Christmas celebrations and new year gatherings seem incomplete without a sloe gin bottle. So, if you don’t have it on hand, look for the closer sloe gin substitute to make celebrations memorable.
Sloe gin is a gin-based liqueur made from sloe, sugar, and gin. It’s a crimson-colored smooth beverage which delights everyone with its refreshing flavor and fragrance.
Whether you are habitual of drinking sloe gin alone or making a delightful sloe gin fizz, you can replace it either way.
Here are the best substitutes for sloe gin perfect for sloe gin fizz and other cocktails including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. So, take a look and pick up your best bet.
Sloe Gin Substitute (Best For Sloe Gin Fizz)
When looking for sloe gin alternative for making fizz, go for sloe berry vodka, sloe berry syrup, and grappa to achieve similar fruity goodness as sloe gin. They are go-to sloe gin substitutes you can merely use in sloe gin fizz instead of sloe gin.
1. Sloe Berry Vodka
Enjoy sloe gin fizz or Martini using sloe berry vodka as a great alternative for the original staple sloe gin. It is made from sloe berries fortified with vodka to give a deep crimson red hue similar to sloe gin. The fruity tartness and intense floral flavor of sloe berry vodka are best to blend with other cocktail ingredients to revive yourself extremely.
2. Sloe Berry Syrup
Sloe berry syrup is another dark maroon concentrated flavoring you can use as a substitute for sloe gin in sloe gin fizz. Its deep floral aroma and fruity tart flavor infuse a delish soul to the cocktail recipes.
Sloe berry syrup makes every sip of gin cocktail refreshingly fruity and tropical with a hint of raspberry taste notes that lingers on the palate noticeably. When used in sloe gin fizz or Martini, it replaces sloe gin completely in terms of deep reddish tint and flavor.
4. Grappa
Although higher in alcohol content, grappa is another flavorful brandy made from grapes you can use instead of sloe gin to make sloe gin fizz. It is available in a variety of tints and flavors to lend a ton of tropical goodness to other liquors and drinks.
Grappa offers an exquisite balance of reviving taste notes it gets from a number of flavorings, honey, and caramel. When used as a sloe gin substitute in fizz, it gives a ton of complex flavor to the recipe and caress the palate incredibly.
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Other Sloe Gin Substitute Ideas
For plain drinking, regular gin could be your first choice. Moreover, plum brandy and damson gin are also closer substitutes for sloe gin.
5. Regular Gin
No matter how regular gin differs sloe gin, it’s the best and closest sloe gin alternative you can ever get. Both share a significant flavor similarity when mixed with other liquors or served as reviving gin cocktails.
However, a color difference will always be there as regular gin is quite clearer and transparent while sloe gin is darker with a gloomy red tint. If you are in habit of drinking sloe gin, regular gin can be a little bit burning and can hit the palate extremely when plain.
So, if it’s your first experience with regular gin, mix it with club soda or any other liquor to round off the flavor just like the delicate flavor of sloe gin.
Owing to its amber hue and a higher alcohol content, it cannot fake the sloe gin in traditional sloe gin fizz.
6. Plum brandy
Plum brandy is a great digestif served as a star drink after a thanksgiving meal. You can get it in a number of different varieties and flavors to caress your palate with wonderful fruity liquor.
Plum wine, Apple Brandy, and Pear brandy are similar liquors to plum brandy. Plum brandy gets its strong fruity and floral flavor from damson plums. It is widely used to make refreshing tropical cocktails such as Monastery, Tesla Collins, and Susina sour. Its fruity floral flavor makes this brandy another great and widely available sloe gin substitution.
Its light peach-colored hue may not mimic the final look of sloe gin fizz recipe, so it’s not best to use in sloe gin fizz.
Read also: Amontillado Sherry Substitute
7. Damson Gin
Take a sip of damson gin, you’ll find it closer to sloe gin. Why? Well, this is because damson gin liquor offers a delicate balance of fruity sweetness and tropical savoriness without going overly sweet to taste.
This fortified plummy liquor also goes the best in a variety of cocktails, pairs well with other drinks, and also best to serve on the rocks. So, enjoy the damson gin in a way you go with sloe gin and it will definitely amaze you.
If you are looking for the best sloe gin substitute for sloe gin fizz, damson gin would be your bet. Its vibrant red hue infuses a similar gin flavor and a reddish tint to the fizz and cocktails as sloe gin.
Non-Alcoholic Substitute For Sloe Gin
Most of the time, people are looking for sloe gin substitutes not because they don’t have it, but because they want to avoid alcoholic beverages. Then what can they do to replace sloe gin? If you are also one of them, take a relaxing breath and go for grenadine or cranberry juice.
8. Grenadine
Grenadine is a deep reddish liquor also known as pomegranate syrup. It’s the best non-alcoholic substitute you can also use to make alcohol-free sloe gin fizz. Its similar fruity goodness and tropical savoriness delight you the way as sloe gin. You can also use homemade pomegranate juice in place of grenadine to make a similarly satisfying cocktail without missing sloe gin.
Read also: Substitute For Lemon Juice
9. Cranberry Juice
No matter, what’s the difference between cranberries and sloe berries, both bring a comparable fruity sweetness and deep red tint to the cocktails and other amber drinks. The ultimate flavor will not be so far from sloe gin.
You can also buy a cranberry juice cocktail from grocery stores which is a cranberry concentrate used to infuse a new flavor blend to a number of alcohol-free cocktails. Make cranberry juice your best non-alcoholic sloe gin substitute whenever you want to sip flavorful sloe gin fizz or cocktail.
FAQs
What Does Sloe Gin Taste Like?
Sloe gin is made of sloe berries which are closely related to cherries and damsons. It gets its fortified flavor from regular gin. So, sloe gin flavor is somewhat intermediate of plummy herbal juniper berries and sloe berries. Owing to the different flavorings used to flavor the sloe gin, it tastes different.
Does Sloe Gin And Regular Gin Are The Same?
Regular gin is an essential ingredient in sloe gin making process. It’s a spirit higher in alcoholic content rather than sloe gin which is a liquor. Sloe gin tastes sweeter and more delicate to the tongue while regular gin is a little bit harsh to the taste buds when enjoyed neat. Both are also differently prepared but still are used interchangeably in various cocktails.
Can You Make Your Own Sloe Gin Substitute?
Yes, you can make your own sloe gin and it’s quite easy but time-consuming. Ready to make another culinary experiment, make sure you have staple ingredients, one cup regular gin, ½ cup sugar, and one cup rinsed sloes.
Prick the frozen sloe berries to collect the pulp. Mix sugar and regular gin in a jar. Add sloe berries to the jar and seal the lid.
Keep the jar in a dark cool place away from the sun rays. Wait for two months to draw all the fruity flavor from berries and infuses in gin. After two months, ladle the liquor from the jar, strain it to remove solid particles, add sloe berry syrup if needed, and store in a clean bottle.
