Gooseberry gin – easy to make and incredibly aromatic. Make the most of the short gooseberry season.

Affordable homemade gooseberry gin, tart, and refreshing. I am so much into making flavored gin lately. It started with a bottle of sloe gin I got as a gift last year. Totally untypical for Germany, something I had never had before. But I loved it!
So, I started looking for recipes for making my own flavored gin. I haven't got to the sloe berries yet, as it is still summer, but just have a look at this Elderflower Gin or this Rhubarb and Ginger Gin. So good!
Table of contents
What do you need?
Gin
- Use a basic kind, not something expensive. The botanical kick of an expensive gin would be lost here.
- The gooseberries will do all the flavoring work, so a regular bottle of London Dry Gin, for instance, would be just fine.
Gooseberries
- The most common types of gooseberry are green and red.
- I always use red ones in my recipes, and berries coming from the bush I have in the garden.
- Red ones are definitely sweeter than the green ones and you might want to take this into consideration when adding sugar to the gin.
- I only needed 3 tablespoons of sugar for my red berries, they were ripe and sweet. The resulting drink has a beautiful pink color.
- When using green berries, start with 5 tablespoons and add more if you consider it necessary. It really depends on the tartness of the berries. The color of the drink will be clear.
How to make it?
- Wash and dry the berries. There is no need to top and tail them.
- Halve them and place them in a large jar.
- Add the alcohol and the sugar and stir gently.
- Let steep in a dark cool place (cupboard).
- Stir every day for at least one week or until the sugar dissolves completely.
- After a couple of weeks, the gooseberries will turn white and the gin will turn pink.
How long to steep?
- Well, that seems to be a controversial issue when it comes to making gooseberry gin. There are recipes instructing you to let it steep for 4 to 6 months and there are other people who only steep the berries for 2 weeks.
- So, I suppose it is a matter of personal choice.
- As I never steeped any gin I've made until now for more than four weeks, I did the same again. And I love the results: the drink is refreshing, sweet and tart, and really full of flavor. But I will let the next batch steep for longer, just to see if there is any difference.
How to serve?
- I love it as it is, with some ice cubes added.
- The gin also makes a great long drink if you top it with sparkling water, for instance.
- You can use some to moisten cake bases or add to cake fillings.
Cocktails made with gooseberry gin
Gooseberry elderflower:
- 1 ½ shot glasses gooseberry gin (usually a shot glass has a capacity of 30 ml/ 1 oz)
- 1 shot glass elderflower syrup
- 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice, more or less to taste
- Shake well and serve.
With prosecco:
- 2 shots gooseberry gin
- 1 shot of elderflower syrup
- Top with Prosecco or another chilled sparkling wine
More homemade drinks
Gooseberry Gin
Gooseberry gin – easy to make and incredibly aromatic. Make the most of the short gooseberry season.
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Rate
Servings: 1 bottle (750 ml/25 fl.oz)
Calories: 50kcal
Ingredients
- 200 g/ 7 oz red gooseberries Note 1
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar Note 2
- 1 bottle of gin Note 3
Instructions
- Wash the gooseberries and dry them with a kitchen towel. Halve and place them in a large jar. Add the sugar and the gin. Stir gently.
- Place in a dark cool place like a cupboard. Stir every day during the first week or until the sugar dissolves.
- Let steep for at least 3-4 weeks, longer if desired. Strain through a fine cloth and pour it into a bottle.
Notes
- I am not giving you the amount in cups as gooseberries can vary very much in size, some are really small, some are huge.
- If using green gooseberry, you will need to add more sugar, as they are tarter.
- A basic sort of gin, nothing expensive.
Nutrition
Serving: 30ml | Calories: 50kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Sugar: 1g
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Deb says
What volume gin would you suggest for recipe as noted above?
Adina says
Hi Deb. Standard. That's about 40%.