The Blackthorne | Sloe Gin Cocktail
Yes we all know that I love Gin if you read my other blogs but this month I'm bringing you a quite delicious Sloe Gin concoction. Sloe Gin is a red liqueur flavoured with sloe (blackthorn) berries, which are a small fruit relative of the plum. Sloe gin has an alcohol content between 15 and 30 percent by volume. The traditional way of making sloe gin is to infuse gin with the berries. Sugar is required to ensure the sloe juices are extracted from the fruit. Almond flavouring is sometimes added too. Due to the deep red colour it evokes mulled wine and is a great spirit to use as the summer sunshine has stopped shining on London's beer gardens and the cold is making us disappear underground to some top London basement bars.
The Blackthorne is a wonderful cocktail with many layers. It may be tough to make at home unless you have some Bitters but go to a London cocktail bar and test their knowledge and see if they can make it for you. Let me know in the comments section if you have had any success or failures! Name and shame!
The Blackthorn
Dash of lemon juice
5ml spoonful syrup
20ml Vermouth
40ml Haymans Sloe Gin
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dashes orange bitters
Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, stir with ice, shake and strain
Im particularly a fan of Hayman's Sloe Gin. Haymans Sloe Gin is a traditional English Liqueur made to a longstanding family recipe. Once carefully selected, these English grown sloe berries are gently steeped for several months with Haymans Gin, before being blended with natural sugar. This creates a rich ruby red liqueur with smooth and intense bitter sweet fruit flavours the result is a traditional English Liqueur with exceptional taste.
The Blackthorne with Hayman's Sloe Gin
