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Gordon's Sloe Gin
by jo1976 My Dad is a difficult man to buy for so I usually end up giving him something alcoholic. Shortly before Fathers' Day, earlier this year, I was frantically scouring the booze aisles at Morrison's looking for inspiration when an unusual version of Gordon's Gin caught my eye. Sporting the curvy Gordan's logo and its distinctive flat-fronted ... and curved back bottle design, this gin was a really eye-catching purple colour. Rather than boring old gin, this is Gordon's Sloe Gin. For those unfamiliar with sloe berries, the label describes them as '...the fruit of the wild blackthorn grown naturally in the countryside.' I don't think I would recognise sloe berries if I discovered them growing in the wild myself but, certainly taste wise, they have a resemblance to plums and damsons. I knew this was the perfect choice for my Dad as I still have vivid memories from my childhood in the eighties of my Dad's homebrews - demijohns in the living room and dusty bottles of homemade sloe gin piled up in the outhouse! That was probably the last time that I'd seen sloe gin and had no idea that it was being commercially produced under the Gordon's brand name. The gin went down a treat with my Dad, who was initially fooled by the distinctive shape of the wrapped present so the contents were far more of a surprise than he'd been expecting. What was even more surprising was my husband's curiosity when he spotted what I'd bought - leading me to buy another bottle for my husband's birthday the following month. (I'm nothing if not predictable!) I've probably added insult to injury by drinking far more of the contents than he actually has himself too! One of my favourite aspects of this spirit is the beautiful vibrant red colour. At first glance, it resembles a glass of port but the aroma is unmistakably fruity with the strong fragrance reminding me of rich damson crumble. The first taste confirms this fruitiness and leaves a lovely rich sensation in my mouth. This is quickly overtaken by the heat of the alchol but it isn't as burning as stronger spirits can be, more pleasantly warming. I tend to drink this neat and find that it is perfectly palatable on its own, whereas I tend to find most spirits a bit overwhelming without a mixer. This gin is pleasantly sweet, much more to my taste than standard Gordon's which I don't particularly like, but not sweet enough to be sickly (unless, I imagine, you took upon yourself to drink the entire bottle.) This is surprisingly smooth and slips down really easily, making it a perfect evening drink for this time of year. Like traditional gin, this could also be mixed with tonic for a longer drink although I don't personally like the bitterness of tonic and can't imagine that it would benefit this spirit. I have tried it with lemonade as a longer drink but, unusually, this is one spirit that works much better on its own. I'm not cosmopolitan enough to even pretend that I'm going try and mix the sloe gin into any cocktails but have to admit that I think the rich taste would lend itself perfectly to being 'mulled' with some spices as a real winter warmer. For those with more exotic tastes, Gordon's have helpfully suggested some recipe ideas for cocktails: http://www.gordons-gin.co.uk/sloe-gin/the-gordons-guide/sloe-cocktails I paid the full price for both bottles which, at £17 per 70cl bottle, is pretty expensive especially considering the comparatively low alcohol content. Standard Gordon's gin contains 37.5% volume alcohol whereas this sloe gin version contains just 26% and is considerably more expensive. I don't think I could drink enough of either to get drunk, however, so it's not a major issue for me. At this time of year, supermarkets tend to have this type of seasonal drink on promotion in preparation for Christmas and it is currently possible to pick up a bottle for as little as £14.62 from Asda which compares more favourably with the price of a bottle of standard Gordon's gin (currently £13 from Asda.) Although this wasn't a spirit that I originally intended to drink myself, it is surprisingly drinkable, even for someone like me who drinks relatively little alcohol nowadays, much less neat spirits. I would recommend this as a warming Winter tipple, a gift for the awkward man in your life or as an unusual addition to the Christmas drinks offerings. Read the complete review |
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Gordon's Sloe Gin
by PerfectPeaches My drinks cupboard at home for years was made up of vodka, rum and bottles of whiskey I seemed to get from clients as a "thank you" but one product I had never envisaged myself ever having was a bottle of sloe gin. It made me think of a great aunt of mine who drank a small glass whenever I saw her but after receiving a bottle ... at a bonfire night party a few years ago I was soon hooked when given it mixed with tonic water and was none the wiser. My Sloe Gin of choice is by Gordon's. We are all well aware that they make the famous green bottled gin but they have been making their sloe gin for over 100 years. I have tried other sloe gins over the past few years but have always reverted to Gordon's Sloe Gin as I find the overall taste and flavour really quite nice and actually quite easy to drink! ============ What is Sloe Gin ============ Sloe Gin is a relatively easy product to make and Gordon's are quite happy to share their secret with you. Sloe Gin is basically made up of sloe berries, sugar and water. Pretty simple but the reason behind why it tastes so good is that it is left for a decent period of time (around a month) and the outcome should be a warming flavour. ======= Packaging ======= Gordon's Sloe Gin comes in a tall glass bottle the exact same shape as the normal gin - a flat backed bottle with a rounded front. The glass bottle is completely clear and you can easily see the deep purple liquid inside. The front label is relatively simple in keeping with the white and purple theme the scrolled Gordon's logo is printed together with the product name and an image of sloe berries. The back of the bottle has a small label which features the ingredients, warnings i.e. under age drinking as well as information on the product. ========= The Product ========= Gordon's Sloe Gin is a gorgeous, rich deep purple colour and has a consistency which is ever so slightly thicker than water but not by much and as soon as you open the bottle and pour a small amount into a glass you do get a rich berry like fragrance which is rounded off with the typical Gordon's gin smell. It has an incredibly warming aroma without being too heavy. To taste you get that wonderful warming sensation from the first mouthful. That warming of the stomach type feeling which is especially nice on a cold winter's day. You can clearly tell that this is a gin based product but it isn't sharp to the taste instead it has been teamed with a lovely berry taste which although isn't sickly sweet it is perfectly palatable and does have a soft taste one that won't make your lips curl as if you've eaten a lemon. I generally either drink mine on it's own should I want a lovely warming drink which tastes delicious and isn't heavy or I tend to have it with tonic water and a slice of lemon and it is lovely and refreshing making it a more suitable spring/summer drink. I think there are many ways of drinking it having slowly been introduced to having it as a cocktail I find it to be quite a versatile drink. ===== Recipe ===== Taken from the Gordon's website but used several times for various occasions by me throughout the year. Gordon's Sloe Gin Sparkle 20ml Gordon's Sloe gin Pomegranate seeds 20ml pomegranate juice or cranberry 75ml champagne Simply place the pomegranate seeds in a champagne (or wine) glass them add the sloe gin, pomegranate juice and top up with champagne. Simple yet definitely divine! ===== Overall ===== A wonderful drink which can be quite versatile to drink throughout the year but I must admit I really do like sloe gin on a cold winters evening as it really does warm you up nicely. Definitely a drink that I overlooked and wish I hadn't as it really has a lovely, unique taste to it. A drink I can easily recommend. 5 stars from me. ============= Useful Information ============= Brand: Gordon's Availability: Supermarkets, off licences Price: From £17.00 Size: 700ml Read the complete review |
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Gordon's Sloe Gin
by europe-chick My favourite alcoholic drink without a shadow of a doubt is a Gin & Tonic. My gin of preference is always Bombay Sapphire, and my favourite way to serve it is over lots of ice, with slimline tonic, and a chunky wedge of lime (never lemon). I'll take it with regular tonic and a slice of lemon if that's all there is, but slimline and ... lime is my favourite way to go. My second favourite way to serve it is when mixed with cranberry juice and slimline tonic, again over lots of ice. I'm also happy enough to take any other gin such as Gordon's if there's no Bombay Sapphire available, but I can definitely tell the difference though, and I've even actually returned a gin & tonic in a restaurant before when I've specifically asked for Bombay Sapphire and have been given something else. I received a bottle of Gordon's Sloe Gin as a birthday gift earlier this year, and it's only just recently that we've got around to drinking it. I guess that they chose the Sloe Gin as I am a bit of a gin fiend, and this is just that little bit different, it's a bit more interesting to give as a gift I guess than just a regular bottle of Gordon's gin. It was very gratefully received at the time as it's something that I'd not had before, I'd spotted it in the supermarket many a time, I'd just never got around to buying myself a bottle. So it's made by Gordon's and it's in the exact same type and shape of bottle as the regular Gordon's gin. The sloe gin is a very deep purple in colour though, reflecting the colour of the sloe berries in the gin. Sloe berries are apparently the fruit of the wild blackthorn which grows naturally in the countryside. The sloe gin is a lot lower in alcohol content; regular Gordon's gin is 37.5%, and Gordon's Sloe Gin is only 26%. So how does it taste? Not that great actually! I was really disappointed with the Sloe Gin, I'd expected to love it as I love gin so much, but I really didn't love it at all. I thought it was far too sweet, gin isn't a sweet drink at all and so to have a sweet flavour to this was really quite odd. The gin definitely had a fruity taste, I'm not sure if it tasted like sloe berries as such, as I don't actually know what sloe berries taste like! But it did have a very sweet and fruity taste, too sweet and fruity in my opinion, the fruity taste far overpowered the dry taste of the gin. It reminded me a little bit of an alcopop actually, with it having the lower alcohol content and being so sweet. I found that even when mixed with just slimline tonic water and a wedge of lime, which would normally make for a lovely long, cool and refreshing drink, that the taste of the sloe gin was still too overpoweringly fruity and sweet. The best way that we found to drink the sloe gin was when mixed in a cocktail along with a few other ingredients, this masked the fruitiness as there were other flavours in the drink too. I wouldn't not recommend the Gordon's Sloe Gin, it obviously all depends upon your tastes, in fact for people that think that gin is a bit too bitter then this may well be something that they would love. For me personally it was just too fruity and sweet and not something that I really liked. My husband didn't like it either, he basically had the same opinion as me - too fruity and sweet for a gin. We will use the remainder of the bottle up in cocktails, but it isn't something that I will be getting another bottle of. Read the complete review |
Gordon's Spirits |
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6 reviews Brand: Gordon's / Spirits / Type: Gin - Alcohol content: 26% / 700mL. |
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Brand: Gordon's / Spirits / Type: Gin - 75cl / 40% - A 1950s bottle of Gordon's still popular dry gin, closed with a springcap. / Bot.1950s |
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Brand: Gordon's / Spirits / Type: Gin - 70cl / 37.5% - A distilled gin from Gordon's, adding in Cucumber and a selection of other natural flavours to their London Dry Gin for a delicate and fragrant spirit. They recommend that you serve it with tonic, ice, lime and a slice of cucumber. / Gordon's Cr... |
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Brand: Gordon's / Spirits / Type: Gin - 100cl / 47.3% - Familiar all over Europe, but little-seen here in the UK, this is a litre bottle of the higher-strength Gordon's Yellow Label, made to Alexander Gordon's original recipe - and hence the original gin for classics such as the Vesper. / Gordon's Y... |
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Brand: Gordon's / Spirits / Type: Gin - 75cl / 40% - A 1980s bottling of ever popular Gordon's Dry London Gin. / Bot.1980s |
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