Berry Bramble

I’ve just recently come across the name “bramble” which I thought to be some kind of berry-producing prickly shrub, but it’s also the name of a gin-based cocktail! Since I happen to love gin, and have had the pleasure of being introduced to a new French variety, I thought it was a perfect time to try out a bramble myself! Really, any excuse for a cocktail will do, but specifically for the purpose of research and testing? Absolutely!

Here’s the new gin from France that my friend introduced me to, after sampling it at a tasting in NYC. It’s called G’Vine. I know, that doesn’t sound very French. I’m not even sure how to pronounce it. But it’s fabulous, with floral and citrus tones to its flavor. It’s referred to as “botanical.”

I’ve had this gin with both tonic and soda water and it’s really delightful, but for my first bramble I decided to pair it with sloe gin. I just recently discovered that sloe gin is made from sloe berries! See, that’s why I read food blogs!

And for the berry part of the bramble, I chose blackberries, because they’re really perfect at the stores right now. Nice and sweet.

Berry  Bramble
Makes 2 drinks

8-10 fresh blackberries
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 ounces G’Vine gin
1 ounce sloe gin
Fresca or soda water, chilled

Firstly, place the berries in a small bowl. Muddle or fork them into mushiness, along with the sugar.

I then divided the mushed up blackberries in two glasses, and added a couple of whole blackberries as well. It just makes the cocktail that much healthier!

Then add the gin and sloe gin.

Lastly, add the Fresca. If you’re not familiar with Fresca, you should be. It’s a grapefruit based soda and provides much more flavor than just adding sparkling water or soda. Plus it’s super fizzy. It had those blackberries bouncing around so much that sometimes they were out of focus in the photos!

Mint would be a good addition, but I don’t like getting chopped mint in my teeth, so I just left it sitting there looking pretty!

If you want to learn about G’Vine, check it out here on this crazy website!

verdict: I must say this was a very successful experiment. This brand of gin made it even better, but regular gin would certainly work just as well. The sloe gin added a lot as well, but certainly creme de cassis or Chambord could be substituted. As for the berry aspect, I think this drink would be wonderful with just about any ripe berry!