First ever attemp at Sloe Gin...should be ready by NewYear...Pic Heavy

[Greg]

Well, I picked 3lb of sloes a couple of weeks ago and have had them in the freezer since.
So this morning I decided to attempt my first ever batch of sloe gin going from a recipe that my good pal John Fenna gave me

Sloes de-stalked & frozen:


Everything prepped..


I then left them to defrost a short while whilst I did SWMBO's house work...yes..yes very domesticated..

Then I gave the sloes a good rince..


Then each sloe was pricked and placed in a jar till I had roughly half a jar full...


Then I weighed them out...exactly 1lb..pure fluke ...and back into the jar they went..


Then I weighed out half the weight of the sloes in sugar (half a pound...mathematical genius me..)


Added the sugar to the sloes in the jar..


Got a bottle of EXPENSIVE Gin...


And topped up the Jar then sealed the lid...and gave it a gentle shake..




then repeated the process two more times...and hopefully finger's crossed these three will be ready and palatable come New Year..


Now to wash up again..lol
Hope you've found this interesting...
Greg

 

[resnikov]

Looks good!
You probably know to give them a shake once in awhile to get everything mixed up. I always like doing that and seeing how they changed over time.

 

[Greg]

Looks good!
You probably know to give them a shake once in awhile to get everything mixed up. I always like doing that and seeing how they changed over time.

Yes..been told to do it at least once a day till the sugar dissolves then every now and again to help it mix...but thank you for the reminder..

 

[British Red]

Looks great - try a muscovado sugar next time - gives a very different flavour that I love - dark and rich



Bullace Spirit by British Red, on Flickr

 

[Greg]

I may just do that Red..just see how this batch turns out first

 

[John Fenna]

Fool - you ruined the recipe!
NEVER USE ANY TESCO PRODUCT especially in a recipe I gave you... you know my feelings about Tesco!
Other than that - and the feelings of guilt you will have with every sip of the drink (as is has Tesco contents) that looks pretty darned good!

 

[Macaroon]

Just done 3 litres of Bullace gin; I'm trying one with a very small amount of Mollasses, one with Muccovado and one with Demerera...........................a friend tried the Mollasses last year and it was delicious but took a little longer to get the flavours melded nicely. The trick is, apparently, to use a small amount of Mollasses and then sweeten a little with sugar at a later date if needed....can't wait to sample!.............atb mac

 

[bob_the_baker]

Sloe Gin, the true meaning of Christmas!
I follow my Gran's recipe: Half fill a demi-john with sloes, add 1 vanilla pod, add sugar until the sloes are covered, top up with gin. This works out at less sugar than most recipes I have read. Also, so as not to waste the goodness that will be left in the sloes, after decanting refill the demi-john with dry sherry and leave for another 3 months for some Sloe Sherry

 

[Greg]

Fool - you ruined the recipe!
NEVER USE ANY TESCO PRODUCT especially in a recipe I gave you... you know my feelings about Tesco!
Other than that - and the feelings of guilt you will have with every sip of the drink (as is has Tesco contents) that looks pretty darned good!

Sorry John...but it was the cheapest...I did check Morrisons, Aldi & Lidl first..guess you won't be wanting to have any at Xmas...lol

 

[wingstoo]

You did "spike" each berry before you put them in didn't you?

We are going to get a couple of jars going again before long, the last ones we did a couple of years ago should be finished by now, not drunk, but finished in the jars.

We find that after the first soaking of a few months we drain the Gin off and then renew it with some more sugar for a second soaking of a year or two.

Also we do a Elderberry Vodka using cheap Vodka...

 

[Bucephalas]

I've been told that if you drain it when ready simply pour medium sherry into the left-overs for another go.
I'm planning on trying it when mine is done.

 

[Greg]

You did "spike" each berry before you put them in didn't you?

Yep...I did say in the post

 

[wingstoo]

Yep...I did say in the post

I missed it in between the two photo's...

 

[FGYT]

I've been told that if you drain it when ready simply pour medium sherry into the left-overs for another go.
I'm planning on trying it when mine is done.

use it in a ruff cider to make slider

 

[Tadpole]

and then when the slider is done, add to blackberries and make a crumble.

 

[Pandabean]

Im just away to make my batch. Managed to collect the remainder of the berries at the weekend. It seems someone else must have beaten us to them.
At least I know where they are now.

Can the green berries be used or do they have to be purple?

 

[resnikov]

You did "spike" each berry before you put them in didn't you?

First ever batch I made I spiked but know I just freeze them as this is meant to break the skin.

 

[wingstoo]

First ever batch I made I spiked but know I just freeze them as this is meant to break the skin.

The original idea was to wait until after the first frost, but a lot of people just pop them in the freezer, but we found that they didn't always split so SWMBO started stabbing them with a cocktail stick, we just slice them with a veg knife these days... Can't seem to rely on the freezer doing its job anymore...

 

[resnikov]

The original idea was to wait until after the first frost, but a lot of people just pop them in the freezer, but we found that they didn't always split so SWMBO started stabbing them with a cocktail stick, we just slice them with a veg knife these days... Can't seem to rely on the freezer doing its job anymore...

I did think about putting a load in a zip lock bag and using a rolling pin to gently squeeze them. Might try that this year on one batch and see how it goes. Think I would have to strain them before drinking.

 

[British Red]

Im just away to make my batch. Managed to collect the remainder of the berries at the weekend. It seems someone else must have beaten us to them.
At least I know where they are now.

Can the green berries be used or do they have to be purple?

I'd stick to purple - although who knows? Can't see the green being poisonous, but the flavours may not have developed - unripe bullaces and plums are very sour so I would imagine that applies to sloes as well