Sloe Gin Fizz
Amidst the countless Egg-nog recipes that pop up when researching festive cocktail options one alternative that caught my eye was the Sloe Gin Fizz.
The Gin Fizz, essentially a sour with added soda water, dates all the way back to the 1862 tome How To Mix Your Drinks by Jerry Thomas. It is important to distinguish between a Gin Fizz and a Tom Collins - the former is made with dry gin, the latter with sweeter Old Tom gin.
If we're being strict about things a gin fizz should not be served with ice, whereas a Tom Collins is poured over rocks. I've ignored that here.
You should really use a soda syphon too, if you don't have one just pour the soda vigorously to create lots of bubbles.
My dear old mother makes a batch of sloe gin every autumn, bottles of which are generously donated to yours truly.
I normally drink it straight or on the rocks, with only a single ice cube. But sloe gin also makes for a fantastic cocktail ingredient. In this case it turns a refreshing summer high-ball in to a pleasing winter treat.
I've not tried the commercially available sloe gins, though I suspect they are rather less sweet than the family home brew. I have upped the lemon juice content accordingly. If using shop bought gin use 10cl less lemon juice. I've also sharpened things up with a jolt of Tanquary, but feel free to experiment.
Ingredients / Equpment
- 30cl Tanquary Gin
- 30cl Sloe Gin
- 30cl Simple Syrup
- 30cl Lemon Juice
- Bottle, Fever Tree Soda water
- Cocktail shaker
- High-ball glass
- Ice
- Lemon wedge to garnish
Procedure
- Mix the gins, lemon juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker
- Fill a high-ball glass with ice and pour over contents
- Top up with soda water
- Stir and serve with the lemon wedge
As ever, if anyone has any variants of this recipe that might be of interest do let me know.
Cheers chaps!
