Rowan Berry Gin Liqueur

This rowan berry gin liqueur is the forager’s dream. It’s sweet yet tart and deliciously moreish. Serve chilled as a shot, with your favourite mixer or as part of a cocktail.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Rowan berry gin is not something you’ll find in the shops and that makes it rather special.
• The rowan berries are foraged and thus FREE!
• The taste – this is a deliciously different liqueur.
• Rowan berry gin makes a great foodie gift for Christmas.

I love foraging and have used rowan berries in my rowan berry jam, in rowan and red currant jelly and of course in classic rowan jelly. Now I thought it was time to get some booze involved so we have rowan gin!

Rowan berries

The rowan tree (Sorbus Aucupria) grows all over the UK and overseas as well. Widely known for it’s magical properties and connection to folklore rowan trees were once planted beside houses to ward off evil.

In Scotland it has always been considered taboo to cut down a rowan tree as this could bring dreadful bad luck.

For lots more information on rowan trees then check out the British Woodland Trust.

When foraging for rowan berries to make this rowan gin liqueur you want berries that are bright red and not orange in colour. The berries must be good and ripe.

Rules of foraging

Never pick all the rowan berries on one bush/tree. Leave a good percentage of berries for the birds.

Don’t pick rowan berries from beside a busy main road. These trees are packed with polution from all the traffic, pick your rowan berries in the countryside. Even in parks trees may well be sprayed with insecticides etc.

Got the foraging bug? Then check out my Foraging Recipe Section for loads of great ideas for your foraged finds.

Ingredients for rowan berry gin

There are only three ingredients in my rowan gin liqueur. Don’t you just love a recipe that only calls for a few ingredients, makes everything so much easier.

Rowan berries – Make sure these are good a ripe, bright red in colour and not damaged in any way. Discard any that are blackened or too orange in colour.

Gin – this is not the time to wheel out the Bombay Sapphire, just go for basic supermarket gin. Afterall you are going to be adding flavour to this gin so you don;t want a fancy flavourful gin to start with.

Sugar – I use plain white granulated sugar to make this rowan liqueur. You don’t want to use any type f brown sugar as these have a caramel type flavour which just doesn’t work with this liqueur recipe.

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make rowan gin liqueur

This is such an easy liqueur to make, it is a simple two step process.

Firstly pick over the rowan berries and pop them into a nice big kilner jar adding the sugar and the gin. Clip on the lid and give it a jolly good shake.

Now leave the jar in a cool dark cupboard for two weeks to mature and let the gin absorb all the flavour and a golden hue from the rowan berries.

The next step is to strain your rowan berry gin liqueur through two layers of muslin (or kitchen paper) into a jug.

Have patience here and just let it drip through in its own time. Straining through the double layers means there is less chance of tiny fibres getting through and making your rowan liqueur cloudy.

This wouldn’t effect the taste but a clear liqueur always looks best. Now just decant into pretty bottles and enjoy!

how long does this last?

Your rowan berry gin will keep for up to a year or more in a cool cupboard. There is no need to keep it in the fridge or anything like that.

How to serve rowan gin liqueur

Just serve this as you would any other liqueur as a wee treat either before or after a meal. Or serve it with some ice as a tipple any time.

You can also pop your bottle in the freezer and serve your rowan berry gin as shots in those little frozen glasses.

Or why not use this delicious rowan berry gin liqueur as part of a fun cocktail, cheers!

Looking for more fun homemade liqueurs and hooch to make at home? Then check these out before you go.

Carrot Cake Liqueur

Orange marmalade vodka

Homemade Kahlua coffee liqueur

Irish cream liqueur copycat Baileys

Looking for even more tasty tipples? Then check out my Infusions and Liqueurs section for even more inspiration.

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest and sign up for my newsletter too of course.