What better way to warm up the hard-working gardener on a cold day than a drop of something rather special: a delicious flavoured gin!
Flavoured gins make excellent gifts for the festive season, or any occasion for that matter. So, let’s take a look at what goes into a great flavoured gin before trying our hand at making two decadent treats: a sweet and juicy strawberry gin, and a warming, spicy cinnamon bun gin.
Flavoured Gin Ingredients
Choose your favourite flavours from the garden to infuse into your gin. Try fruits such as strawberries or blueberries, herbs like lavender, mint or rosemary, and even vegetables such as celery, rhubarb or, for a bit of a kick, chilli peppers. Seasonal hedgerow fruits are always a winner – nothing beats the rich depth of a sensational sloe gin, made with blackthorn berries.
Any gin that isn’t already flavoured will do, but a classic, strong gin - something with a simple, clean flavour like a London dry gin - works best.
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You need minimal ingredients to create a fabulous flavoured gin
How to Make Your Flavoured Gin
Start with thoroughly clean and sterile mason or Kilner jars, or large, sealable bottles. Cleanliness is essential – you don’t want your spirit going bad.
The more of your flavouring ingredients you add, the stronger the final taste. Generally, about a half to one pound of fruit (200-400g) is recommended for every litre of spirit.
How long you leave the ingredients to infuse for depends on how strongly flavoured they are. Chilli peppers and citrus, for example, may be left for just 24 hours – or even less - while spices might be kept in there for up to a week or two. Most berries need a month, while the mildest flavours, including the classic sloe gin, is at its very best after several months of steeping.
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Infuse your gin with strawberries for a few weeks before straining and decanting
Strawberry Gin
What better gin to start with than a sweet, aromatic strawberry gin. It’s got just three ingredients: a standard 700ml bottle of gin, 14 ounces (400g) of strawberries, plus three-and-a-half ounces (100g) of caster sugar.
Start by removing the ends from the strawberries before cutting them all in half. Pop them into a large, sterilised mason jar then add your sugar. Give the whole lot a good shake about then place the jar into the refrigerator overnight so all those strawberry juices start to ooze out.
The next day, top up with your gin, give it all a stir and then place back into the refrigerator. Stir or shake once a day for three weeks. The gin will take on a beautiful pink colour at which point it can be strained through coffee filter paper, cheesecloth or muslin and decanted into bottles. Your gin should keep for up to a year.
A simple variation is a raspberry gin made the same way using 12 ounces (350g) of raspberries and five ounces (150g) of sugar.
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Cinnamon sticks and cardamon evoke the flavours of irresistible cinnamon buns
Cinnamon Bun Gin
This simple spiced gin conjures up all the moreish deliciousness of that classic Scandi treat, the cinnamon bun. It’s ready to enjoy in as little as a week, making this super-quick gin the perfect solution for last-minute Christmas gifts.
Into a large mason jar or other sterilised, lidded container go two cinnamon sticks, broken up, and 10 cardamon pods, which have been gently crushed to release their flavour. Now add one teaspoon of vanilla essence and five ounces (150g) of caster sugar. Finally, in goes a 700ml bottle of gin.
Give it all a thorough stir or swirl to help along all those flavours along then store in a cool, dark place. Swirl every day for at least a week, but preferably two, then strain and bottle. This gin should keep for around six months.
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Cheers!
Serve it neat, on the rocks or, if you’re pacing yourself, perhaps with a little sparkling water, tonic water or a lovely sparkling apple juice. And, do you know what, a slice of moist apple cake – made with apples from the garden of course! – is the perfect accompaniment. Cheers all!
Flavoured gins certainly make for imaginative gifts. But hey, just be sure to put a bottle or two aside for yourself too – you deserve it!
Have you made flavoured spirits? And, if you have, what are your favourite ingredients? Please share the love down below and let’s get the party started!
