Cranberry Gin

Home-made Cranberry Gin

Zingy and zesty home-made Cranberry Gin is one of my favourite seasonal drinks. This delicious Cranberry liqueur has the wonderful sweet-sour taste of fresh cranberries and is perfect at a Christmas or New Year party or after a seasonal family celebration. I make it for my family to drink over the holiday season but also make a few extra bottles as they are brilliant Christmas gifts.

Latest posts from tastebotanical

What you need to know about making Cranberry Gin

  • Although it is incredibly easy to make, you do need to think ahead. You cannot just rustle up a batch of Cranberry Gin to drink tomorrow as it needs around a month for the infusion of flavour to happen.
  • You can make it with fresh cranberries, when they are in season in the winter months, but you can also use frozen cranberries if you want to make it at another time of year.
  • It is important to prick the cranberries with a skewer or sharp knife as this helps to release the flavour into the gin.
  • I use a basic, “own-brand” gin from the supermarket to make this recipe. It is not worth using anything fancy. You can also use vodka as an alternative.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index

Cranberry Gin flavour variations

I have suggested adding a sprig of rosemary to the cranberries in this recipe. I think rosemary combines well with their sweet-sharp flavour. It is also one of the few fresh herbs that I can harvest from my garden in the winter months.

Sometimes, I make my Cranberry Gin without any additional flavourings. If I do decide to add another flavouring, I tend to just add one as I like the clear, clean taste of the cranberries.

The following flavourings go well with cranberries, so please feel free to experiment.

  • Orange or other citrus fruit such as clementines, mandarins or tangerines – add a few large pieces of the zest to the jar with the cranberries
  • Cinnamon – add a cinnamon stick
  • Ginger – add some pieces of fresh ginger

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index

Other home-made gin liqueur recipes

If you enjoy this Cranberry Gin, you may also be interested in my other easy recipes for Rhubarb GinPlum GinDamson Gin, Blackberry Gin and Elderflower Gin.

Other Cranberry recipes

I am a big fan of cranberries. They freeze very well so I use them throughout the year. However, as they are in season in winter, I make a lot of cranberry recipes around Christmas and New Year.

  • Cranberry Sauce – a classic and so much nicer when you make it yourself. I add cinnamon, white wine and orange and it is always on my table for Christmas dinner!
  • Cranberry Ice Cream – slightly more unusual but this is one of my go-to ways of using up any left over Cranberry Sauce. My other is Cranberry Pavlova which often appears as a dessert for family meals between Christmas and New Year.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index

Home-made Cranberry Gin liqueur recipe

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Cranberry Gin

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 400 ml 1x
  • Category: Gin
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This easy Cranberry Gin liqueur has the zingy sweet-sour taste of fresh cranberries. Make it for your family or give as a seasonal gift.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 200 g (7 oz) cranberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 200 g (7 oz) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
  • 400 ml (17 fl oz) gin
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (optional)

Instructions

  1. If using frozen cranberries, allow to defrost.
  2. Wash the cranberries thoroughly. Prick each of them several times with a sharp knife.   This will allow the juice – and flavour – to transfer to the gin.
  3. Put the cranberries into a sterilised jar.  Add the sugar and then the gin. Make sure the gin covers all the cranberries.

  4. Add the sprigs of rosemary.

  5. Shake thoroughly to ensure it is mixed.

  6. Seal the jar and leave in a cool, dry, dark place for two weeks.

  7. At the end of that time, the gin is ready to drink.    Strain the gin into sterilised bottles through a clean muslin or cotton cloth held in a funnel and it will keep for approximately six months.


Notes

You can sterilise your jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Although it only takes 30 minutes preparation time, you will need to allow four weeks for the flavour to develop.

You can scale this recipe up or down according to how much cranberry gin you want to make.   Simply double, triple or quadruple the quantities of all ingredients to make more and halve to make less.

Keywords: cranberry, cranberries, gin

Blackberry Gin

Home-made Blackberry Gin

This method for home-made Blackberry Gin is incredibly easy and results in a beautiful ruby-coloured, sweet liqueur. It has a delicious, rich, sweet-sour flavour.

I have only recently started making Blackberry Gin. Having had some initial success with Elderflower Gin and Rhubarb Gin (which is great for cocktails!) last year, I started to think about other seasonal fruits that I could use to produce delicious home-made gin! I have always been a keen blackberry picker but, in the past, have used them for jam and also cakes, puddings and desserts such as Blackberry Muffins, Blackberry Crumble and Blackberry Fool. However, it occurred to me that they might taste pretty good as a flavouring for gin.

Late August and early September is blackberry season in the Cotswolds. On my daily dog walks, I see the brambles growing rapidly during early summer. By mid-summer, their flowers are turning to fruit. In late summer, within a week or so, they suddenly seem to be covered in hundreds of juicy blackberries. You can, of course, buy blackberries all year round in supermarkets these days. However, there is nothing like picking your own. Even people who would never forage for any other kind of wild produce have memories of going blackberrying. Where I live, it is a pretty popular thing to do. On my relatively short drive to work last week, I saw no less than three groups of people, equipped with plastic containers and thick gloves, picking the blackberries that grow along the roadside.

In the past few years, there has been an increase in the popularity of flavoured gins, including Blackberry Gin, produced by niche producers and selling for a premium in supermarkets.  I think home-made and traditional is best in terms of both flavour and price, so why not try making your own? It is really easy!

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index

Latest posts

What you need to know about making Blackberry Gin

  • First off, it is incredibly easy. Even to describe it as a recipe is a bit of an exaggeration! You simply need to combine the blackberries, sugar and gin and leave for the delicious fruity flavour to infuse the liquid.
  • However, you do need to think ahead. You cannot just rustle up a batch of Blackberry Gin to drink tomorrow as it needs around a month for the infusion of flavour to happen.
  • I think of this as a seasonal recipe and make it in August and September when there are plentiful wild blackberries growing near my house. I make a lot of infused gins around that time of year using season produce such as damsons, plums and also late rhubarb. Their sweet, fruitiness makes them ideal as drinks over the Christmas and New Year period.
  • However, if you want to make this recipe using bought blackberries – either fresh or frozen – it will still work. It will just be a bit more expensive to make as the main flavouring ingredient is not free! Also, I find that shop-bought blackberries tend to be sweeter than wild blackberries so you won’t get such a tangy sweet-sour flavour.
  • I use a basic, “own-brand” gin from the supermarket to make this recipe. It is not worth using anything fancy. You can also use vodka as an alternative.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index

How to drink Blackberry Gin

The result of this recipe is a sweet, alcoholic liqueur-style drink. I like it best served on its own in a small glass (or maybe several small glasses!). You can drink it as an aperitif before a meal or, my preference, as a liqueur at the end of a meal. It is also a good to drink as an accompaniment to a dessert course, as alternative to a dessert wine. This is particularly true if the dessert includes blackberries or other complementary flavours such as apple.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index

Other home-made fruit gins

If you enjoy this Blackberry Gin, you may also be interested in my other easy recipes for Rhubarb Gin, Plum Gin, Damson Gin and Elderflower Gin.

Blackberry Gin recipe

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Blackberry Gin

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Total Time: 15
  • Yield: 200 ml 1x
  • Category: Gin
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Making your own Blackberry Gin is so easy and the end result is a delicious reminder of blackberry season that you can enjoy all year around!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 200 g (7 oz) blackberries
  • 100 g  (3.5 oz) caster or super-fine sugar
  • 200 ml (quarter of a pint) gin

 


Instructions

  1. Wash the blackberries thoroughly.
  2. Mix the blackberries thoroughly with the sugar in a large bowl.
  3. Spoon the blackberries and sugar into a sterilised jar.  Leave for 24 hours to allow the blackberries to macerate in the sugar and   release their juices.
  4. Add the gin to the jar of blackberries and sugar.  Shake thoroughly to ensure it is mixed.
  5. Leave in a cool, dry, dark place for four weeks.
  6. At the end of that time, the gin is ready to drink!    Strain the gin into sterilised bottles through a muslin cloth held in a funnel and it will keep for approximately six months.

 


Notes

You can sterilise your jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.       

Although it only takes 15 minutes preparation time, you will need to allow 24 hours for the blackberries to macerate  in the sugar and, once you have added the gin, it will take a further four weeks to allow the flavour to develop. 

You can scale this recipe up or down according to how many blackberries you feel like picking.  Add half as much weight in sugar as your weight of blackberries.  The amount of gin in ml should be equivalent to the weight in grams of your blackberries. 

Keywords: blackberries, blackberry, gin, home-made gin, blackberry recipe

Damson Gin

Home-made Damson Gin

Home-made Damson Gin liqueur is probably my favourite of all the flavoured gins that I make. The sharp sweet-sour fruit produces a liqueur with a brilliant punch of flavour. It is also a beautiful ruby red colour. If you make it in September when damsons are in season, you can enjoy drinking it at Christmas and New Year!

Why make your own flavoured gin?

It is extremely easy to make your own flavoured gin. You just add the fruit or other flavourings to the alcohol, add some sugar and leave it for a few months to transform into a delicious liqueur. Making your own also allows you to experiment with flavours and you know exactly what went into it.

There are lots of flavoured gin liqueurs available in the shops now. Many of them are delicious but they are often sold at premium prices. I find making my own very satisfying as you get a premium product at a low price. It is also a great way of using an over-supply of seasonal produce. Flavoured gins also keep for a very long time so if you make a batch in late summer or autumn, you can be sipping it all through the winter.

In praise of damsons

Damsons are small, dark purple fruit which have a strong sour flavour. Their sourness prevents them being eaten raw. However, they are excellent in a range of cooked dishes such as jams and preserves or fruit pies when their sourness is balanced by sugar.

This autumn I have been exploring the wonderful world of home-made gin.  Inspired by the Rhubarb Gin and Elderflower Gin  that I made in the spring, I started to think about which autumn fruits might also make a good flavoured gin. 

Having made an excellent Blackberry Gin and Plum Gin in August, I started  to wonder if there are any other seasonal fruit that I could use to make flavoured gin. In my local greengrocer, I spotted some damsons – small, dark purple sour plums which cannot be eaten raw but need to be cooked (with sugar) to bring out their flavour.  I hadn’t seen them for years but they immediately brought back memories as my mother had a prolific damson tree in her garden.  It occurred to me that they would make a good gin flavouring.

If you can’t find damsons, and they can be hard to source, you can make a great Plum Gin instead. However, if you do see them in a shop or market when they are in season in September, they are worth buying as they are great in jams and fruit pies as well as gin.

What you need to know about making Damson Gin

  • You can use any kind of gin in this recipe. I generally use a mid-range supermarket brand. You don’t want to use a really top-class gin – better just to drink that with some tonic – but on the other hand you don’t want to use something that tastes like lighter fluid! If you don’t have any gin available, you can substitute vodka. You just need an alcohol base that will absorb all the delicious fruity flavour of the damsons.
  • You need to allow four weeks for the flavour of the damsons to transfer into the liquid. However, you can leave them in for up to two months. The longer the damsons remain in the alcohol, the more intense the final flavour. Once the fruit is removed, the gin will last for at least a year.
  • I prefer to drink this gin liqueur on its own with no mixers. However, you can use it as an ingredient in cocktails. I have some recipes for Rhubarb Gin Cocktails where damson gin could be substituted for the rhubarb gin.

Other home-made gin

I love making fruit-flavoured gin and have lots of gin recipes. It is the perfect way to use seasonal fruit and flowers, at a time when there is often an over-supply, and preserve the wonderful flavour to enjoy later in the year. Some of my favourites are Blackberry GinRhubarb GinElderflower Gin and Plum Gin.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index or have a look at some of my other drink recipes.

Home-made Damson Gin liqueur recipe

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Damson Gin

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 500 ml 1x
  • Category: Gin
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This home-made Damson Gin liqueur is so easy to make and tastes delicious.   Its ruby red colour and sweet-sour flavour makes it the perfect winter drink!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 500 g  (1 lb) fresh damsons
  • 250 g (8 oz) caster sugar
  • 500 ml (1 pint) gin

Instructions

  1. Wash the damsons.  Prick them with a fork and then cut them in half without removing the stones.
  2. Place the damsons in a sterilised jar.   
  3. Add the sugar and gin and shake to mix together.    The gin  must cover the top of the damsons.
  4. Put the lid on the jar. 
  5. Keep it in a cool, dark place for four weeks. 
  6. At the end of that time, the gin is ready to drink!    Strain the gin into a sterilised bottle through a muslin cloth held in a funnel and discard the fruit.

Notes

You can sterilise your jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.       

Although it only takes 15 minutes preparation time, you will need to allow four weeks to allow the flavour to develop before you drink the gin

Keywords: damsons, gin

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Apply to Face Blog and #FiestaFriday with Fiesta Friday and  Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Plum Gin

Home-made Plum Gin recipe

This home-made Plum Gin involves combining fresh plums, sugar and gin and allowing time for the essence of the fruit to transfer into the alcohol. The end result is a plum-flavoured liqueur which has a concentrated, sweet plum taste. It is fantastic either on its own or as an ingredient in cocktails.

Where I live in the Cotswolds, plums are in season in August and early September. This is the perfect time to make Plum Gin to drink at Christmas. If you make this recipe, you should imagine sipping a glass of dark red, fruity and delicious drink on a cold winter’s night!

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Recent posts on tastebotanical

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

What you need to know about making Plum Gin

  • You can use any kind of gin in this recipe. I generally use a mid-range supermarket brand. You don’t want to use a really top-class gin – better just to drink that with some tonic – but on the other hand you don’t want to use something that tastes like lighter fluid! If you don’t have any gin available, you can substitute vodka. You just need an alcohol base that will absorb all the delicious fruity flavour of the plums.
  • You can make this recipe with any kind of plum. I use Victoria Plums, as I have a tree in my garden, but there are lots of other varieties available and they all make a good flavouring for gin.
  • You need to allow at least three weeks for the flavour of the plums to transfer into the liquid. However, you can leave them in for up to two months. The longer the plums remain in the alcohol, the more intense the final flavour. Once the fruit is removed, the gin will last for at least a year.

Recipe variations

You can add additional flavourings to this Plum Gin.

  • Star anise – put a couple of star anise pods in with the plums
  • Vanilla – similarly, just add a vanilla pod to the jar
  • Ginger – add a few slices of fresh ginger
  • Cinnamon – add a cinnamon stick
  • Cardamon – add three or four cardamon pods

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Other home-made gin

I love making fruit-flavoured gin. It is the perfect way to use seasonal fruit and flowers, at a time when there is often an over-supply, and preserve the wonderful flavour to enjoy later in the year. Some of my favourites are Blackberry Gin, Rhubarb Gin, Elderflower Gin and Damson Gin.

Home-made Plum Gin recipe

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Plum Gin

Plum Gin

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Total Time: 10
  • Yield: 500 ml 1x
  • Category: Gin
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This home-made Plum Gin involves combining fresh plums, sugar and gin and allowing time for the essence of the fruit to transfer into the alcohol.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 500 g (1 lb) fresh plums
  • 100 g (4 oz) caster sugar
  • 500 ml (1 pint) gin

 


Instructions

  1. Wash the plums.  Prick them with a fork and then cut them in half without removing the stones.
  2. Place the plums in a sterilised jar.   
  3. Add the sugar and gin and shake to mix together.    The gin  must cover the top of the plums.
  4. Put the lid on the jar.
  5. Keep it in a cool, dark place for four weeks. 
  6. At the end of that time, the gin is ready to drink!    Strain the gin into a sterilised bottle through a muslin cloth held in a funnel and discard the fruit.

Plum Gin


Notes

You can sterilise your jam jars by washing them in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Although it only takes 20 minutes preparation time, you will need to allow 24 hours for the rhubarb to macerate  in the sugar and, once you have added the gin, it will take a further four weeks to allow the flavour to develop.

Keywords: gin, plum, home-made gin, fruit gin,

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Recipes Made Easy and #Fiesta Friday with Fiesta Friday and  Liz @ Spades, Spatulas & Spoons

Rhubarb Gin Cocktails

Cocktails in the garden
Rhubarb gin cocktails

Rhubarb Gin Cocktails

Back in April, I made a batch of home-made Rhubarb Gin.  I was interested to experiment with a range of flavour combinations and so made several versions:  plain Rhubarb Gin, Rhubarb and Vanilla Gin, Rhubarb and Orange Gin and Rhubarb and Ginger Gin.   It is really easy to make your own Rhubarb Gin but it does take a month or so until it is ready to drink.  If you don’t have the time, inclination (or rhubarb!) to make your own, there are a number of great Rhubarb Gins available now.

Products from Amazon.co.uk

My home-made Rhubarb Gins all taste great on their own but, as I love cocktails, I thought I’d have a go at creating a few using the different flavours.    I gathered together a few willing volunteer tasters and the following were unanimously agreed to be the best of my Rhubarb Gin cocktail recipes.

Bottles of rhubarb gin
Rhubarb gin

Rhubarb Gin cocktail recipes

The method is the same for all the cocktail recipes – pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice to mix and cool then pour into a glass and enjoy!

If you like cocktails, and want to experiment with them at home, I would really recommend that you buy a cocktail shaker.  Shaking the mix of liquids in your cocktail over ice means the result will be properly combined and icy cold.

Products from Amazon.com

Print

clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Rhubarb gin

Rhubarb in the Garden

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 serving 1x
  • Category: Cocktails
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This is a lovely summery cocktail which is a delicate pink colour.  I made it with my Rhubarb and Vanilla Gin but plain Rhubarb Gin is fine.  If you can’t get Rose Lemonade, you can use ordinary lemonade and add a couple of drops of rosewater.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 50 ml Rhubarb and Vanilla Gin
  • 50 ml Rose Lemonade (such as [amazon_textlink asin='B01BMBAZ2S|B003JGUS0E|B00XUKANQI|B00612E3PO|B00AKFNWGY' text='Fentiman's' template='ProductLink' store='tastebotanica-21success|tastebotanica-20|tastebotani0c-21success|tastebotani0a-21success|tastebotani01-21success' marketplace='UK|US|IT|FR|DE' link_id='4ca3a3b3-68b2-11e8-a0c1-55ca867c4624'])

Instructions

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice to mix and cool then pour into a glass and enjoy!


Keywords: rhubarb gin

Print

clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Cocktails in the garden

Rhubarb Gimlet

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 serving 1x
  • Category: Cocktails
  • Cuisine: English

Description

I love lime so a Gimlet is one of my favourite cocktails.   This one, which I made using my plain Rhubarb Gin,  has a fantastic sweet-sour tang.    To make sugar syrup you just need to put equal volumes of sugar and water in a pan, heat until the sugar dissolves and then allow to cool.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 50 ml Rhubarb  Gin
  • 25 ml fresh lime juice (half a lime)
  • 20 ml sugar syrup

Instructions

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice to mix and cool then pour into a glass and enjoy!


Keywords: rhubarb gin, rhubarb gimlet, cocktail

Print

clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Rhubarb Martini

  • Author: Tastebotanical

Description

This is a really simple cocktail but somehow the combination tastes quite sophisticated.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 65 ml Rhubarb and Orange Gin
  • 10 ml dry vermouth

Instructions

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice to mix and cool then pour into a glass and enjoy!


Notes

I made it with my Rhubarb and Orange Gin.  If you just have plain Rhubarb Gin, you can at 10 ml of an orange liqueur (such as Cointreau).

Print

clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Cocktails in the garden

Rhubarb and Ginger Warmer

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 serving 1x
  • Category: Cocktails
  • Cuisine: English

Description

The  “warmer” in the title refers to the heat from the ginger –  I still make it icy cold in the cocktail shaker! 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 50 ml Rhubarb and Ginger Gin
  • 50 ml ginger wine (such as Crabbies)

Instructions

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice to mix and cool then pour into a glass and enjoy!


Notes

I made it with my Rhubarb and Ginger Gin but it tastes just as good made with plain Rhubarb Gin as the ginger wine provides sufficient gingeriness!

Keywords: rhubarb gin, cocktail, ginger wine

You may also like..

Rhubarb Gin

Rhubarb and gin

Rhubarb Cordial

Making rhubarb cordial
Rhubarb cordial

Elderflower Gin

Elderflower gin
Elderflower gin