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At Bramley and Gage we started making liqueurs over 20 years ago on our fruit farm in South Devon. The lessons learnt in growing fruit still guide our production today, from letting it ripen fully and naturally on the bush, to using only the varieties that give the best flavour.
We still make all the products ourselves, by hand. We use only real, whole, fruit, sourced as locally as possible. The production process ensures that as much of the natural flavour, freshness, and colour of the fruit as possible is retained, together with the maximum amount of naturally occurring vitamins.
There are no added colourings or preservatives in our Fruit Liqueurs, Gins or Brandy.
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 | Organic Sloe Gin now available
Bramley and Gage's Sloe Gin is regarded by many as the best, with Nigel Slater (The Observer) a big fan and Gordon Ramsay restaurants customers. It was champion product in the Taste of the West awards, and shortlisted in the 2008 Quality Drinks Awards. Says director Michael Kain, "Customers often ask if we are organic, so we decided to pursue certification with the Soil Association. Our customers care about the green credentials of products and SA Organic approval is widely regarded as the toughest."
Most sloe gin is drunk 'straight', as an original British aperitif, or warming after dinner drink in front of the fire. It is also an essential ingredient in many cocktails, due to its rich and intense flavour.
To make sloe gin, the wild fruit is soaked and macerated with Juniper Green Organic Gin and a moderate amount of organic sugar. Bramley and Gage currently uses over 8 tonnes of sloes per year, and they expect this to grow significantly as a result of the new product.
What makes Organic Sloe Gin so special?
Whole fruit, not dried sloes or concentrated juice. This means that all the flavours of the fruit are extracted including those from the stone; which gives nuttiness. Dried sloes produce an earthy dusty flavour and using concentrate results in a thinness that might be familiar to drinkers of a leading brand.
Plenty of fruit: Sloes are hard to find and difficult to pick, with finger cuts a likely consequence, so it would be easy to cut down on the amount of sloes and up the cheaper ingredients. Cutting costs results in a light colour and bland taste.
Moderate sugar: Sloes, even when ripe, are extremely bitter, so the addition of some sugar is needed. The sugar can help 'fill out' the fruit flavours, however too much becomes sickly and over powering and masks some of the more subtle flavours.
Patience and time: It takes time to make sloe gin. We often hear of home made recipes that have been left for 5 years in the airing cupboard. Traditionally sloes are picked at the first frost of autumn, around the end of September, with the resultant gin opened on Christmas Eve.
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 Gold awards in 2008Independent awards are one of the best ways of identifying quality products, and in 2008 we are delighted to have received more than ever. Quince Liqueur was a winner at the 2008 Quality Drinks Awards. Our Greengage Liqueur and Cherry Brandy both won Gold at the Great Taste Awards, not bad for new products. In addition we won 4 Gold medals at the Taste of the West awards in August. Click here for the Taste of the West website.
Quince Liqueur - Quality Drink Awards WINNER 2008 - Taste of the West Gold & best Drink 2007,
Elderflower Liqueur - Great Taste Gold 2007, Taste of the West Gold 2008
Cherry Brandy - Great Taste Gold 2008, Taste of the West Gold 2007
Sloe Gin - Taste of the West Gold 2008
Damson Gin - Taste of the West Gold 2008
Raspberry Liqueur - Taste of the West Gold 2008
Sweet Sloe Gin - Taste of the West Gold 2007
Blackcurrant Liqueur - Taste of the West Gold 2007
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