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).

For those like me, working in hot, sandy places where you can't get a bottle of real gin, I give you...... [/b]JEDDAH GIN.[b]

Recipe;

12 x oranges
12 x lemons
3 kg potatoes
5 kg sugar
10 litres water
1 tsp yeast

Wash and slice fruit and vegetable, leaving the skins on.
Boil up the water.
Dissolve sugar in some of the water and add fruit and potatoes.
Add remainder of the water and allow to cool, and then add yeast.
Leave for 7 days, stirring occasionally.
Leave to settle for 3 days.
Remove solids and leave 2 more days.
Rack until clear, then bottle.

Tastes disgusting, but it's better'ern nowt! :D

Back to UK this Friday for a couple of weeks getting reaquainted with the real stuff!!

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

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

Fek! my PC has just drowned in a shower of brew!

Well you have to test it, just to made sure it's of the correct quality of Gin required, a single glass won't tell you that!

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.

Originally Posted by ugly

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.

Completely agree: a simple smooth gin that's not too pungent - forget Gordon's. One pound of sloes and one pound of sugar for each bottle of gin.

Originally Posted by ugly

Seal and agitate daily for a month, weekly for a month then draw off once the sugar has dissolved.

Strain the spirit through a cheap muslin cloth and bottle with more lakeland sloe gin bottles, ID and date is good on a label.

I find caster sugar works best but I dissolve it in the gin before adding the sloes. Straining is essential to avoid sludge (this is where dissolving the sugar helps as well), strain twice after cleaning the cloth if necessary. I leave them for 3 months (turning as described) before bottling and then leave the bottles for at least three months after that, unless there is a Christmas tasting session like the one bangalore attended, which demands a quicker turnaround.

Originally Posted by ugly

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!

I've never heard of this one before, will try it on my next batch, when I am back in the land of the sloe.

BD6

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...)

I could only find enough sloes for one bottle! Glad I "made hay while the sun shone" for the last few years or we would be in trouble.

I blame Gordon Brown.....

They are supposed to be picked after the "first frost" of the year. Supposedly it makes them taste better.................

It means that they burst in the jar and release the colour quicker!