Thread: Sloe Gin

Originally Posted by k13eod

Originally Posted by bangalore

Pick your sloes from blackthorn hedges in October or November when they are most ripe - probably after the first frosts.
Take a litre bottle of gin, and drink half a litre.

I tried your recipe last night. After drinking the half litre of gin I couldn't remember what I was supposed to do next

Funnily enough my sister had the same problem with th egin she got from sainsburys, and that was cheap rough gin

Originally Posted by ugly

Must do that with the choco, need to get out and pick some sloes if it stops raining!

Yea after my sisters experiences I want a go aswell

The mrs will want to try the choclate for the second batch I will want the port

I had heard about the chocolate version for the remaindered sloes but not cider or port! I have 3 litres of sloe gin brewing at the moment from the last 2 years, so will have a go.

The crop round here is not good, so might have to visit my father soon as he has a large blackthorn in his garden.

I find throwing the sloes into a plastic bag and freezing them kills the bugs and bursts the fruit. Straining is always slow going because of the debris they produce! I have always added a tbsp of fresh almonds; that was in my original recipe!

Blackberry and brandy liquer is the other one I like!

Litotes

Originally Posted by CaptainPlume

Only problem is there's a severe shortage of sloes this year. I'm very glad that I have 2007, 2006 & 2005 vintages in store at the moment (a demijohn of the first and a small splash of the last...)

Don't forget you can use other fruit - Damson is nice.

Originally Posted by jarrod248

Originally Posted by CaptainPlume

Only problem is there's a severe shortage of sloes this year. I'm very glad that I have 2007, 2006 & 2005 vintages in store at the moment (a demijohn of the first and a small splash of the last...)

Don't forget you can use other fruit - Damson is nice.

Only a big poof like you could suggest fcuking 'Damson' :D

There are loads of sloe bushes on the camp here. After making a batch the other year I just can't be arssed to make anymore but might be keen enough to have another go after reading the other recipes. The bird drank the last lot with lemonade whilst I was out with the lads and she had her sister over. I was very dissapointed with her..... :(

I'm hoping to go picking this sunday if I can stay sober long enough and not angry enough to rant on about JCM on the current affairs!

Seems to be a very bad season this year - for most fruits, but especially sloes.

I'd recommend freezing them after you've picked and rinsed them. Then, take a bottle-worth at a time, put them in a sieve and run under a warm tap for 30 sec to defrost them before putting in the bottle - it bursts the skins perfectly and avoids that awful pricking bit.

Vanilla sugar works really well - makes it smooth. Don't leave the sloes in the alcohol for longer than 6 months - the natural form of cyanide can start to leach out - gives a bitter almondy taste to the gin.

We've got apple schnapps / vodka on the go as well this year - we'll see.

Originally Posted by ugly

Originally Posted by bangalore

For those who haven't tried this - it's a very sweet liquer (almost like cough syrup) that's easily made and in a taste test last christmas (where we got through 2 litres in an evening) it proved to be a lot better than the Gordons version.

This was the best recipe I found for anyone who wants a go - the most difficult part is finding the sloes - unless you're in Norn Iron then they are all over the place!

Recipe

Pick your sloes from blackthorn hedges in October or November when they are most ripe - probably after the first frosts.
Take a litre bottle of gin, and drink half a litre

Cut or prick the sloes and drop into the half-empty bottle so that they displace the remaining gin to near the top.
Add one wine goblet of sugar (approx 150g).
All you have to do now is turn or agitate the bottle daily for a week, then weekly for a month or two ... by which time it will be ready to drink (but it is really best kept until the next winter).

Buy cheap cash and carry gin, get a pound of sugar for every pound of sloes, if you havent picked them after the frost then fling them in the deep freeze overnight. Prick with a pin after rinsing all the maggots and leaves off.
get some big preserving jars from Lakeland. Put a pound of sloes, a pound of sugar and any cheap clear spirit in to top it off. Seal and agitate daily for a month, weekly for a month then draw off once the sugar has dissolved.
this should be about late november.
Dont whatever you do chuck away the sloes.
Strain the spirit through a cheap muslin cloth and bottle with more lakeland sloe gin bottles, ID and date is good on a label.
The old sloes need to go back into a jar again and tip over as much really cheap port as possible. Leave this for months, strain and bottle. That is nectar!

Whatever you do leave it for at least a year before drinking! Ask around my sloe booze comes with recommendations from several arrsse lushes.

My bold. That'll be me too! Are you selling any? I have a fantastic memory of digging in at Sandhurst one very frosty morning, and one of the other POs producing a hip flask filled with the stuff - mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Not sold any before, I normally just hand it around on the shoot!

After your second brewing of sloes they taste good chucked in Flapjacks as well! Just use any flapjack recipe, plenty available on the net. Remember to take the stones out though eh!

Can't wait till crimbo when i get the next 3 litres out!

Originally Posted by k13eod

Originally Posted by jarrod248

Originally Posted by CaptainPlume

Only problem is there's a severe shortage of sloes this year. I'm very glad that I have 2007, 2006 & 2005 vintages in store at the moment (a demijohn of the first and a small splash of the last...)

Don't forget you can use other fruit - Damson is nice.

Only a big poof like you could suggest fcuking 'Damson' :D

The beauty of damsons, Mr. K13, is that you can put them in a pie or crumble after the gin, and have a jolly fine pudding!

Originally Posted by Grownup_Rafbrat

Originally Posted by k13eod

Originally Posted by jarrod248

Originally Posted by CaptainPlume

Only problem is there's a severe shortage of sloes this year. I'm very glad that I have 2007, 2006 & 2005 vintages in store at the moment (a demijohn of the first and a small splash of the last...)

Don't forget you can use other fruit - Damson is nice.

Only a big poof like you could suggest fcuking 'Damson' :D

The beauty of damsons, Mr. K13, is that you can put them in a pie or crumble after the gin, and have a jolly fine pudding!

I couldnt get any nice Sloes last year so made Damson Vodka instead...yum...

Originally Posted by Gracie

Originally Posted by Grownup_Rafbrat

Originally Posted by k13eod

Originally Posted by jarrod248

Originally Posted by CaptainPlume

Only problem is there's a severe shortage of sloes this year. I'm very glad that I have 2007, 2006 & 2005 vintages in store at the moment (a demijohn of the first and a small splash of the last...)

Don't forget you can use other fruit - Damson is nice.

Only a big poof like you could suggest fcuking 'Damson' :D

The beauty of damsons, Mr. K13, is that you can put them in a pie or crumble after the gin, and have a jolly fine pudding!

I couldnt get any nice Sloes last year so made Damson Vodka instead...yum...

An elderly lady of my acquaintance makes a rather tasty Blackberry whisky. The crumble by-product is quite something too!

It's coming up to that time of year again, the Sloes down my neck of the woods are growing nicely and there are stacks of them - alot more than last year!

Does any of you sloe gin makers pick before the frost and freeze? if so does it have any effect on the flavour? I seem to miss out because the local sloe bandit gets in first before the frosts.

Anyway I'm going to try Sloe Liquer (Vodka), Sloe Cider and sloe truffles this year.

Looking at the price of Sloe Gin I might even go into retail