Ingredients

• 700ml / 1¼pt water
• 700g / 1lb 9oz caster sugar
• 250ml / 9fl oz bourbon
• 8 white-fleshed peaches
• small bunch fresh mint

Method

1. Put the water, sugar and 200ml/7fl oz of the bourbon in a wide-bottomed saucepan, swirl about to help the sugar start dissolving a bit, and then put on the hob over medium heat and bring to the boil. Let it boil away for 5 minutes or so and then turn heat down so that the syrup simmers; you want pronounced fierce bubbles.
2. Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones, then lower these halves so that they fit snugly, cut-side down, in the pan (four to six halves at a time, depending on the pan). Poach for a couple of minutes before turning them over and poaching for another 2-3 minutes cut-side up. The ripeness of the peaches will determine exactly how long they need cooking. Test by prodding the cut sides with a fork — you want them tender but not flabbily soft.
3. When the peach halves are cooked, remove with a slotted spoon to a dish and continue until you've cooked all the peaches.
4. Pour the juices that have collected on the plate back into the poaching liquid, then measure 200ml/7fl oz of the liquid into a small saucepan. Add the remaining 50ml/2fl oz bourbon to this pan, put on the heat and boil until reduced by about half.
5. While the syrup is reducing, carefully peel off the skins from the peaches; this should be easy enough. The rosy fuzz will leave its markings on the white fruit so that each peach half is tenderly coloured with an uneven pink. Leave the peach halves cut-side down, covered with clingfilm, on a plate until needed.
6. Let the reduced syrup cool in a jug nearby. Before serving, pour some of the thick, pink-bronze syrup over the peaches and scatter the torn-off mint leaves — some left whole, some roughly chopped — on top.

Notes