Tasting Report: Plymouth Sloe Gin

Sloe Gin Fizzes were the first cocktail I mastered, but it’s been years since I’ve had one. No reason why, really. Sloe gin, a liqueur flavored with sloe berries, the fruit of the blackthorn tree, has hardly seen the renaissance that other spirits have in recent years. There hasn’t exactly been a clamoring for the stuff in the market.

Well, Plymouth (which I’m on record as stating, unequivocally, makes the best gin on the market) is trying to change that by introducing a premium sloe gin, perhaps the first of its kind. Plymouth threw a swanky party for its new bottling last night at Bourbon & Branch here in San Francisco, and I was fortunate enough to try the spirit along with a number of cocktails made with it.

First, a bit more about sloe gin: It’s made by steeping sloe berries in gin (Plymouth gin, of course), and watered down to 52 proof. 26 percent alcohol makes it a pretty standard liqueur rather than a true gin, so plan accordingly. Served straight, it’s quite tart, really too sour to enjoy on its own, but in cocktails it really shines.

Sloe gin’s natural habitat is the Sloe Gin Fizz, and in its preparation here (with fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, fresh egg white, and a splash of club soda) it was a real delight, creamy, with a good mix of sweet and sour. In a good cocktail, sloe gin tastes a lot like cranberry, and in The Wibble (recipe below), you get the essence of sloe gin at its best. This concoction, which includes grapefruit juice and blackberry liqueur, is like a Cosmo on steroids. Really good.

Amazingly, the addition of sloe gin to gin and Campari made the “Sloegronie” impressively drinkable, still quite bitter, but much better than a real Negroni. Finally, I finished up the night with Plymouth’s Southside (pictured, because it was so cool looking), which actually didn’t include sloe gin at all. Essentially a Mojito with gin instead of rum, I was impressed with how much more interesting this now-tired drink could be. Sub in lemon for lime and add a shot of sloe gin and you’ve got a Sloe Gin Genie (pictured at top, next to the bottle). I’ll give it a try when I get a bottle of my own to play with.

Plymouth Sloe Gin isn’t quite yet available in the U.S. yet, but keep an eye out for it. (If it’s sold at the same price here as it is in Britain, it’ll run about $35 a bottle.)

The Wibble
1 oz. Plymouth Gin
1 oz. Plymouth Sloe Gin
1 oz. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
1/4 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 oz. simple syrup
1/8 oz. Wild Blackberry Liqueur (Creme de Mure)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The Gin Sling

If you do any reading at all about the art of cocktails (and I assume you do, since you’ve ended up here!), you’ve probably come across the name Dale DeGroff. If you haven’t, you need to read more! And you should start with Dale’s book, The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Missing Perfect Drink.

Anyway, Dale is commonly known as the King of Cocktails (rightfully so), and you really can’t go wrong mixing one of his recipes. Among my favorite is his take on the classic Gin Sling.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 1/2oz gin
1oz fresh lemon juice
3/4oz simple syrup
1/2oz sweet vermouth (the Italian kind)
A dash of Angostura bitters
Club soda

Mix all of the ingredients except the club soda in your shaker and top with ice. Give a good hard shake. Strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice, and top off with club soda.

Generally you’ll want to garnish this with a lemon twist or a spiral lemon peel.

The end result is refreshing, and simply delicious.

Cheers!

Recipes: Gin Gin Mule

by D. Bell

Here is another fun cocktail recipe for your holiday entertaining. This one has just enough spice and bite keep your party lively and light. Tis the season to be jolly!

Gin Gin Mule recipe

1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
6 mint sprigs
3/4 oz ginger beer
1 1/2 oz Bombay Sapphire® gin
1 splash soda water

Muddle the lime juice, syrup and mint sprigs at the bottom of a mixing glass. Add gin and ginger beer and shake well. Pour over ice in a highball glass, top with soda and garnish with a wedge of lime.

Serve in: Highball Glass

Gin Rickey

Yield

1 serving

Ingredients

• 1.25 ounces Tanqueray London Dry Gin
• .25 ounces lime juice
• 1 ounce soda water

Preparation

Add Tanqueray London Dry Gin and lime juice.

Server over ice in highball glass.

Top with soda water.

Happy Hour: Sour-Cherry Gin Slings

By partysugar

A year ago I saw this cocktail in Food & Wine. I wasn't much of a gin drinker, but thought it would be delicious with vodka. I printed the recipe and like many recipes, it was forgotten, left untouched in a stack of recipes I once considered making. Recently, I developed a newfound love for gin and all of a sudden, I couldn't stop thinking about the sour-cherry gin slings.

When a friend asked me to make a specialty cocktail for a party, I jumped at the chance to experiment with gin and cherries. I used New Amsterdam gin and bing cherries, though any variety of spirit and fruit is suitable. The resulting concoction is delicious — it's tart, sweet, and refreshing; easy to drink but potent. If you're not a gin fan, don't worry, it's actually divine in this drink. Get the recipe.

Ingredients

Sour-Cherry Syrup
1 pound sour cherries, stemmed
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
Strips of zest from 1/2 lemon
Strips of zest from 1/2 orange
Gin Sling
2 cups gin
2/3 cup Cointreau
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 1/4 cups sour-cherry syrup
Angostura bitters
Ice
Sparkling water
Lime wheels and fresh cherries, for garnish

Directions

1. Make the sour-cherry syrup: In a large saucepan, combine the cherries with the sugar, water and citrus zests and bring to a boil.
2. Cover and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.
3. Pass the mixture through a fine strainer, pressing on the solids; you should have 2 1/2 cups. Let cool.
4. Make the gin slings: In a pitcher, combine the gin with the Cointreau, lime juice, sour-cherry syrup and a few dashes of bitters and stir well.
5. Pour into ice-filled glasses and top each drink with sparkling water. Garnish with the lime wheels and fresh cherries and serve.

Food & Drink Recipes

Glorious Citrus Gin

Ingredients: 2 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin (750 ml, $27.30) 1/2 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz orange or vanilla liqueur such as Cointreau (375 ml, $19.49) or Grand Marnier (750 ml, $42.03) 2 oz orange juice Maraschino cherry

Preparation Method: 1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add gin, lemon juice, liqueur, orange juice and a splash of maraschino cherry juice. 2. Shake well and pour into a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with a cherry.

Servings: 1

Into the Gin

By Anne Cain

I've just finished reading Julie & Julia (the book about the woman who spent a year cooking all of the recipes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and is now a movie starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams). While the book did not really inspire me to do any French cooking, it did make me want to drink a gimlet. Throughout the book, Julie and her husband Eric have quite a fondness for this cocktail, but they make theirs with vodka instead of gin.

They are missing out, in my opionion, as there's nothing quite as refreshing as a gimlet made with some really good gin. One of my friends just gave me a bottle of Bombay Shppire gin, and you can make a mightly fine gimlet with this mighty fine gin! If you're making one, it's a really good idea to use premium gin because the only ingredients in the cocktail are gin, lime juice, and a twist of lime.

Normally I lament the end of summer because it seems like the end of the season for drinking gin and tonics, my favorite cocktail. I'm now thinking that I'll switch to gimlets because somehow they seem right year 'round. Julie Powell certainly seemed to think so! Of course, you do have so many great options when it comes to gin: gimlets, gin rickeys and martinis! Check out all your options and browse our gin recipes. Let me know if you have any favorites. I'm feeling inspired to have a cocktail party now that I have this lovely bottle of gin.