Review

SLOEmotion Damson Gin

SLOEmotion Ltd., Barton-Le-Willows, York, North Yorkshire (London Dry Gin made by Thames Distillers Ltd., Clapham, London), England, UK.

SLOEmotion Ltd.

The business was initially established in 2002 at Manor farm in Malton by Julie and Richard Brown. By 2007 the business had grown and it had to move to bigger premises in Barton-Le-Willows. Today’s owner and Managing Director Jonathan Curtoys (along with his brother Julian) has a keen eye for agriculture and ecology and uses this in his farming and conservational practices. Their flagship product is sloe Gin, and they have built an outstanding range of allied products, including the use of spent fruit from their spirit production to create culinary delights (e.g. sloe gin truffles). Their Damson Gin was launched in 2011.

Thames Distillers is run by Charles Maxwell who is the 8th generation of the family (founders of the Finsbury Distillery) who have been producing Gin since 1700 – making them the oldest unbroken lineage in Gin distillation.

Uses a London Dry Gin as the base spirit, made by Thames Distillers in London. Sloemotion is in the heart of Ryedale, an historical location known for its large damson producing area. Using damsons from local orchards, a higher amount of fruit (than usual) is added to the base spirit to make their Damson Gin. It is made in the traditional way, using a recipe handed down by the Curtoys brother’s father, with the fruit steeped in gin and sugar and left to mature for around 12 – 16 weeks.

The light red colored Gin is presented in a clear glass hip flask-styled bottle, made by Croxsons in Surrey, England. It sports a mainly purple label with silver trim, with a picture of damsons in the top half of the label.

Flavored Gin - Damson.

26% (52 Proof).

$$$$ - $$$$$. Not available in the USA, but is available for delivery within the European Union from the SLOEmotion website.

Unknown but includes damsons.

The name is a pun on replacing the word “slow” with “Sloe” (after their flagship Sloe Gin product) and it is a slow motion process – the blackthorn bushes, the sloeberries grow on, are the first to flower each season but one of the last to bear fruit (not to mention the steeping period of 3 to 4 months). We like the marketing tag line (used on their bottles) of “Life on the hedge”.

Unfortunately we have not tasted this yet, so are unable to provide any personal review. It will be interesting to see how the different damson fruit tastes in the same Gin compared with their SLOEmotion Sloe Gin. We understand from SLOEmotion this is dry by comparison to their Sloe Gin with deep plumy fruit aroma and flavor, so we can’t wait to try it.

Bronze Medal, World Gin Awards, 2014.

1 Gold Star Award, Great Taste Awards, 2011.