Hickson House Sloe Gin

Tasmanian sloe berries spend months steeping in Hickson House's Australian Dry GinDry ginGin with no perceptible sweetness: in the European Union, the word "dry" allows at most 0.1 g of sugar per litre.GlossarySee Dry gin gins to make this limited-release Sloe GinSloe ginA liqueur made by steeping sloe berries in gin, then sweetening it. It is usually bottled between 25% and 30% ABV.GlossarySee Sloe gin gins. Crawley's syrup, made with Australian-grown sugar, balances the berries' tartness, and the result is bottled at 25% ABV in a 500 ml bottle. It was created with bartender Jason Crawley and Crawley's Bartender Syrups for Australian summer drinks.

Dry · Fruity

In the glass it is a deep carmine, with hints of purple and ruby. The nose brings red berries, juniperJuniperThe one compulsory botanical: gin must taste predominantly of juniper. Its "berry" is really a small conifer cone, resinous and peppery.Glossary and a herbal trace of native thyme carried over from the base gin.

On the palate, sloe comes first, then raisin and prune, with a texture the distillery describes as velvety. Sweetness is present but held in check by the natural sourness of the sloes and the bitterness of juniper. The finish turns quietly dry, with juniper bringing the drink back from fruit to gin and keeping it from becoming cloying.

Because the base is the distillery's Australian Dry Gin, the botanicals remain perceptible under the fruit, and native thyme gives this sloe gin a specifically Australian accent. Its moderate strength and rounded sweetness make it well suited to aperitif drinks and to sipping over ice, where the fruit and spice stay easy to follow. Hickson House suggests a Sloe Gin Spritz or a berry punch, and a splash of citrus adds a brighter counterpoint to the richer berries. A small glass alongside cheese or a dark chocolate dessert also shows off the raisin and prune notes.

For the spritz, pour 5 cl over ice in a large wine glass, add 8 cl of sparkling wine and 4 cl of soda, and stir gently. Garnish with sloe berries and a strip of orange peel. The wine and soda lighten the fruit, while the orange peel lifts the aroma above the sloe.