Take it Sloe

Build yourself a Scarlett Sloehansson and the world will be a better place.

Take a mixing glass and add a double measure of Sacred Organic Sloe Gin, 10ml each of Rosehip Cup and Blood Orange Liqueur (Solerno) and a dash of absinthe. Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a pared lemon zest. The world around you will twinkle.

Hilary Whitney of London’s Sacred Spirit, says:

“The recipe was gifted to us by a very good friend Craig Roberston of The Strait and Narrow, Lincoln, UK. It’s sweet and gently bitter and was inspired by the actress whom its inventor yearns to visit him.”

English, Irish and Swedish hedgerows are tasting particularly delicious at this time of year.

Henry Jeffrys of Master of Malt, which offers a wide range of sloe gins, says:

“Sloe gin isn’t just a winter warmer, it’s also a versatile cocktail ingredient providing sweetness, fruit and subtle nuttiness. Try it in a Bramble instead of Crème de Mure or in a simple spritz with Prosecco and sparkling water.”

Ruby-red gin appreciation is growing in the UK. In Devon Salcombe Distillery makes Victuallers Special Edition and Snapes Point sloe and damson gins. In Northumberland by Hepple, Alnwick and Lindisfarne. In Yorkshire by Sloe Motion, Shropshire by Wrekin and the Henstone Distillery, Kent by Anno, Suffolk Adnams, and in Surrey, Beckett’s and Wessex. Gloucestershire has Daylesford Organic and Berkshire Botanicals. London boasts Portobello Road. The Plymouth or Black Friars Distillery, established in 1793 which makes it the oldest operating distillery in Britain, also has a sloe stonefruit gin.

As well as being used to make Irish shillelaghs, sloe is also the prime ingredient of Spanish Pacharan/ patxaran with anise-spirit. It has its own PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status that protects the “country” spirit’s identity and traditional processes. The drink is originally from Navarra, the land of the Pamplona Bull Run, in north-east Spain, bordering Rioja, Aragon and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France.

The French have “epine” and Italians “bargnolino”. Sweden is represented by Herno. Germany by Monkey 47, Cucumberland and Elephant (which contributes to two elephant foundations), France Gabriel Boudier. Duke, Switzerland by Studer Swiss Highland Sloe, Spain Rives and Slovenia by Broken Bridge. Poland has “nalewaka” (infused in vodka).

But, with terroir being so important these days, it’s surprising that Ireland only has two-and-half professional stone fruit gin makers. The Boatyard Distillery at Tullybay Marina. Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh also makes a sloe gin.

Oisin Mulcahy, head distiller and blender of Michael Sully’s Clonakilty Distillery, says:

“Our Sloe Gin starts as our Minke Irish Gin into which we macerate sloe berries for some time over a year to extract the full range of flavours available. We then add a special blend of sugars designed to balance the tartness of the sloes and deliver a profile that is complex and balanced. Not too sweet. Perfect for cocktails or on its own.”

Bertha’s Revenge’s Justin Green, whose Ballyvolane House Spirits Company at Castlelyons, Co Cork makes Sloe Bertha, says:

“There is a very long tradition of country people making their own sloe gin in Ireland and it started when fields were enclosed with hedging, probably during Norman times or even earlier.

“Blackthorn was used as the branches are thick and spiny and they also produce bumper crops of sloe berries every autumn and are picked usually after the first frost. Most makers use sloes, blackberries and elderflowers that are all foraged from the hedgerows at different times of the year. We pick the elderflowers in May and make a large batch of elderflower cordial.

“The rule with sloes is to pick them after the first frost but the key is to pick them when they are ripe, which can vary on the weather. We usually pick ours around the end of October. You can bring on the frost by putting the sloes in the freezer. If you didn’t know, sloes are small plum-like berries growing on the blackthorns.”

Bertha’s Revenge co-partner, Anthony Jackson adds:

“A couple of Hedgerow Martinis before dinner will warm the cockles during the winter months. our wild sloes are picked from the hedgerows around Ballyvolane and beyond when they ripen in the autumn. We then steep them in Bertha’s Revenge Gin for several months and add some sugar syrup at the end to sweeten. It’s sweet, but not too sweet and we are careful to strike the right balance. It is lovely, neat in a hip flash and also we serve it up with the cheese board as a port substitute at Ballyvolane House. Sloe gin is synonymous with winter and especially at Christmas. We mix festive bellinis, martinis or sip it as a digestive after dinner. It also makes a brilliant Christmas present!”

Peter Mulryan, CEO of the Blackwater Distillery in Ballyduff Upper, Co Waterford, finishes by saying:

“Ours Sloe and Damson takes over six months to craft. We start with soaking the previous season’s sloes which we have frozen. This is usually in early May. We add fresh damsons when they are ripe (late July or early August). Damsons brighten the flavour, so it’s fruiter than just using sloes. Then, in October, we sweeten with a light sugar syrup. Leave it stand until just before Halloween, then bottle. Sloe gin isn’t just the taste of autumn, it’s for all year round. It’s been a contemporary classic for a long, long time.”

The drupes are to be enjoyed and not feared.

Author Bio:

Kevin Pilley is a former professional cricketer and chief staff writer of PUNCH magazine. His humour, travel, food and drink work appear worldwide, and he has been published in over 800 titles.

Photographs courtesy of Master of Malt