No longer just your Grandma’s go-to tipple, gin is having a worldwide renaissance with it gaining on vodka as Australia’s white spirit of choice. No longer do you have to risk all manner of diseases sipping on bathtub gin, but you can satisfy many cravings with the abundance creative flavours on the market.
Settlers Gin itself has ten of its own unique flavour offerings, ensuring you have a gin to suit all occasions. Further distinguishing its gin from other contemporary gins, Settlers makes its gin from a grape based spirit instead of the traditional grain spirit.
So What Is Sloe Gin?
More commonly thought of as a liqueur rather than a gin due to its sweetness, Sloe Gin is made from ripe sloe drupes which are a small fruit closely related to the plum. Each sloe berry is pricked and then added to a wide necked jar alongside sugar and gin. The jar is then sealed, mixed together and stored in a cool, dark place. The jar is turned regularly until three months have passed and after this time the gin starts to show a deep ruby red colour.
The sweetness and flavouring can be adjusted at the end of the process depending on the makers taste. Given sufficient amounts of time to steep, the alcohol will infuse an almond like essence from the sloes stones. Sloe Gin tends to have a lower alcohol content than traditional gin of 15 and 30 percent by volume. The Settlers Sloe Gin is pleasantly tart with attractive juniper and herbal notes, but is a proper gin with an alcohol content of 43 ABV.
Differences between Gin and Sloe Gin
Gin is most commonly distilled from a grain spirit or grape spirit and is clear in colour, while sloe gin has deep ruby red tones. Of course due to the many unique gins being manufactured, you can buy regular gin with all manner of flavours and colourings. Here are the main differences between gin and sloe gin;
- Sloe gin can be classified as a liqueur and gin is a spirit
- Gin is originally transparent and sloe gin is red
- The main ingredient of sloe gin is the sloe berry and gin is derived from the juniper berry
- Sloe gin can have a lower alcohol content than gin
- Gin is less sweet than sloe gin
- Gin is made from traditional distillation processes while sloe gin is made from mixing sugar and sloe berries and steeping in gin.
FAQs
Traditional gin is distilled with juniper berries and other botanicals, Sloe Gin is a liqueur made by infusing gin with sloe berries and sugar. This results in a sweeter, fruitier flavour profile and a lower alcohol content for Sloe Gin compared to the more botanical and higher-alcohol traditional gin.
What is the difference between gin and sloe gin? ›
The main ingredient of sloe gin is the sloe berry and gin is derived from the juniper berry. Sloe gin can have a lower alcohol content than gin. Gin is less sweet than sloe gin. Gin is made from traditional distillation processes while sloe gin is made from mixing sugar and sloe berries and steeping in gin.
Why is sloe gin weaker than gin? ›
The berry-pink drink is born a regular gin, but the booze is then steeped with sugar and sloe (a rouge berry from the Blackthorn plant) to sweeten the spirit and lower the proof to as low as 15%.
What are the three types of gin? ›
The 7 essential Gin styles
- London Dry. Perhaps the most familiar and common gin style, London Dry dates back to the early 19th-century gin craze in England. ...
- New Western / New World. ...
- Plymouth. ...
- Navy Strength. ...
- Old Tom. ...
- Genever.
The name Sloe gin is derived from the berries that grow on blackthorn hedges throughout the United Kingdom. Sloes, which are a small, round fruit related to the plum, are harvested in early winter after the first cold snap, and it is traditional for the berries to be pierced by a blackthorn once they are picked.
Do you drink sloe gin straight? ›
There are many ways to drink Sloe Gin, starting with the classic and most traditional way. Sip it neat. While many will tell you this is not the most delicious way of drinking it, if you enjoy it, that's all that counts. While, as previously discussed, Sloe Gin is technically not a gin, it does go very well with tonic.
Why is it called Mother's ruin? ›
The gin obsession was blamed for misery, rising crime, madness, higher death rates and falling birth rates. Gin joints allowed women to drink alongside men for the first time and it is thought this led many women neglecting their children and turning to prostitution, hence gin becoming known as 'Mother's Ruin'.
What type of gin is Bombay Sapphire? ›
Bombay Sapphire is a London Dry gin, but that's not a regional designation (like Bordeaux or Scotch whisky). It's a style — specifically, a dry style of gin that doesn't use any artificial ingredients. Instead, distillers balance piney juniper notes with a dealer's choice of botanicals and spices.
What type of gin is Hendrick's? ›
What type of gin is Tanqueray? ›
Tanqueray is a classic. A smooth, delicious premium London Dry Gin with an array of botanicals and a grapefruit peel edge.
Gin is made from a fermentable grain, starch, or fruit; juniper berries; and other botanicals. To be classified as gin, the spirit must contain juniper and be at least 40% alcohol by volume. Gin is different from other liquors because of the use of botanicals in the distillation process.
What liquor is similar to sloe gin? ›
Sloe Gin: Sloe gin gets its name from the kind of berries it is made from, the sloe berries. The berries are from the Blackthorn, growing on its spiny branches. Sloe gin is another liqueur but gin-flavored with sloe berries and sugar. If you can't find sloe gin, you could substitute vodka.
Does sloe gin go bad? ›
Once your gin bottle is open, the oxidisation process starts. Basically, the gin's flavour will change (and get slightly worse) very gradually over time. It's preferable to use up an opened bottle of gin within a year. Although it won't go off, after a year or more opened gin won't taste particularly nice.
Is sloe gin more alcoholic? ›
This process gives Sloe Gin its characteristic deep ruby colour and a rich, fruity flavour that's both sweet and slightly astringent. Unlike its clear counterpart, Sloe Gin is lower in alcohol content, typically around 20-30%, making it a perfect ingredient for a variety of co*cktails or a delightful sipper on its own.
What is a good substitute for sloe gin? ›
For example, Damson or beach plums are both ideal alternatives because they are similar in taste and will result in a similarly fruity liqueur.
Does sloe gin taste like? ›
But as with most sloe gins, the overwhelming olfactory character is ripe, bright fruit. The palate is bright fruit once again: plum, grilled cherries, tart and sweet. Notes of ruby red grapefruit, leaning towards a touch of citrus on the finish with hints of nutmeg and sugar.
What is the black fruit added to gin? ›
The traditional method of preparation of sloe gin is to soak the blackthorns (sloes) in gin with some sugar, and the mixture sweetens when the blackthorn fruit mature in the alcohol. Commercial sloe gin is made by flavouring an inexpensive neutral grain spirit.
