Not past the yardarm

It’s high time I moved on to the next step of my elderberry gin.

The instructions said to strain the berries from the gin and make a syrup. I did that.

The instructions said to let the syrup cool, then add it bit by bit to the gin, tasting it as you go, till it’s sweet enough. I happened to see the time on the microwave, and realised that the sun was definitely not past the yardarm.