The Sloe Gin & Tonic is built on sloe gin — a deep-red liqueur made by steeping sloe berries, the fruit of the blackthorn, in gin and sugar. It is fruitier, sweeter, and lower in proof than the original: a G&T with an autumn colour.
The hedgerow, lengthened with tonic.
What Sloe Gin Is
Sloe gin is not a gin but a gin-based liqueur. Sloes — small, tart, plum-like berries — are steeped with sugar in gin over months, yielding a sweet, deep-red drink that tastes of dark fruit and almond. In Britain it is traditionally made at home each autumn.
A Gentler Highball
Because sloe gin is sweeter and weaker than London dry, the Sloe Gin & Tonic is a softer, more sippable drink than its parent. It needs less added lime — the berries bring their own tartness — and the tonic turns a pretty rose-pink.
Pure, or Split
Built entirely on sloe gin, the drink is fruity and gentle. For something closer to the original's backbone, split the base — an ounce of sloe gin, an ounce of London dry — so the berry colours the drink without softening it completely.
The Gin & Tonic Family
The classic highball — gin and cold tonic over plenty of ice, with a wedge of lime.
- 2 ozGin
- TopTonic water
- WedgeFresh lime
Spain's reinvention of the G&T — a balloon glass, premium tonic, careful garnish.
- 2 ozGin
- 6 ozPremium tonic
- GarnishCitrus & botanicals
The blushing G&T — bitters, or a fruit-forward pink gin, tinting the glass rose.
- 2 ozPink gin
- 6 ozTonic water
- GarnishFresh berries