If the UK’s plum season (August to October) has handed you a wonderful surplus of gorgeous, glistening plums then there’s no better way to use up all of that lovely fruit than by making your very own homemade spiced plum gin.

You’ve never tried spiced plum gin before? Well, if you like the fruity, rich delights of a good sloe gin, then you will definitely like this tasty treat as the two types of flavoured gin share many delicious qualities.

Our easy-to-follow three-step guide to making spice plum gin at home requires minimal effort. However, the process does take 4 weeks to complete, as you need to give the plum and spice flavours time to infuse into the gin. Luckily, the preparation time only takes 20 minutes at the most and the end result is well worth it.

The resulting gin is rich with fragrant plum flavours, which are sweet and delectably moreish, all kissed by subtle hints of cinnamon, clove and star anise. Of course, the exact choice of spices you use is up to you!

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The best homemade Spiced Plum Gin recipe:

Can you use damsons instead of plums?

The answer to this question is: YES! Damson gin is delicious and spiced damson gin is even more so. Simply swap the plums for the damsons in this recipe and enjoy!

What is the difference between plums and damsons?

Damsons are very similar to plums and even come from a subspecies of the plum tree. Differences can be found in their shape, plums are round, damsons are oval-shaped; their texture, damsons are firmer while plums are juicier; and their flavour, damsons have a scrumptious sourness while plums are usually sweeter. Whichever fruit you choose, they both work fantastic in this recipe.

500g plums (de-stoned and roughly chopped)
5 star anise
3 cloves
3 large sticks of cinnamon
250g caster sugar (add more or less to taste)
70cl gin

Step 1:
Add the fruit, spices, gin and sugar to a sterilised jar and shake well.

Step 2:
Leave in a cool dark place, tightly sealed, for at least 4 weeks. Shake the jar twice a week to help the flavours infuse.

Step 3:
Taste the gin and add sugar if needed (this is down to personal taste). The gin can be left for weeks and months more if you feel the flavours need to develop further - there are no wrong answers. Once the gin is to your liking, strain through muslin into a sterilized bottle and enjoy!

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How to serve Spiced Plum Gin:

This beautifully flavoured gin works great in a simple serve paired with a premium ginger beer or a quality tonic water, garnished with a slice of fresh lime and a cherry. You can find fabulous ginger beers and tonic waters on the Craft Gin Club online shop, here!

50ml Spiced Plum Gin
Ginger beer or tonic water, to top
Sliced lime, to garnish (fresh orange or lemon would work just as well here!)
Cherry, to garnish

Combine all of the ingredients in a glass with lots of ice and stir. Enjoy!

Homemade spiced plum gin can also work amazingly well in cocktails. Try replacing the sloe gin in one of the cocktails at this link (clicking the image below will also take you there) with the spiced plum gin and you are in for a real treat.

Turn this Sloe Gin Negroni into a Spiced Plum Gin Negroni!

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