How to make sloe gin the easy way.

[kINGPIN]

With the first frost on the way I thought I would make a post on my blog showing how to make sloe gin/vodka. There are no photos at the moment as I am away from home at the moment but I'll put some on this weekend. For anyone thats never made it it is very simple. If you have never made sloe gin before then try it this year as it seems to be a really good year for the sloes which surprised me due to the dodgy weather we have had.

http://thesecretcamper.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-make-sloe-gin-easy-way-photos-on.html

If I can turn just one responsible person here into a sloe gin addict then my job here is done!

 

[Gill]

With the first frost on the way I thought I would make a post on my blog showing how to make sloe gin/vodka. There are no photos at the moment as I am away from home at the moment but I'll put some on this weekend. For anyone thats never made it it is very simple. If you have never made sloe gin before then try it this year as it seems to be a really good year for the sloes which surprised me due to the dodgy weather we have had.

http://thesecretcamper.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-make-sloe-gin-easy-way-photos-on.html

If I can turn just one responsible person here into a sloe gin addict then my job here is done!

I think you might be able to turn me buddy and i,m responsible But you would need to send me some to try

 

[Wayne]

I have about 8 kilos of Sloes in the freezer waiting to be turned into Sloe Gin.

 

[Toddy]

I have about 8 kilos of Sloes in the freezer waiting to be turned into Sloe Gin.

That's a *lot* of booze

Have you tried the sloe whisky ? EdS had some at one of the Scottish meet ups; successfully impressed us all enough to have a go at making it too.
It's surprisingly mellow

kINGPIN, it'll be interesting to see how easy your method works out

cheers,
Toddy

 

[kINGPIN]

@gill- Sorry mate as always with sloe gin, its already spoken for. Everyone wants a piece. Get picking mate, you will love it.

Sweet jesus Wayne, are you planning on riding out a nuclear war???

@toddy- That sounds great mate, I have a load of sloes left so I'll be trying it. The method I use is as simple as it gets mate. No weighing scales needed and it comes out great every time. If at any point you decide its not sweet enough, just add a bit more sugar, but I don't think you will.

 

[British Red]

I have about 8 kilos of Sloes in the freezer waiting to be turned into Sloe Gin.

Lightweight

 

[winchman]

I used to work in a distillery that made this, its fab, dont buy the Plymouth one as its very bitter, the Gordens is good, but its easy to make your own

 

[kINGPIN]

Thats good to know, i've never had shop bought stuff so I don't know what i'm missing. But there is definatly a satisfaction to be gained from making your own.

 

[robin wood]

Sloe gin the easy way? is there a hard way?

Pricking every sloe in unnecessary, it's always said harvest them after a frost so the skins softer and some give them overnight in the freezer but I have not found it necessary. I tend to use more sloes and less sugar. My method.
I fill jar with sloes
2 fill spaces with sugar shaking into gaps
3 fill with gin.

Of course it is only really good as cough medicine damson gin is the real nectar.

 

[FGYT]

I use a demijohn for mine

but its sstill a bit early for picking the Frost thing is good as it ruptures the internal cells allowing the juice to get out easily and this can be replicated in the freezer BUT its also a good indication of when the sloes are actually ripe this takes time and if you pick early you just dont get the full flavor

Dont forget when you take out the sloes in 3-4mths to put them into some proper ruff Cider for a week or so they then release the achohol they have taken from the gin into the cider and you get Slider (just dont drink to much (as dash of sloe gin is a good way to make ruff cider palatable)

if you can leave it for 12mths after the berries are out

early picked berries and only a few months are a poor substitute for Sloe Gin given the propper time

Other recipes ( really any juicy fruit with gin or vodka and some suger to taste works)

Coffee beans, Vodka, demerara sugar

Mulberry, Vodka, Sugar

British Red has a great Blackberry and brandy version that only takes 7 days as you cook the berries and sugar first (think there a How to thread on here some where)

 

[John Fenna]

I use old coffee jars
Half fill the jar with sloes(washed and with burst skins - I feeze them and let them thaw a little, then those that are not burst split with a little pinch between the fingers) for my jars this takes about 250g of sloes.
Add half the weight of sloes (for me about 125g) of sugar to the jar.
Top up with gin.
Two bottles of gin make 3 jars of sloes.
Shake until the sugar is disolved then store for at least 3 months - longer is better.
This gives a drier than average sloe gin - originally I used weight for weight sugar to sloes but found it too syrupy ...
I use the same methodology for that glory - Blackberry Vodka!
I am also doing Raspberry Vodka and Damson Vodka this year - all done the same way
Oh - I filter the resulting liquers through parachute silk to remove fine particles and avoid the last glass being sludgy - and the fruits (other than sloes) are then used as a desert with icecream or in pie fillings etc - no wastage!
Roll on Xmas!

 

[kINGPIN]

Its good to see so many ideas aswell as different peoples tastes.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Two litre coke bottles for mine, third fill with pricked sloes, top up to around two inches from top, fill rest with sugar, shake when I see them till the sugar has gone then leave for as long as I can!

 

[Tadpole]

I’ve done the ***** each sloe, and the freeze the sloes, and neither can I nor can my friend’s tell the difference. As there isn’t any.
It takes no longer to make, or mature and the colour of the final product is the same. I cannot see the point of pricking them just because it’s traditional. Nor do I see the point of waiting till after the “first frost”, this year the sloes were ripe in fact more than ripe a month ago.
Many sloes were lost as they were rotting on the tree. When they are ready they are ready regardless of the frosts.
7.5 litres made last year 3litrs pricked, 4.5litres frozen. 2010
7 litres made this year, 6 weeks earlier than last years, the sloes near me are over and rotting.
(I checked last Friday, what a waste to see the rotted remains of what could have been maturing in the bottle)
Sloe vodka, and sloe whisky make up another 4 litres.
Also made 1lt raspberry whisky (not so sure about that one, but as it is only Bells Whisky so it is not likely to ruin it)

 

[ratcatcher]

Nor do I see the point of waiting till after the “first frost”, )

think about it, the reason most old books tell you to wait untill after the first frost, is because they did'nt have FRIDGES, they are using nature, and the frost to partily freeze the berry, then it will split on defrosting, nowdays just pick when they look ready, a white dusting is good in my book

 

[Tadpole]

think about it, the reason most old books tell you to wait untill after the first frost, is because they did'nt have FRIDGES, they are using nature, and the frost to partily freeze the berry, then it will split on defrosting, nowdays just pick when they look ready, a white dusting is good in my book

The reason lots of recipes say “wait until there has been a frost”, is that is when the fruit was as 'ripe' as it is ever going to get before it is destroyed by the cold winter weather. But with the changing weather/seasons the fruit is now riper sooner. Anyone who gets out and picks their own fruit year on year will know that some years even after the first frost the skin is thick and the fruit is not ripe, where as this year, the fruit was ripe a month and a half early and in some cases the skins were so thin they split when fruit was picked.
If you had waited until the first frost this year there will be no fruit left to pick (in the south west at least)
‘Rules’ such as these are for guidance and not blind obedience.

 

[Rod Paradise]

A friend adds a section of vanilla pod to his sloe gin - I tried it last year & it adds a nice mellowness to the drink. Sadly I'm off the drink for a year so haven't made any this year.

 

[kINGPIN]

Here you go guys. I have now uploaded the photos. Thanks for your input and patience. Hope you like.

http://thesecretcamper.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-make-sloe-gin-easy-way-photos-on.html

 

[Tadpole]

Also made 1lt raspberry whisky (not so sure about that one, but as it is only Bells Whisky so it is not likely to ruin it)

What a revelation raspberry whisky is fantastic.
Not at all what I was expecting. A tad sweet, a bit sharp with a real raspberry kick, and that raspberry sweetness left as a pure aftertaste. Only the smoky nose remains from the whisky.

 

[IanM]

Carry the bottles in the boot of the car for as long as necessary. It saves shaking each one every day.