2020 has been a strange year, and through that we adapted and changed the way we work. Take a look at what happened at our virtual gin tasting with Sloemotion Distillery.

2020 has been a strange year for everyone, and that includes us. As new owners of Gilli’s we had high hopes of meeting our suppliers and customers at different events throughout the year, but alas, it was not meant to be (don’t worry folks, there’s always next year). During these uncertain times we have all found ways to adapt and continue to encourage our businesses to grow and develop, with this in mind Sloemotion Distillery offered us a virtual gin tasting to help us get to know their products and each other. What a great idea it was!

Step one: Delivery of Sloemotion Gin

Following on from a couple of emails, a friendly chap knocked on our doors holding beautifully packaged miniatures of gin (what more could a girl want, eh?) and bramble whiskey. We were recommended what accompanies each drink and scheduled a Zoom call to hear all about Sloemotion and their amazing drinks.

Step two: Tasting Sloemotion Gin

We had a selection of gins to taste and were guided through exactly what we should pair with each one to ensure our customers have the best experience when purchasing Sloemotion from us.

Sloe Gin – 26%

This gin is made purely from combining sloe and sugar with gin, then distilling it for 16 weeks. This long infusion ensures all the organic ingredients produce a smooth taste.

Sloe gin goes perfectly with a lemon tonic or can compliment prosecco and works as an exceptional arrival drink for special occasions.

Little fact, sloes are from the plum family and Sloemotion use the fruit for chutneys and the stones within the gin.

Sloe Whiskey – 21%

Sloe whiskey is a three-year-old whiskey that goes amazingly with a little ice or can be mixed with ginger beer.

Sloemotion’s whiskey clearly tastes of whiskey, but it has a slightly softer, fruitier edge.

Hedgerow – 42%

Hedgerow gin came into play three years ago, it’s a neutral grain spirit that is diluted with spring water and infused with botanicals that are foraged by Sloemotion. Once the mixture has been distilled, it is then infused with bay leaves for five days. The overall flavour produces a soft orange finish and is matched with a fresh, ice cold tonic.

Flavoured Hedgerow

To offer the market a variety of flavoured gins, Sloemotion add infused fruit and steer clear of artificial flavourings. We tasted rhubarb gin which is recommended to be served with an elderflower tonic and blackberry and apple, which I loved with a lemonade.

What makes these completely unique to other flavoured gins I have had, was that they are not too sweet, this is really a drink that you could stick to all night.

Finders Range

The Finders range was released earlier this year and is distilled with international fruits and flowers, the overall taste had a cherry twist so pairs perfectly with tonic and fresh cherries.

What’s great about the Finders range is that it is accessible to anyone and the perfect drink to have at home after a long day. Due to the unique taste, this is a drink that you can pair to something you prefer, such as lemonade.

Step three: Try not to drink every Sloemotion bottle in one sitting

Our Sloemotion rep was incredibly knowledgeable and gave us a great selection of gins to taste, it was tough not finish every bottle when the virtual gin tasting ended!

I think my favourite, flavour wise, is the Hedgerow Blackberry and Apple. This is such a smooth drink that sits perfectly with tonic, lemonade or mixed with prosecco. Plus, the bottles look really pretty!

Meeting and understanding how Sloemotion works was a great experience, it’s great to find local companies that are so eco friendly and share the same the values as us. We can’t wait to head to their distillery and get to know the rest of the team.

Sloemotion History

Joff, the owner of Sloemotion played a major part in creating sustainable farming methods that are used across the UK and protect the wildlife around farms, in particular the RSPB. Farmers are encouraged to leave an area of hedge row around each field where wild berries, flowers and animals can thrive without impacting on the actual farming area, this is where Sloemotion’s sloe gin originated from. The sloe bushes thrived off the environment and produced incredible amounts of sloe berries, which is where Joff would source the berries for their first ever gin.

Sloemotion didn’t stop there though, no sloe gets left behind.

Every bit of the sloe is utilised within their other gin flavours as well as delicious chutneys.