Damsons are a relative to sloes and the recipe and taste may seem similar initially. As damsons are not as mouth puckeringly sour (and a few are fine to eat off the branch) it has a knock on effect on the gin that it makes – the sweeter damson is better suited to making a dryer – less sweet gin. This is because they do not need as much sugar to punch against the sour acidity that a sloe has. The final result is still a heavenly dark fruity gin but one that is far less sweet and syrupy with a refreshing tartness at the end. With no spices it also makes a more neutral in a gin and tonic.

While saying it make a dryer gin you are making your own gin you can go mental and add as much sugar as you wish and could push it higher. Your gin – your rules.

Making the gin is easy. Unlike sloe gin there are no spices or zests to worry about. Just have the fruit, neutral gin and sugar. I used a neutral and inexpensive super market gin as the damsons are the stars of this. One thing to think about is maceration time and while sloes can live indefinitely in the gin to impart a rich stone/marzipan flavour a damson should not sit in for more than a year – usally even less. Have a taste every now and again after two months to get to your desired taste. I personally left them for eight months. After maceration sloes make an amazing (really fucking amazing) chutney and I cannot see why damsons would not either. I personally could not get this done as I’m writing it in the time or Covid 19 lock down. In happier and less stressful times I will hopefully make this happen. Stay safe and have a gin.

Click here for the sloe gin and sloe chutney recipe and here for damson port. The port is to make from scratch rather than a flavouring one.

DAMSON GIN- 1 Litre

1 liter of supermarket gin

400g damsons

150g sugar (more if you wish)

Wash the damsns and prick or slice so the gin can get into the flesh of the fruit.

Drop the gin and damsons into a clean kilner jar and seal. Place in a cool dark place.

Wait at least 2 months but preferably more then strain.

Mix sugar to your desired taste.