The ultimate mulled sloe gin recipe

I tasted mulled sloe gin for the first time on Saturday (in Pizza Express of all places) and it was all kinds of awesome. I’m a huge fan of sloe gin anyway (here’s my post on how to make your own sloe gin), plus I’m more than a little partial to mulled wine at this time of year, so the combination of the warmth and spices of mulled wine with the kick of sloe gin was a total winner.

I immediately wanted to make my own, but I couldn’t find a recipe that seemed similar to what I’d tasted – the mulled sloe gin I tried was full of berry fruitiness, which is what I’d loved so much about it. I decided to experiment and here’s what I came up with..

INGREDIENTS

450ml cranberry juice
450ml cloudy apple juice
75ml red grape juice
A couple of slices of lemon
A couple of slices of orange
3 cardamon pods
3 star anise fruits
3 cloves
2 sticks of cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp sugar (optional, and can add more as desired)
1 x shot of sloe gin (if you don’t have homemade, shop-bought would be lovely too)

METHOD

1. Put the cranberry, cloudy apple and grape juice into a saucepan together with the lemon and orange slices and all the spices. If you prefer a sweeter taste, add the muscovado sugar, too. Cover, and simmer on a low heat for at least 20 minutes (I left mine for about 45 minutes).
2. Pour a shot of sloe gin into a glass, and then add around 200ml of your mulling liquid. For a non-alcoholic option, the mulled apple, cranberry and grape juice is really yummy without the gin.
3. Finish with half a slice of lemon or orange.

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