Sloe Screwdriver Recipe

By
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
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Updated on 06/13/22
Slow Screwdriver (aka Sloe Screw) Cocktail

The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

The sloe screwdriver (commonly misspelled "slow" and shortened to "screw") is a popular orange juice and sloe gin highball that is incredibly easy to make. If you can mix up a screwdriver, this drink is just as easy except there's no vodka. It is definitely the most popular sloe gin cocktail and a fun retro drink.

The cocktail comes out of the late 20th-century bar scene when mixed drinks were sweet, fruity, and often had suggestive (sometimes inappropriate) names. It's fun though, and quite tasty, with the sweet taste of sloe berry liqueur against tart, acidic orange juice. It makes a nice brunch cocktail.

There's also a whole lineup of sloe screwdriver cocktails that add things like brandy, Galliano, rum, and tequila. If you ever have a hard time remembering the ingredients in those, pay close attention to the names. There's always a clue that points to another popular drink from that era.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a highball glass filled with ice, pour the sloe gin.

  3. Fill with orange juice.

  4. Garnish with an orange slice. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe Variations

  • Add 3/4 ounce of vodka and cut the sloe gin to the same measurement. Some people enjoy gin rather than vodka.
  • The sloe comfortable screwdriver pours 1 ounce each of vodka and Southern Comfort, 1/2 ounce of sloe gin, and is filled with orange juice.
  • Floating Galliano on top of the Southern Comfort variation adds "against the wall" to this drink's name. The addition refers to the Harvey Wallbanger, which gets the same finishing touch.
  • The next step is to add tequila. For this one, pour 1/2 ounce each of vodka, Southern Comfort, sloe gin, and tequila, fill with orange juice, then add a Galliano float.
  • The most complex and boozy of the lot finishes the name with "between the sheets" (a popular rum and brandy cocktail). To make it, combine 1/2 ounce each of vodka, Southern Comfort, sloe gin, rum, and brandy, then fill with orange juice.
  • Similar to the fuzzy navel, the drink gets "fuzzy" when peach schnapps is used. In this version, pour 1/2 ounce each of vodka, Southern Comfort, sloe gin, and peach schnapps, fill with orange juice and float Galliano.

How Strong Is a Sloe Screwdriver?

Sloe gin can be bottled anywhere between 15 percent and 30 percent ABV (30 to 60 proof). This will be a very light drink with an alcohol content around 7 percent ABV (14 proof) when made with the strongest sloe gin. While it's similar to high-point beer, that will go up, of course, if you add liquors for the variations. The majority of those will still not be considered tough drinks.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
188 Calories
0g Fat
21g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 188
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 2mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 21g 8%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 103mg 515%
Calcium 28mg 2%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 401mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)