Sloe Gin Fizz

The sloe berry fizz makes an elegant comeback.

Until recently, sloe gin was best known as a base of such absurdly named collegiate classics as the Alabama Slammer and the Sloe Comfortable Screw, likely due to its provocative purple hue. However, the purple stuff that spilled across American campuses in the 1980s and 1990s was not proper British-style sloe gin, but merely a fruitier imposter. Luckily, the classic Fizz is enjoying a second renaissance in the United States with the return of true sloe gin—a mixture of English blackthorn sloe berries (a more petite relative of the plum) macerated in gin. This version is slightly unorthodox using a blend of regular gin and sloe gin, plus the optional addition of an egg white for a bit of fluffy oomph.


Serving: 1

  • 3/4 ounce sloe gin (Plymouth is a good option)
  • 3/4 ounce gin
  • 3/4 ounce lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup (1:1, sugar:water)
  • 1 egg white (optional)
  • soda water

  1. Add an ounce or so of soda to a fizz glass or coupe.
  2. Add sloe gin, gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white to a cocktail shaker.
  3. Shake without ice.
  4. Add ice and shake until well-chilled.
  5. Strain into prepared fizz glass or coupe over top of soda and observe the fluffy foam.

Tagged: England, fizz, sloe gin