Hayman’s Slow Gin with Dan, Bowick & Laura

I know. It’s not scotch, or even whisky or whiskey, or even FROM a whisky brand, or from my own country. Why are we reviewing a sloe gin?

Well, many reasons, actually. One, never had a sloe gin before, so we were curious. Two, we all like gin so we wanted to try it. And three, our gin reviews are some of our most clicked posts, so, yeah, clickbait. But if you’re going to fault someone running a website for trying to get more people to read it, your standard for authenticity will never be achieved.

So what’s a sloe gin? It’s just gin steeped or brewed with sloe berries and sugar to drawn out the flavours. Sweeter and lower proof than regular gin, you can drink it straight fairly easily but we figure it should be served in mixed drinks.  Here’s what we thought:

smell
Dan – old lady perfume, berry washroom fresher
Simon – berry gin, flowers, pink
Bowick – gilf. potpourri, bathroom, tea
Laura – very sweet, fruity

neat
Dan – cough syrup & halls
Simon – non-specific berry. punchlike
Bowick – fruit punch
Laura – fruit rollupy

splash
Dan – pomegranate, cranberry dry, red hallsSimon – ribena and ricola
Bowick – menthol, herbal, sugar-free halls
Laura – mint, berry, sweet, cloying

Hayman’s Sloe Gin – 26% 700ml – $23.20 – UK

Try it? No. Buy it? No.