Spirit Works Barrel Reserve Sloe Gin is a barrel-aged sloe gin from Sebastopol, California, made from the distillery's own grain-to-glass gin and organic sloes, rested in American white oak, and bottled at 60 proof (30% ABV).
Spirit Works was founded by Timo Marshall, whose family hails from a village in Southwest Devon, England, and has made sloe gin for generations, and his wife Ashby Marshall, co-founder and head distiller. For generations Timo's family spent each autumn picking sloes and refining the recipe, and the couple went back to England to work with the family on adapting it for the distillery.
Blackthorn bushes and their fruit, sloes, do not grow in the United States, so Spirit Works uses organic sloes sourced from Bulgaria. Everything else is grain to glass: the base spirit is distilled from organic hard red winter wheat, turned into gin, and infused with the sloes before the fruit is pressed in a wine press. Because the distillery also makes wheat and rye whiskeys, it had barrels on hand, and before long the sloe gin found its way into one, becoming the first barrel-aged sloe gin made in California and later winning Best in Class in 2022.
The American white oak rounds the tart flavor of the sloes, creating a layered, velvety liqueur, one of the warmest and richest you will taste, with notes of dark cherry, clove, cardamom and orange peel.
It is most often enjoyed as a digestif on its own, but it also shines in a Sloe Gin Fizz, a sloe Negroni or topped with sparkling wine.
Tasting Notes
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Nose: Dark cherry, orange peel, oak.
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Palate: Velvety, clove, cardamom, rich sloe.
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Finish: Warm, rounded spice.
Specifications
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Distillery: Spirit Works Distillery, Sebastopol, California
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Base: Grain-to-glass gin from organic red winter wheat
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Fruit: Organic sloes from Bulgaria
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Aging: American white oak barrels
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Proof / ABV: 60 proof (30% ABV)
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Size: 750ml
How to Enjoy It
Sip it as a digestif, or mix a Sloe Gin Fizz.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sloe gin?
A gin liqueur infused with sloes, the fruit of the blackthorn.
How is the Barrel Reserve different?
It is rested in American white oak, which rounds the tart sloes.
Whose recipe is it?
Co-founder Timo Marshall's family recipe from Devon, England.
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