Sloe Gin Fizz

Sloe gin is made by infusing gin with sloe berries - the fruits of the blackthorn shrub - sometimes with added sugar. The resulting drink is usually deep red, fruity, sweet-tart, and noticeably different from standard gin. Although it's an infused gin, the sweetness imparted by the berries classifies the resulting elixir as a liqueur and not another spirit. It also tends to have a lower alcohol strength than standard gin.

Sloe gin was traditionally served neat as a Christmastime digestive in England, and was discovered by American bartenders in the late 1800s. Using the gin fizz as a foundation, they developed the Sloe Gin Fizz. The first printed reference of this category of cocktails appeared as the "Sloe Gin Fiz" (with only one "z") in the 1887 edition of Jerry Thomas’ Bartender’s Guide featuring six fizz recipes. The Ramos Gin Fizz was invented around the same time in 1888. No one is historically credited with inventing this cocktail - as you've probably guessed is the trend of alcohol history.

Sloe gin became really hard to find in the U.S. during the 1960's and 70's as it fell out of demand. The blackthorn plant from which the berries are derived, aren't native to America, so it was expensive for American distilleries to produce authentic sloe gin. As a result, US brands began producing a syrupy imitation sloe gin with lower amounts of sloe berries and more coloring and artificial flavoring.

It was only in 2008 that the Plymouth gin company became the first to import authentic British sloe gin to the US and introduce it back to craft-cocktail bars. Sloe Gin Fizzes and other sloe gin-centric, Pre-Prohibition cocktails, like the Charlie Chaplin (sloe gin, apricot liqueur, and lime juice), made their appearance again.

When choosing a sloe gin to make cocktails nowadays, look at the label to determine what percent of the liqueur is actual sloe gin. Hayman's is a good import, and the US now has a few local producers also, one of which is Spirit Works (based in Northern California) which makes a sloe gin and the world’s only barrel reserve sloe gin. DeKuyper's can be used as well, but it might be worth adding a splash of real dry gin to reduce the sweetness of the product.