Wine is my drink of choice, but there are times when I fancy something different. I was given a bottle of Gordon's sloe gin for Christmas and have really got a taste for it now!

Gordon's sloe gin comes in a glass screw top bottle like its more popular cousin. It is a lovely dark red and is made from the fruit of the blackthorn bush, known as sloes. Blackthorn bushes can be found throughout the UK in hedgerows. The berries are small and grow in clusters looking a bit like grapes. They taste really bitter and I wouldn't recommend eating them! Sloes and related to the plum family. If you fancy making your own sloe gin you will need about 500 grams of sloes (found from about October until the end of November), 250 grams of sugar and 1 litre of gin. All you do is prick the sloes and then add everything to a glass kilner jar, giving it a good stir. Store the jar in a dark cupboard, stirring regularly. The sloe gin will be ready to drink after about 3 months.

If like me, you don't have time to make your own then Gordon's is a great alternative! It is not a cheap drink with a 70 cl bottle costing £19 in Tesco. Sloe gin tastes nothing like clear gin and has a fruity, sweet taste but with a sharp tang and a floral scent. It is a lovely dark shade of red and makes fantastic cocktails. It can be drunk neat, although I far prefer it mixed with soda and ice to make a long drink. The soda turns the drink a lovely dark pink colour. This is not a drink to be taken lightly as with 26 % alcohol it can bite!

I also like to drink sloe gin with tonic and ice topped with a slice of lemon or cranberry juice and ice. It is also lovely with champagne; but remember that alcohol content! Sloe gin can be used to make several cocktails including sloe gin fizz. For this you will need to top about 25 ml of sloe gin with a dry sparkling white wine. Top with a few blackberries and serve. This looks best in a champagne flute.

I really love sloe gin, finding it far sweeter than clear gin and without the bitter after taste. It makes lovely cocktails and can be mixed with tonic, soda and fruit juices to make a refreshing, long summer drink. It is also good in the colder months to help cheer me up!