Pour a good-quality gin (we recommend our London Dry Gin, of course) into the jar – enough to fill to the top If you feel like getting creative in the kitchen, you’ll be pleased to hear that the quintessential British liqueur is surprisingly easy to make. Simply follow this essential guide to homemade sloe gin by Master Distiller and Co-Founder Jared Brown. From the initial syrup recipe on which to build your gin to tips on foraging for berries so you can make the most of the sloe gin season, you’ll find everything you need to know here. HOW TO MAKE SLOE GIN: THE PROCESS

The good thing about making your own Sloe Gin at home, is that the hard part is done for you. There’s no distillation involved. As this is a Gin-based Liqueur, start with the base. The quality of the Gin was poor - made with turpentine and all sorts - so adding sloes to it masked the flavour, but was dubbed ‘the poor man’s Port’. Playing host? Our range of flavoured gins is sure to get the party started. Whether you prefer a classic dry gin or want to add some colour with pink gin, we’ve got a wide variety to choose from. Just some of the flavours we offer include summery strawberry, peach and mango.For a long time, though, Sloe Gin didn’t have the best reputation. At the height of the 18th century was the ‘Gin Craze’; a time where consumption of Gin grew rapidly in Britain, and particularly in London, when it’s said that the average Brit was drinking 14 gallons of the stuff each year. Sloes grow in hedgerows - historically used to divide land in England - and are abundant in the British countryside, making Sloe Gin production easy. Consider how nuts about Gin the English are… it was an obvious pairing and a match made in heaven. Now that you’ve mastered how to make sloe gin, it’s time for a bit of trivia. There are some absurd myths about harvesting and processing sloes floating around, and we think it’s time to dispel a few of these:

Technically, it’s not really a Gin, it’s a Liqueur. That’s because there are stringent rules about what can and can’t be classified as Gin (if you wanna geek-out about different types of Gin, have a read of this). If that all seems like too much hassle, or you can’t find any sloes where you are, we recommend you cheat and buy it! Let’s start with a step-by-step outline of the sloe gin-making process ( or watch the video here!): Sloes are native to Europe and have long been used by the British to create ‘shooting Gins’ (as they used to be known).One ingredient that occasionally appeared in 19th-century recipes for sloe gin was almond. A crushed almond, added at the start of the maceration process, highlights the marzipan character of the sloe without the added effort of crushing a few sloe stones. SLOE GIN MYTHBUSTING You’d be forgiven for thinking that ‘shooting Gins’ are for doing shots in bars, but actually, they were favoured by the British aristocracy for sipping from a hip flask in the countryside when shooting birds and game. Strain the sloe gin and sweeten to taste with sugar syrup or honey (or a mixture of both), a little at a time until it reaches your preferred sweetness. You can find our sugar syrup recipe below