Slow Gin A closer look, how to make sloe gin and sloe gin recipes.

Learn about the secrets of Sloe Gin. What is Sloe Gin and how to make homemade Sloe Gin at home. 

What exactly is sloe gin anyway, we get asked this question a lot. So we thought we would post this article on sloe gin to clear up a little confusion about this wonderful spirit with a far amount of history.

Sloe gin is made mainly from sloe berries or more commonly called blackthorn berries, that grow on the thorny blackthorn bush. They are a close relative to the common plum. They are usually picked late in the season at the ripest point in there growth cycle. Usually after the first frost. There are stories that the berries are pricked with the blackthorn thorns from the bush they grow on.

Sloe gin has a reddish color and a alcohol content between 15 and 30 percent.

HISTORY of  SLOE GIN
The first account of sloe gin come from a poem from the British islands in 1717 which refers to drinks "... made at Home ... of Sugar, Sloes, and Grocer's Trash".  In 1838 it was described as a beverage "which the inhabitants of London swallow for port." Today slow gin is used in a wide variety of classic and modern cocktail drinks.

In pop culture history, the rock band Kiss, has a track called Sloe Gin, where Ace Frehley sings, "it's slow gin time again, you know it will always win."

Sloe Berry on a Blackthorn Bush.

MAKING SLOE GIN

Recipe and Instructions to brew your own batch of sloe gin at home. There are variations like sloe cider and sloe whiskey and even tales of infusing beer with the sloes. This recipe given here is for the classic sloe gin, which is very easy to make at home.

Sloe Gin Recipe:
Ingredients
• 500 grams ripe sloes (sloe fruit)
• 250 grams of sugar (more sugar for sweetness)
• 1 litre of Gin (any type of gin is fine)

Procedure:Many suggest freezing the sloes to improve flavor.

Start by pricking the sloes with a fork or other object.

Put them in a large sized canning type jar, 

Pour in the sugar.

Pour in the liter of gin and close the lid tight.

Shake the mix for about 3 minutes.

Shake every day making sure that all the sugar has dissolved.

Place in a dark spot like a cupboard.

After a few months, usually three months you will strain out the sloes by using muslin or cheesecloth. 

At this time the infused gin will take on the characteristic red color of sloe gin.

You can use the leftover sloes to make jam or even infuse wine.

You can decant the sloe gin to remove any sediment and clear the spirit.

Bottle and store in a cool dark place. 

Sloe gin gets better with age.

Options and Variations:
When made slow enough the sloe gin takes on an almond-like flavor from the sloes stones. 
Modern recipes use a short steeping time but also include a small bit of almond extract. 
Another variation is to add some spices like a few cloves and cinnamon.

Homemade Sloe Gin in canning jars.

Sloe Gin Cocktail Recipes (Mixed drinks that use sloe gin)

Sloe Gin Fizz Recipe: (most famous)

Ingredients

• 1 ounce each of sloe gin

• 1 ounce regular gin

• 1 ounce simple syrup. 

• Squeeze of half a lemon 

• Soda water to top

Cocktail Mixing Instructions:

Mix the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.

Strain into a highball glass.

Top the cocktail with the soda water. 

Garnish this cocktail with a sliced orange and a cherry.

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Cape Cod Cooler Recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 ounces sloe gin 

• 1 ounce regular gin

• Squeeze of lime

• 5 ounces  cranberry juice 

• Splash of orgeat syrup (almond)

Cocktail Mixing Instructions:

Shake all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.

Strain and pour over ice.

Serve in a Collins glass or a bar tumbler.

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Sloe Gin Brands

Gordon's Sloe Gin http://www.gordons-gin.co.uk/
McGuinness Sloe gin
Phillips Sloe gin

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