine would have been the perfect thing to ‘spike’ the punch with. Made by New Plymouth’s Cottage Wines from genuine Taranaki boxthorn berries gathered by Taranaki Museum staff and volunteers, this cheeky tipple was brewed in 2000 to mark the opening of an exhibition celebrating the thorny South African migrant.

Introduced to Taranaki as a hedging plant in the late 1870s, boxthorn thrived in the dry, salty winds of south and coastal Taranaki, forming viciously spined barriers and becoming a notable feature of the landscape.

With an 11.7 per cent alcohol content, this boxthorn wine was by all accounts quite drinkable, but never went further than this initial promotion.