Tenth Ward Produces Exclusive Sloe Gin for their Bottle Club Members

Mark A. Vierthaler, Head Distiller, Tenth Ward Distilling Company

What is a Sloe Gin?

What was once a respected part of the pre-prohibition bartender’s toolkit has unfairly been relegated to the bottom shelf – morphing from a complex and historical spirit into a syrup-laden one-note bottle of neon purple. 

Thankfully, though, the continued growth of the craft cocktail movement has opened countless imbibers eyes to that misunderstood liqueur – Sloe Gin.

Sloe Gin is a British liqueur made with gin and sloes. Sloes are the fruit of the Prunus spinosa, a relative of the plum, and gives the spirit a distinctive red color. Sloes also boast what many see as an unpleasant tartness and astringency.

Traditional sloe gin is made by soaking sloes in gin and adding sugar to extract the sugar from the fruit. Due to historical prevalence the European Union was able to legally classify this distinctive spirit as a sloe gin, even though it’s technically just a gin-based liqueur. Many commercial sloe gins today are made by flavoring less expensive neutral grain spirits with relatives of the sloe, such as the Aronia berry or beach plum. Or, they just simply compound the flavor and add coloring. (Probably what you hazily remember from one too many late-night Alabama Slammers).

But you know we did better than that with this one…

Tenth Ward’s Sloe Gin

Tenth Ward Bottle Club releases are exclusive to Bottle Club members. That means the general public will NEVER be able to get their hands on these delicious products.

Rather than simply taking our award-winning Genever Inspired Gin and tossing a bunch of sloes, we took this back to the drawing board. We distilled a brand new traditional London Dry juniper bomb with coriander, roasted almonds, lemon and lime peel. We even tossed a few sloes into Falcor (our still) during distillation as well!

This crisp, clean and bright base gin was then infused with even more sloe berries, hawthorn berries and a blend of white and demerara sugar. For three months. The berries were filtered out with traditional muslin bags, racked off, proofed with spring water and bottled.

Nose

Bright juniper immediately on the front, giving way to perfumed notes of grape leaf and rose. 

Taste

Pleasant astringency, followed by sparkling pine notes of juniper, finishing with soft sweetness and long lasting floral notes.

Cocktail Recommendations

Sloe Gin Fizz

1 oz. Tenth Ward Sloe Gin
1 oz. Tenth Ward Genever Inspired Gin
0.75 oz. lemon juice
0.25 oz. simple syrup
3 oz club soda

Shake first four ingredients with ice, then strain into a chilled highball glass. Top with club soda.

Sloe & Melloe

0.75 oz. Tenth Ward Sloe Gin
1.25 oz. Genever Inspired Gin
0.75 oz. honey syrup
0.75 oz  lime juice

Shake first four ingredients with ice, then strain into a chilled highball glass filled with ice. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with lime.

Sloegroni

1  oz. sweet vermouth
1  oz. Campari
1  oz. Tenth Ward Sloe Gin

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice, then stir well. Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube. Garnish with a flamed orange twist.

How Can I Get It?

If you’re already a Tenth Ward Bottle Club member, you should have already received an email with instructions on how to reserve your bottle(s). If you’re a member and didn’t receive the email, please check your spam and/or promotions folder. If it’s still not there, give us a shout at info@tenthwarddistilling.com!

If you’re not a Bottle Club member, you can sign up for free by clicking here. Bottle Club members receive access to four exclusive releases per year. These releases are never available for the general public… Ever. When signing up for the Club, please make sure to fill out the form completely. Check out our recent blog about the Perks of Being a Bottle Club Member.

Happy sipping!