Do not be tempted to drink all your sloe gin at Christmas. Save some for the Rye News competition to be judged on January 28 at 8pm at Olde Worlde Wines in Cinque Ports Street in Rye.
It must be homemade – no shop bought entries will be eligible for consideration for the competition, but could be sampled to compare with the homebrew. There are categories for 2015 sloe gin and vintage sloe gin.
Artisan amateur and professional sloe gin makers from across the world gathered at Frant, a village near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, on December 16 at the George Inn to compete for the coveted 2015 World Champion title.
Edinburgh based Demijohn took the award from among the professional entrants, and was crowned sloe gin champion for the second year running.
Kevin Ladley of Dartford, Kent, won the best homemade sloe gin. He initially tied with another contestant, but was crowned on the “character” of his concoction after a “drink-off”.
Hand crafted sloe gin is “generally superior” it is said to commercially produced products which produce an inferior flavour akin to a fruit cordial taste.
Photo: Dennis Leeds-George