Sloe Gin

[frost]

Hi Nicos
Sloes are also blackthorn....
a stiff, dense shrrub, up to 12 feet high, with long thorns and oval leaves. The fruit are small round,quite hard, very dark-blue berry covered when young in a paler bloom abit like damsons and plums get on them.
They are green inside and very bitter if eaten as they come off the tree.
If you look up sloe gin on the net you should come across some pics.

[MaxBaz]

I've used 1lb of fresh raspberries, 1/2lb sugar, and a bottle of Vodka. Tastes gorgeous. Wash the fruit, gently pat dry, sprinkle the sugar on top and leave for an hour. Put into a large glass container and pour the vodka over the top. Put in a dark, cool cupboard, turn the jar upside down daily until the sugar is completely dissolved, then just turn every couple of days. Leave for about 6 weeks - I'm leaving mine until Christmas.

[MummyPuppy]

I make passion fruit gin. You'll need about 12 whole passion fruits and a litre of Gin, first scoop the seeds out and match the volume of seeds with sugar - put it all in the gin bottle and keep shaking for about 6 months.

Drain off the Gin into a clean bottle and serve - lovely.

[October2110]

Pick your sloes preferably from a sunny site late October,so they are nice and ripe. Buy a bottle of cheap gin, and empty half of the gin into a clean bottle. I add only a little sugar but also add a few drops of Almond essence. you now have two bottles half full! Top up each with pricked sloes (this is the tedious bit-suggest some appropriate music-you can't watch TV without pricking your fingers) seal up and turn each day for a month. They should be ready by Christmas. Last year mine had a lot of fruit pulp, so the previous suggestion about filtering is probably sensible so as to prevent corruption.
Good luck.

[Squirrel]

I've frozen my sloes as this makes them split! Much easier than pricking each one!

[compostman]

I read somewhere that you are supposed to prick each sloe 12 times with a thorn from the bush it came from. (Now we know what the ancients did before the internet & seed catalogues were invented)!!!!
I'm still holding my nerve but the local sloes are getting more & more pickable, just worried that someone else (or some feathered critter) will get there first.
I made sloe vodka last year, don't remember too much from Boxing Day onwards . I've got some Ginger wine on the go that I hope will complement this years batch.

Nighty night, off to dream about a world where slugs will only eat lawn grass.
Compo

[Snadger]

Hello everyone - here's a recipe Ive found, although havent tried it personally:
(taken from Favourite country wines and cordials by Carol Wilson)
Sloe Gin

Sloes
Granulated sugar
Gin

Sloes are best picked after they have been frosted to get the juice flowing. Once picked, put in the freezer overnight for the same effect.
Prick each sloe with a darning needle. Half fill sterilsed bottles with the fruit. Add 30z suger to each 1lb sloes. Cover with gin, seal firmly and shake well to dissolve the sugar. Keep in a warm place and shake each day for several weeks. After 3months strain the liqueur through coffee filter papers into clean, sterilised bottles, seal well and leave to mature. More sugar can be added later if the liqueur is too sour. Improves with keeping.

Hi Dexterdog

Just wondered if you knew whether the sloes and sugar actually ferment in the gin as usually when something ferments it gives off a gas! No chance of the bottle popping with the pressure is their? Just wondered

[compostman]

Hi Snadger,
Most gin/vodka is round about 40% alcohol, I don't think that there are any commonly occuring microorganisms that can live in that so fermentation is not going to happen. So don't worry about bottles going bang. Many years ago a boffin type mate of mine did start to explain what happened chemically but after about the third glass I completely lost interest in anything except whether he was going to shut up and pour!!!!

Compo

[jerseybean]

I joined a group of people from Jersey Heritage yesterday for a sloe gin workshop. We took a walk onto the north coast where the sloes were in abundance. However the trees had been stripped already were they were accessible, so many have already been gathering there fruit, and it meant climbing was necessary.
We had a demo on making the drink , it appears that anything goes really.
One lady said she used fructose instead of sugar , anyone know why you would do that?
Had a tasting and yes I now can't wait for mine to be mature for drinking.
It was a lovely day out.

[Snadger]

Here is a picture of Sloes...as you can see they are like small Damsons/plums

You can find them in old hedgerows and they are the fruit of the Blackthorn.

They are about 1/2" to 3/4"long (12mm to 20mm) and are very bitter to the taste...hence the amount of sugar required in the recipe!

[martini]

They do look like damson Snadger - we went past a farm the other day and there was a notice outside 'Damsons for Sale' - I told my OH to stop by on the way back to get some - I love damson jam - but half an hour later and they'd all gone

[shirley]

Blackberry whiskey

2kg / 4lbs blackberries
225g / 8oz sugar (or less according to taste)
1 bottle whisky

Place the fruit, sugar and whisky in a large screw top or kilner style jar. Shake every few days until the sugar has dissolved.

Place in a dark cupboards for three months, turning slowly to mix once every two weeks or so.

Strain and bottle. The whisky will have turned a deep, dark purple. It can be drunk straight away, but the flavour will continue to improve for up to 2 years
recipe is from HFW river cottage cookbook
or www.rivercottage.net

[shirley]

Cranberry vodka

Another that I have come across is Cranberry Vodka
250g/9oz cranberries fresh or frozen
175g/6oz caster sugar
1 litre bottle vodka

Prick all cranberries and layer them with the sugar into a sterile kilner type/glass airtight jar. Puor over vodka and leave for 2 weeks shaking the jar each day. Strain and decant into bottles,seal

[annie trip]

Has no one got a rumtopf (not sure that spelt right) pot???
You put whatever seasonal fruit in it with sugar and rum, did one few years ago and was rocket fuel even tho i dont like rum!!! II did make a cake with the left over fruit but that was awfull!!

Not sure why but that pot been put away since then will have to dig out again. Have done damson gin and vodka this year was lucky to find a late tree everyone else had missed!!

[Squirrel]

Did a rumtopf last year - still got the liquor! Wonder how it will go if I soak the fruit for the christmas cake in it instead of brandy!