You might have heard about our latest festive treat - Sloe and Crow Gin. Here's what it's all about:
For a very long time, Gary and Andrea - the founders of Orkney Gin Company - have enjoyed making gins for family and friends. Sloe gin is a festive favourite in our family, with its rich and velvety flavour unlike any other type of gin. And that's the thing - sloe gins usually aren't actually a 'gin'. You see, 'gin' is defined as a spirit with juniper, however almost every sloe gin you'll find is not actually a 'gin' by definition, with many ingredients, but no juniper. It's an age old name though, and one which we all recognise today. As per usual with the Orkney Gin Company, you'll get something completely unique, that's where ours stands apart from other sloe gins. Our Sloe and Crow is indeed an actual gin, with juniper.
Sloe and Crow is our first aged gin, matured over several months, as sloe berries and crow berries steep in our distilled gin. The sloe berries create a wonderfully bright syrupy berry flavour which is truly unique, and when left to mature, being carefully looked after and stirred often, the seeds in the berries begin to give a deep earthy flavour. The crow berries used in our gin are hand picked only about a mile from our distillery. For those of you unsure of what a crow berry actually looks like, you can see some in the image below. They are sometimes known as heather berries, and have a wonderful blue/purple colour, tasting similar to a sharp gooseberry, with a dark berry richness. Like sloe berries, our hand picked crow berries have earthy flavoured seeds inside which give the gin an all round silkiness. There are a few reasons why we chose to use these. Our number one being that we love to source our ingredients locally, and what's better than sustainable foraging while walking in summer time! We have experimented with heather berries for a long time, and found that their flavour profile worked really well with sloe.
The end product is a gorgeously silky drink, with deep chocolatey notes finishing with a berry sharpness unique to the sloe and crow berries, bottled at 37.5% ABV.
We decided to use our special new 20cl bottles for our Sloe and Crow, with elegant gold and purple labelling to match the colouring of the berries used, and a little hint of wintry snow. This gin is only available in a lovely special winter edition gift pack along with our perfect pairing - Franklin and Sons Lemon Tonic Water. Matched together with ice, these two create something really special to be savoured and enjoyed during the Winter.
Buy a Sloe and Crow Perfect Pairing Special Edition Gift Set: https://www.orkneygincompany.com/product-page/sloe-crow-and-perfect-pairing-gift-box
Other ways you can enjoy this festive treat
Sloe and Crow is very versatile, and as it's so unique, we have found it can be enjoyed warm (think mulled wine style drinks), at room temperature, and with ice in cold drinks.
Remember having a sherry? I bet that brings you back! Pop your Sloe and Crow into a gorgeous sherry glass at room temperature and sip by the fireside. Amazing!
Sloe and Crow also tastes wonderful in a hot toddy style drink, see our Mikkelmas cocktail ideas blog post for our hot toddy recipe. You can substitute the Mikkelmas for Sloe and Crow and add citrus to suit your taste.
Enjoy with plain tonic for a deliciously rich gin and tonic. We love Franklin and Sons Indian Tonic.
The Lemon Tonic in your special edition gift pack is our favourite match, with zest and zing!
For a really memorable drink this festive season, try our Sloe and Crow gin with your favourite Prosecco, Cava or even Champagne! It's a great way to add some festive cheer to your bubbly.
Why not try with a little cream soda and lemon juice for something a little sweeter.
*When drinking with a mixer, we garnish our Sloe and Crow with some blackberries or some mint*
We would recommend shaking your Sloe and Crow lightly before drinking, as this is a non filtered gin.
We hope you enjoy! Cheers!
Buy a Sloe and Crow Perfect Pairing Special Edition Gift Set: https://www.orkneygincompany.com/product-page/sloe-crow-and-perfect-pairing-gift-box
Buy a Sloe and Crow Perfect Pairing Special Edition Gift Set: https://www.orkneygincompany.com/product-page/sloe-crow-and-perfect-pairing-gift-box