Sloe Gin Fizz

Sloe gin, lemon, and soda — the British Prunus spinosa tradition of macerating sloe berries in gin after the first frost and drinking it at Christmas.

The Sloe Gin Fizz is a classic American long drink built on sloe gin — a British fruit liqueur made by macerating sloe berries in gin with sugar — combined with fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and soda water in the standard Fizz structure. Sloe berries are the small, dark-purple fruit of Prunus spinosa, the blackthorn shrub native to Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa, whose thorned branches were traditionally used in British hedgerow construction and whose berries have been harvested since at least the medieval period for both culinary and medicinal use. The British tradition of making sloe gin began as a domestic countryside practice — families in rural England harvested sloe berries after the first frost (which softens the berries' astringency), pricked them, and left them to macerate in gin with sugar through the winter, producing a ready-to-drink sloe gin by Christmas. Commercial sloe gin production developed through the 19th and early 20th centuries, with brands including Plymouth, Hayman's, and Gordon's offering bottled versions that brought the country tradition to urban consumers. The Sloe Gin Fizz became popular in American bars through the mid-20th century as imported British sloe gin became more widely distributed, its tart berry sweetness and distinctive flavor profile distinguishing it from standard gin drinks.