Search
Close this search box.
Let It Sloe Cocktail Recipe
Let It Sloe Cocktail Recipe

Let It Sloe

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy here.

Cocktail History

The Let It Sloe is a Christmas cocktail that was created by Emma Stokes and was first published in her book Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm Up Winter. Essentially a spruced up tonic drink, the recipe mixes port wine and sloe gin, which is technically a liqueur, with apricot brandy and some aromatic bitters to create a dry yet unique beverage that’s named as a play on the classic holiday tune, “Let It Snow.”

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Sloe Gin: This is a liqueur made with sloes, sugar, and alcohol. I used Plymouth Sloe Gin.

Ruby Port: This is a fortified wine made in Portugal with a blend of red grapes. I used Sandeman Fine Ruby Porto.

Apricot Brandy: This is a liqueur made with apricots, spices, sugar, and brandy. I used Phillips Apricot Brandy.

Red Wine Syrup: This is a sweetener made with Cabernet Sauvignon and sugar. I made mine using this stovetop recipe.

Aromatic Bitters: This is a food product made with botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. I used Angostura Aromatic Bitters.

Tonic Water: This is a carbonated water that has been infused with quinine. I used QMixers Tonic Water.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Bar Spoon: This is used to stir ingredients. I used the Barfly Stainless Steel Teardrop Bar Spoon.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2024-10-12.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

 Appearance: Dark red hue with an ombré effect

• Aroma: Fruity sloe liqueur

• Taste: A dry flavor that blends deep red port wine, sweet sloe, fruit, and herbs

• Finish: Tonic’s bitter quinine notes

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐

Kendall’s Take: “It’s been a really long time since I’ve had a drink made with sloe gin, so I didn’t really know what to expect of this recipe. I will admit I did not think it would be as off-putting as I found it to be, especially given its categorization as a Christmas cocktail. Maybe I’m just not used to tonic water’s quinine bitterness, but I did not like the juxtaposition of the mixer alongside the other candy-sweet ingredients. Adding red wine syrup definitely helped, but the Let It Sloe just wasn’t for me. If anyone’s going to tempt me to it again, I think it would need a lot of work before I’d find it truly palatable.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm Up Winter by Emma Stokes.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm up Winter
Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm up Winter
Hardcover Book; Stokes, Emma (Author); English (Publication Language); 144 Pages – 12/01/2020 (Publication Date) – Pop Press (Publisher)
$19.95 Amazon Prime

This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2024-10-12.

Let It Sloe

The Let It Sloe is a Christmas cocktail that was created by Emma Stokes and was first published in her book Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm Up Winter. Essentially a spruced up tonic drink, the recipe mixes port wine and sloe gin, which is technically a liqueur, with apricot brandy and some aromatic bitters to create a dry yet unique beverage that’s named as a play on the classic holiday tune, “Let It Snow.”

Prep Time 3 mins Assembly Time 2 mins Total Time 5 mins Difficulty: Intermediate Servings: 1 Calories: 200 Best Season: Christmas

Ingredients

Method

  1. Add sloe gin, wine, apricot brandy, red wine syrup, bitters, and cubed ice to a lowball glass.

  2. Stir for 10-15 seconds.

  3. Top with tonic water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Expand All:
How do I make this cocktail recipe non-alcoholic?

Use Monin Premium Wild Berry Syrup in place of the sloe gin, R.W. Knudsen Just Concord Grape Juice mixed with lime zest in place of the wine, Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative and Monin Premium Stone Fruit Syrup in place of the apricot brandy, and All The Bitter Alcohol-Free Aromatic Bitters in place of the aromatic bitters to try a mocktail version of this drink.

Rate this recipe

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin Recipe
Share Recipe
Email Recipe

About The Author

Kendall is the creator of Novel Nightcaps, a mixology blog chronicling recipes she tries from her cocktail book collection.