I love infused liqueurs and this Raspberry Gin has gone all the way up my list of favourite drinks, clamouring for first place alongside Rhubarb Gin and Limoncello. It’s an aromatic drink with lovely shades of sweet and tart.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Infused liqueurs are simply delicious and so easily made at home. You just need a handful of ingredients and a little bit of patience. Ok, if you’ve got the attention span of a fruit fly, then that’s a whole lot of patience!
I love making homemade infusions, and in my medium-sized kitchen, with the sourdough, the kefir, the kimchi, the sauerkraut, the vinegars, and all sorts of pickles on the go, I sometimes quite often run out of space and have to practise restraint. Which is a real bummer in the summer with all the delicious, but more importantly, cheap fruit on the go!
On this site, you’ll find a few infused liqueur recipes, including Rhubarb Gin, above. In the Rhubarb gin post, I give you 2 recipes, one that takes 4 weeks to proof, and the other, with roasted rhubarb, takes only 5 days before it’s ready to drink. Here, I’m afraid, in the words of Axl Rose,
All we need is a little patience
Plus a few ingredients!
Raspberry Gin Recipe
I don’t have much advice on how to make raspberry gin at home, as it’s a pretty straightforward process, just like our rhubarb gin. Unlike the limoncello, where how much you add of the fruit and sugar, depends on the alcohol content of your vodka/grain alcohol.
To make raspberry gin, all we do is:
- Soak the raspberries in gin
- Add sugar and flavouring (see below)
- WAIT (im)patiently
- Strain
Let’s take a look at the Raspberry Gin Ingredients
Gin for Raspberry Gin
Get the best gin you can afford to make your raspberry gin. That goes for all your homemade infused liqueurs. Cheap gin will give you cheap tasting rhubarb gin. That doesn’t mean that you have to pay top dollar, do a little research to see what’s good in your price range. Like wine you plan to cook with, get something that you will enjoy drinking on its own and doesn’t taste like rubbish. I’m happy to use a good quality London Dry Gin.
Raspberries for Raspberry Gin
Fresh or frozen raspberries are fine. Just make sure that your fresh raspberries are indeed fresh. Shop bought raspberries and strawberries don’t seem to have a long life at all. So there’s something to be said about using frozen, I always have a couple of bags in the freezer, for all sorts of reasons.
Frozen fruit are great in cocktails:
- they act as ice cubes
- and they also add flavour and colour
Sugar for Raspberry Gin Recipe
To me, white sugar is the best for infused liqueurs, unless you are going for toffee and caramel flavours, which are great in spiced liqueurs. I love my drinks on the sweet side, and use 400g (14 oz) of sugar in most infusions. If you aren’t keen on sweet, start with 300g (about 10.5 oz). Then taste as you go along, you can add more sugar right up to the end. Just stir to dissolve, and strain when the time comes.
Additional flavourings in our Raspberry Gin
In the rhubarb gin, I went with just rhubarb and optional ginger. Since I’ve always wanted to add vanilla to fruit, a combination I’ve shied away from, for one reason or another, I decided to go for it here.
You can just about smell and taste the vanilla. It’s in the background and lends a subtle creaminess to the final flavour. I have another drink proofing at the moment, in which I’m using vanilla again. In that drink, the vanilla is more pronounced. Raspberries do have a little more character that doesn’t mellow out altogether when steeped.
The other drink will be ready soon, and I share it then! Not gin!
So besides the raspberry and sugar, we’ve also got:
- a vanilla pod
- half a lemon, in slices
That’s it, let’s get gin-ing!
Sterilising Jars and Bottles for our Raspberry Gin
- Turn the oven on to a cool 130˚C/250˚F/Gas Mark ½.
- Wash the jars, bottles and lids in hot soapy water.
- Place the jars, bottles and lids upside down in the oven and leave them to dry, with the door closed for 15 minutes.
- Turn the oven off and leave the jars, bottles and lids in there, bringing them out only when you are ready to fill. Be careful, as they’ll be hot.
Images by LinsFoodies
If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!
And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood
Lin xx
How to Make Raspberry Gin (Easy Homemade Fruity Gin!)
Ingredients
- 1 litre good quality gin
- 400 g fresh or frozen raspberries
- 300 g white sugar
- 1 vanilla pod split in half
- ½ a lemon sliced in rings
Instructions
- Place everything into a large, sterilised jar, and give it a good stir.
- Cover and place in a dark spot for 4 weeks. I place mine in a kitchen cupboard. Stir it every other day, or as often as you remember to!
- To drink, strain through a sieve or, if you like a crystal clear pink gin, strain though a double layer of muslin or cheese cloth into a sterilised bottle.
Notes
1 shot = 1 serving = 25 ml = 1 fluid oz
After a few months, my raspberry gin looks like it has some stringy stuff floating in it near the bottom. Is it still OK to drink? Maybe I didn’t strain it well enough? I didn’t make my raspberry gin from your recipe. It was just some thing I made.
Hi Terri, that’s probably just bits of the raspberry, if I had to guess, without looking at it. As long as you used a gin with around 40% alcohol, with no or not too much water, you should be fine.
Not a gin fan. Could vodka be used instead?
Absolutely!
Hi
I don’t squash the fruit at all, it makes it easier to filter & the gin is clearer.
Also, for years now I’ve been giving the left over filtered gin laden fruit to my 86 year old mother who makes bakewell tarts, crumbles & sponges etc. Wow, very flavoursome with a kick. Try it?
Hi Shaun, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I can see why you wouldn’t want to squash the fruit for easier straining. As you might see from the post, I make various other infusions with different spirits. And over the years, I have tried the no squash version, but squashing the fruit always results in a better flavoured drink, in my opinion. But to each his own. 🙂
Also, with regards the alcoholic fruit, yes, I totally use it for desserts, whether as is, or in baking. I mentioned it in the Rhubarb Gin recipe post, it makes a delicious rhubarb crumble. I totally appreciate you sharing your experience though. xx
I made this for a birthday present for my Gin drinking son ! It went down a storm and I’ve had orders from all his friends …just going to, pass on the recipe to them .
We snaffled some and it truly was delicious ….thank you .
Hey Jacky, I am so pleased to hear that, this is definitely one of my favourite home infusions! And glad you manage to taste some after your hard work! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for passing the recipe on to your son’s friends! x
Hi , Do you squeeze the raspberries through the cloths ?
Hi Vikki, if you want a clear drink, don’t squash down on the fruit too hard. Also, I find that squashing too much, releases bitter flavours from the lemon as well as the vanilla.
So short answer, squeeze the raspberries lightly. You know, you can eat those alcoholic raspberries with some ice cream or cream, if you don’t want to throw them away.
This sounds really good, Lin. I have so many raspberries and strawberries in the garden. Do you think I make make it with both? Will it taste good?
I shall be making this at the weekend, just need a few more raspberries! normally make damson/sloe fancied a change…where can I buy tnose lovely bottles please?
Awesome! I just got some sloe gin going from last year’s frozen sloes.
I believe I bought those bottles at Wilkinsons. They are sold in packs of 6, and come in different sizes.
Ohhhh that sounds awesome! Pinning it for later use!
Thank you!
WoW! this looks so thirst quenching! We had a launch day event of our business today, would’ve been great to serve this. Oh well. next time.
Haha, thank you, Enricoh.
This looks great am sure my friends will surely enjoy this over the weekend with me.
Thank you.
Oh wow! I want both!!! I am drooling… Somehow these spiked coolers make me want to gulp them up. I love these. And I love the fact that it’s made from fresh raspberries. Yum!
Haha, thank you, Sigrid.
I am not a massive fan of gin if I am honest, but your blog post has made the recipe seem so yummy, I will definitely have to try raspberry gin!
Thanks Leah.
This look really good, I bookmarked your site so I can come back for more drink tips. I like to entertain, but I never know what to make, I like these because it is unique.
Thanks Michael, I appreciate that.
Wow! This is very timely as I am planning a party this weekend. I would love to include this fruity gin on the refreshments list. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
A pleasure, thank you.
I am a huge fan of gin and can have it anytime. Thus reading an idea of fruity gin is like heaven for me. I would love to try this and relish the rich taste.
I love gin too!
This looks so yummy.. although I have never ever tried it! But i think i should try this..
It’s delicious, you should!
This looks like a delicious drink. Raspberry makes alcoholic drinks incredibly more delicious.
It certainly does.
I am a sucker at doing things myself and this qualifies! I can impress my alcohol drinking friends!!!
Lol, that’s always a good reason!
I love gin and adore raspberries so it’s an ideal recipe for me! And it’s so easy to make too, perfect for the summer!
It sure is!
Looks very easy to recreate! And a bit fun! I don’t drink so I can’t really relate myself to the drink but making it must have been fun
This does look yummy. I love gin but have only had it with lemon before. I love the look of your raspberry gin. It would be great for the weekend.
im a huage raspberry and gin fan so to put them together- YUM! such a great post and ill be sure to make this for guests soon!
Thank you Cait!
These look great! I’ve never been a gin-drinker but I’ve also never seen it used in drinks like these! I just might have to give it a try!
The raspberry makes all the difference!
hi gorgeous this looks so yummy i gotta try it this weekend. lucky i have plenty of gin to keep me going while i wait 🙂
Lol, I know that feeling, Pat! Thank you, let me know if you make it!