Rhubarb Gin

Something a little different for you today, gin! Now I must confess, I’m not much of a gin drinker, but I know those who are and this makes for a perfectly classy gift. Served with tonic water, ice, frozen berries, a slice of ginger root and a couple of toasted cardamom pods, even I find it hard to say no on a hot summer afternoon in the garden.

This recipe takes three days to fully infuse so plan ahead. And when you’re done, save your rhubarb to make a dry rhubarb preserve. This recipe won’t make that kind of vivid, artificially pink gin that you see in shops, but will taste a whole lot better too. The main reason is because I use demerara sugar and not caster. If this is something you’d rather change then be my guest, I just prefer the taste of less refined sugars.

For this recipe you’ll need about 300g of rhubarb. Once they’re trimmed down, I find a large stalk is around 100g. So if you’re picking for this recipe, aim for three large stalks and you should be fine.

Recipe

• 450ml gin

• 300g of rhubarb

• 200g of demerara sugar

Step 1.

Sterilize a jar, then clean and roughly chop up your rhubarb. Add all of the ingredients to the jar, seal the lid, and give it a good shake. Pop it somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight for three days, shaking it twice a day to help dissolve the sugar.

Step 2.

By the third day your gin should be ready but it can continue to infuse for another month as the gin and sugar both act as a preservative. All the pink will have leached from the rhubarb into the alcohol, leaving a greeny/yellow rhubarb behind. Pour through a sieve and clean muslin cloth to filter out any residue pieces, then bottle it up and store in the fridge. The alcohol level of this drink is high enough to be shelf stable at room temperature but it tastes far better cold.

Keep back your rhubarb to make a spiced rhubarb preserve, and enjoy the gin however you like.