Raspberry gin recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Liqueurs | 246 comments
Autumn raspberries are a late fruiting variety with great flavour
This recipe can also be used for blackberry gin and vodka
Our autumn fruiting raspberries are late, but they’re finally here. Just a few of them. Succulent and tempting and the promise of more to follow. If you grow autumn fruiting raspberries you might like to have a go at making this delicious raspberry gin. The liqueur is delicate yet has a fresh raspberry bite that makes a change from the raunchiness of sloe gin. (This is a fresh review. I nipped out to the barn this evening to try some of our July 2006 vintage and it was superb. Fragrant and tasty). At it’s best, raspberry gin totally overshadows sloe gin. We had a tasting of a wide selection of our fruit gin at a dinner party, a few months ago. The clear winner was the raspberry gin.
You can make raspberry vodka using the same method detailed below for gin with similar ingredients, just a little more sugar. We’ve tried both and think that the gin wins hands down. Both are quite drinkable in three months so would be ready for Christmas. I love a dash of this in a fresh fruit salad.We had to buy the raspberries for our gin this summer but the end result will be well worth the outlay. In July we feasted off our early raspberries. We guzzled large bowls of them, sprinkled with castor sugar and had heated discussions as to how to use the rest of the fruit. Unfortunately, I had not secured the netting tightly enough and when I went out with my trug a couple of days later the canes were bare. Raspberries are my favourite fruit and raspberry gin is the biz. It always puts people in the best of moods. People have said the most complimentary things about us after a glass or three of our raspberry gin.
Tips and tricks for making fruit infused gin/vodka:
- If you are using the original gin bottles and you find that you don’t have quite enough gin to fill each one to the neck, don’t worry. We often do the final fill up the next day when we have got more gin.
- Make notes on a label of your fruit/gin/sugar ratio and stick it onto the bottle(s) so that you have a record, if you make a particularly good batch. The best labels are made from decorator’s masking tape as these can be peeled off and passed from bottle to bottle. We also note our responses at the grog matures. Yucky after sixth months can be to die for in a year (you will probably not remember without notes). Notes seem boring when you are making the grog. But they are so worthwhile when you start again the next year. It won’t be long before you will get a feel of what works well for your taste (and the notes will come into their own).
- Make more than you need the first year. So you can compare different vintages. This liqueur does improve over time.
- Some people drain the grog through muslin after a couple of months, to clarify the liqueur and bottle. We don’t bother as one old soak tipped that, once the gin is drunk, you can pour medium sherry on the fruit and start all over again! The latter is devilish and drinkable within three months.
- Keep your fruit gin away from the light as this will maintain the colour. Unless the bottle is dark green or brown. If you are stuck with clear bottles, wrap them in brown paper to keep out the light.
- Every couple of months take a tiny sip. At this time a add sugar if it tastes too sharp.
- If you want to make your own labels check out the post for 26 October 2006 to see how we make our labels.
| Raspberry gin recipe |
- Recipe for raspberry gin:
- 300g of raspberries
- 330g of white granulated sugar
- 1.5 litres (or more) of medium quality gin
- Steriiised 2 litre Le Parfait jar or 2 or 3 (70 cl) washed and sterilised gin bottles
- Wash raspberries and discard any bruised fruit. Place rasberries in either a large 2 litre Kilner/Le Parfait jar or divide the raspberries between 2 or 3 (70 cl) saved gin bottles.
- Using a funnel, add the sugar (divide the amounts if using several bottles) and top up with gin to the rim.
- Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved and then store in a cool, dark place until you can resist it no longer (leave for at least three months, we usually let it mature for a year).
- If you are making blackberry gin remove the fruit after 3 months (pour through muslin) to stop the woody taste developing and mature for at least a year.
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Sour cherries are another good fruit to use!
I a trying out raspberry and blackberry gin this year. I’m also thinking of ding blackberry and sloe gin!
Hi I have several bags of preserving sugar, dont ask!!!! Can I use it in a mixed fruit gin am making, sloe, blackberry and pear, and a raspberry? Thanks
Hi, I made some sloe gin a couple of years ago – no recipe, just chucked it all in – it was heavenly!! 🙂 this year I’m making a berry gin in a large kilner jar with blackberries, strawberries and raspberries from my garden. I was just wondering…. Gin is ridiculously expensive (even the cheap stuff) so would it be ok to top it up with wine do you think????xx
That would be a very fortified wine!!! 🙂
I am looking for a recipe for plum brandy, is there such a thing??
I learned last night about “sloe Gin” watching a show (Edwardian farm – TVO ) following that i did some quick googling as i thought it was “slow Gin” so wondered what the fruit was they were using…. haha.
Quickly i landed on this page, and within reading your post i knew i would be making some Raspberry Gin. I have raspberry plants, and pick quite a bunch (have at least 6L worth of berries frozen) so its between 4weeks ago and now i have to figure ways to keep some of the berries, or be able to gift them for christmas. This is a win-win.
Both my father, and his mother i believe will love this (booze, garden harvest, and handmade by me). I’m excited to try a taste too when its finished, though i rarely can have a drink. Would this in a way be making a form of raspberry extract for flavoring food items or do you know if berries would need to be dried first in order to be a true extract? Sorry, might look that up next (thinking of as last year i made vanilla extract for christmas).
Thanks for posting this.
Great recipe! Gin is on the go, as is some raspberry whisky! Also going to make an attempt at peach whisky and peach gin as I have a tree full of black boy peaches. Anybody ever tried lime gin?? I have surplus limes and thought this might be quite nice, but I’ve tried googling and it’s only gin and lime cocktail recipes that are coming up!…wonder if there is a reason for that!! I might give it a go anyway and let you’s all know!
I made a batch of this for Christmas leaving it three months after that the gin was still quite potent and really needed to be watered down is this normal? That batch has been put away now will it mellow over time even with the fruit removed?
Really liked the recipe though I’ve already made 2014’s batch and have it tucked away ready for next Christmas!
Sarah- you could try add more gin to dilute the sweetness
Great website!
I have made a large batch of your raspberry gin to go on the tables at my wedding next May. I used the quantities specified but on first tasting (2 months in) it is really quite sweet. Will it become less so over the next 6/7 months? If not, is there something I could add eg lime or lemon juice/peel to make it more sour?
Thanks!