Sloe gin is frequently overlooked, but is a surprisingly versatile liqueur.

Few Americans have much of an acquaintance with sloe gin, outside of the syrupy sweet and infamous Sloe Screw (sloe gin and orange juice). That’s a shame, because whether you pick it up at your local store or make your own, sloe gin shines in a surprising number of cocktails.

Sloe Gin Cocktail

• 2 oz. sloe gin
• ¼ tsp. dry vermouth
• 1 dash orange bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and serve.

Born on the 4th of July

• 1 ½ oz. blue curacao liqueur
• 1 ½ oz. sloe gin
• heavy cream

Pour blue curacao into an ice-filled collins glass. Carefully layer both the sloe gin and the cream on top of the ice. The result should be a blue and red drink with tendrils of white shooting through the colors.

Bitter Christina

• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 1 oz. sloe gin
• 4 oz. bitter lemon soda
• 1 splash Pisang Ambon liqueur

Pour dry vermouth into a highball glass filled with ice. Add sloe gin and Pisang Ambon, and stir well. Top off with bitter lemon soda.

Cape Cod Cooler

• 2 oz. sloe gin
• 1 oz. gin
• 5 oz. cranberry juice
• ½ oz. fresh lime juice
• ½ oz. orgeat syrup

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes, and shake well. Strain into a collins glass over ice. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Sloe Gin Collins

• 2 oz. sloe gin
• juice of ½ lemon
• carbonated water
• 1 slice lemon
• 1 slice orange
• 1 cherry

Combine sloe gin and lemon juice in a shaker with ice and shake briskly. Strain into a collins glass, add several ice cubes, fill with carbonated water and stir. Add slices of lemon and orange, top with the cherry, and serve with a straw.

Chekhov Cooler

• 2 oz. raspberry vodka
• ½ oz. sloe gin
• 4 oz. cranberry-raspberry juice
• 6 fresh raspberries
• mint sprig

Pour the raspberry vodka, sloe gin, and cranberry-raspberry juice over several ice cubes in a double old-fashioned glass. Add fresh raspberries and garnish with the mint.

San Francisco Cocktail

• ¾ oz. sweet vermouth
• ¾ oz. dry vermouth
• ¾ oz. sloe gin
• 1 dash orange bitters
• 1 dash bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Add a cherry for garnish.

Flips and fizzes are seldom seen in bars these days, and require a certain touch. Make sure to shake very vigorously to make sure the egg is emulsified. (Pasteurized egg products can be substituted for the raw egg.)

Sloe Gin Flip

• 1 tablespoon sloe gin
• 2 teaspoons light cream
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• 1 whole egg
• nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg with ice in a shaker, and shake briskly. Strain into a whiskey sour glass. Sprinkle nutmeg on top to serve.

Merry Widow Fizz

• 1 ½ oz. sloe gin
• juice of ½ orange
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• carbonated water

Combine all ingredients except carbonated water with ice in a shaker, and shake briskly. Strain into a highball glass over two ice cubes. Top off with carbonated water, stir, and serve.

Ruby Fizz

• 2 oz. sloe gin
• 1 tsp. grenadine syrup
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp. powdered sugar
• 1 egg white
• carbonated water

Combine all ingredients except carbonated water with ice in a shaker, and shake briskly. Strain into a highball glass over two ice cubes. Top off with carbonated water, stir, and serve.