English juniper gin launches first sloe bottling

British conservationist gin brand Beckett’s has launched its first small-batch sloe expression made using ingredients hand-picked in Surrey.

Beckett’s Sloe Gin is made using both sloe and juniper berries sourced from Box Hill in Surrey

Beckett’s Sloe Gin, available as a limited edition expression, has been made by steeping the brand’s core London dry gin with sloe berries picked from Box Hill in Surrey.

Launched in July last year, the brand also sources its juniper from Box Hill, which is owned by the National Trust, and includes mint grown in Kingston-upon-Thames among its list of botanicals.

“It was fantastic to use sloes from the same hill where we source the juniper for our gin. It just seems to make perfect sense,” said Neil Beckett, founder of Beckett’s Gin said.

Beckett’s is described as the “only gin in the world infused with juniper berries from England”.

The brand is undertaking a long-term project in partnership with the Forestry Commission to create a new sustainable population of juniper.

In July last year, it was revealed that a deadly fungus, called Phytophthora austrocedrae, was spreading through the British countryside, killing off juniper berry bushes.

Beckett’s has been working to create a new juniper population on Juniper Top in Surrey, an area where the plant is now extinct, using seed from other populations.

“Juniper is in steep decline in England and is therefore a priority species for conservation,” Neil Beckett said when the brand first launched.

Bottled at 29% abv, Beckett’s Sloe Gin is now available from Master of Malt at an RRP of approximately £30. Just 840 bottles have initially been released.