Curiosity Pinot Barrel Sloe Gin

The Spirits Workshop in Sydenham, Christchurch, calls this New Zealand's original locally produced 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. It is made barrel by barrel in the traditional way, in limited batches: the finest imported sloe berries steep for several months in Curiosity Gin, inside a barrel that previously aged Otago Pinot Noir. The result is a luscious red liqueur bottled at 27% ABV in a 700 ml bottle. Each batch is small.

Limited Edition · Spicy · Fruity

The base gin brings a long list of botanicals: juniper, coriander seed, orris rootOrris rootIris rhizome dried for years, then ground. Powdery and violet-like, it mainly works as a fixative that binds and lengthens the other aromas.Glossary, cinnamon sticks, liquorice root, East Coast manuka leaf, lemon, fresh Gisborne orange zest and Otago lavender. The sloes add the smooth, intense bittersweet fruit of a classic sloe gin, with dark plum and almond notes. The Pinot Noir barrel then gives a rich back note, closer to red wine and soft oak. Cinnamon and orange zest warm the middle, and the finish is long, fruity and slightly bitter. Like any sloe gin, it is sweeter and gentler than a 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, and best appreciated in small measures.

The distillery recommends it neat as an after-dinner digestif or as a mulled winter warmer, and for something refreshing, in a Champagne cocktail or a simple sloe gin and tonic. Its own Sydenham Sunset is a New Zealand take on the 1930s Blood and Sand, made with this sloe gin and the distillery's Divergence single malt whisky. Warmed gently with orange peel and a cinnamon stick, it makes the mulled winter drink the distillery suggests.

For the long drink, fill a stemmed glass with ice and add 5 cl of Curiosity Pinot Barrel Sloe Gin and 8 cl of East Imperial Old World Tonic Water. Stir softly and add two sloe berries with an orange twistTwistA strip of peel twisted over the glass to release its oils, then dropped into the drink.Glossary. The dry tonic balances the sweetness, and the orange echoes the Gisborne zest.