Kokova Magazine

Situated a few miles south of Tunbridge Wells, The George pub in Frant, East Sussex is to host the Sloe Gin World Championships on Wednesday 11th December from 1.00pm.

Dating back to around 1750, the traditional country pub boasts two bars and a restaurant, traditional English food with continental influences, hand drawn beers, oak beams, a large enclosed garden and dogs lying by log fires in winter - making it an ideal setting to judge the most traditional of Christmas liqueurs.

Artisan sloe gin makers from across the world will gather at the popular Sussex village pub, to vie for the Sloe Ginster World Champion title for 2013.

Sloe gin is a red liqueur flavoured with sloe (blackthorn) drupes* and normally made with an alcohol content between 15 and 30% by volume. It is traditionally made by infusing gin with the bitter-tasting drupes, using sugar to extract the sloe juices from the fruit.

"Hand crafted sloe gins are generally superior to commercially produced branded sloe gin liqueurs, which are made by flavouring cheaper, neutral grain spirits - thus producing an inferior flavour akin to a fruit cordial taste."

Greg Elliot, Landlord

Sloe gin is made from ripe sloes, which by tradition are picked after the first frost of winter. Each drupe should be hand pricked with a thorn taken from the blackthorn bush on which it grew. Connoisseurs says that the drupes may only be pricked with a metal fork or pin made from silver.

Some modern protagonists pick the sloes earlier and freeze them, claiming that this not only splits the drupes and replaces the pricking stage, but by analogy to ice wine, the freezing changes the flavour of the drupes.

Whichever way it is made - pop along and support this great cause and help this great cause. All proceeds of the event are to be donated to the MS Society, which supports people with Multiple Sclerosis www.mssociety.org.uk.

* a smaller relative of the plum

Check out the great recipe for making your own Sloe Gin at www.essentially-england.com/sloe-gin.html