I’ve been on a hunt for sloe gin for a few weeks. I’d had it once before, in a drink at Bourbon & Branch which I believe they called the Casino Royale. (Namely, a Casino with sloe gin. I feel like there must have been some regular gin as well.)

BevMo does not carry sloe gin anymore, which I now know. John Walker, however, does. My most recent acquisitions have all been from there: sloe gin, rhubarb bitters, and creme de violette (which was a birthday present, actually. And I will very much be trying it in an Aviation soon.).

Anyway, the only drink I know with sloe gin is a sloe gin fizz. And I’ve been meaning to try a drink with egg white, so I figured I’d turn mixologist for a minute and whip up a Silver Gin Fizz with equal parts gin and sloe gin. The result? My poorly named Silver Sloe Gin Fizz.

1 1/2 shots gin (No. 209) + 1 1/2 shots sloe gin (Plymouth) + juice of one lime + teaspoon of sugar + one egg white + soda water to fill glass

Egg whites are FUN. I enjoyed the shaking tremendously this time around. Lime, sugar, and egg get mixed then it’s time to add the booze. Quick shake, dump it to fill a highball glass half way, then add the soda water. Hmm…

The conclusion at which I immediately arrive: more booze, less water. It is watery and sweet and basically vile. While I think I would enjoy egg white in a normal drink, this is not the time or place.

Not to mention the fact that the color is horrific. It’s very mauve. Very very mauve. Sloe gin is a fantastic color by itself and it seems a shame to muck it up with all the water and the shaking the egg and the whole affair.

That said, I’m gulping it down if only because I want to try the stuff that’s left in the shaker without the addition of soda water and because I have but one highball glass at my disposal.

Part of the problem, I’m sure, is that a fizz isn’t exactly my type of drink. It’s just too girlie. I’m sad that I’ve wasted both my fancy sloe gin and my delicious normal gin. Not to mention an egg!

Lesson learned.

And as a bit of a postscript: the drink is much better without the soda water. It still isn’t something I’d return to, but it is at least consumable. Always a perk.