Sloe Gin :)

[Geoffrey_Bubbles]

Finally found and picked a good size punnet of sloes this afternoon about half hours walk from my house. I noticed the bushes last year and a friend confirmed by saying that we had just probably missed picking them as they were all gone, but this year I must of got there first

Don't think it was quite after the first frost, think we have had two frosty mornings in my area so far before I got round to looking for themand picking them, but I guess that doesn't matter.

I've stored them in my fridge (hope that is ok?) as I'm currentlt painting the lounge

Will try to get them bottled up in the next few days (again, hope that isn't a problem!).

Never made sloe gin before, but I understand you are supposed to ***** them before bottling them. Should they be pricked all over or just the once?

Also been told by previously mentioned friend that you should put a single almond in the bottles? Is he barking up the wrong tree or does my mate actually know what he is talking about for a change

Is a dry gin like gordons suitable to make sloe gin? Its all I have anyway, but I could stop at the offy tommorow if somebody tells me otherwise...

Got a few recipes I found from searches on google. Anybody got any surefire recipes they have actually tried and what did you actually make it in?

Cheers
Geoff

 

[Dougster]

Mine is bubbling away (not literally) in a 5litre spring water bottle.

I got the recipe from google and I just put them in the freezer rather than ***** them (it splits the skin).

It takes about 3 months to get really good - mine should be ready in a couple of weeks - do a search as we talked about this earlier in the autumn and there were some real gems posted by members.

 

[leon-b]

we have about a litre of sloe gin on the go and it should be ready for christmas
leon

 

[Tadpole]

My method of making sloe gin is simple
1lt of the cheapest budget gin you can find.
A pound in weight of sloes (freeze them for a day or so to split the skin)
A pound in weight of sugar (the amount will give you a medium sweet drink)
put in to a two litre dark plastic bottle (I use a dark plastic bottle for two reasons:. There is room enough for all the ingredients. And if you drop it, it does not break I also use a dark bottle as it seems to help to keep the deep colour of the sloe gin.
Put all the ingredients in your bottle of choice. Shake to mix the sugar
Shake everyday for the first week
Shake every other day for the second week
Shake gently once a week for a month
You need to shake the mixture to fully mix the gin and sugar this shaking also is said to help get the colour out of the skins.

At the end of three months carefully decant into three clean sterilised 35cl bottles and place somewhere dark and cool for nine months.
The alcohol soaked sloes can be de-stoned and used in pies or ice cream. After decanting I was left with about an inch or two of cloudy gin, I poured this into a small bottle and left it to clear. It was a nice nip to drink with Christmas mince pie.

Sloe gin is not just for Autumn, try drinking it in summer with a the juice of half a lime and a big slug of real Indian tonic water.

 

[Geoffrey_Bubbles]

Ta, well, my worldy friend told me plastic was no good, that it might taint the gin, but then he is a bit of a purist when it comes to everything.

I do have a 5litre spring water bottle I could use now you mention it.

Am I going to be ok though using gordons dry gin or should I find something else?

Geoff

 

[British Red]

The taste is so strong that the brand of gin doesn't matter Geoff - I tend to favour own brand cheapy. Gordons will give a superior glass though (please don't use Bombay Sapphire though)

Red

 

[Halfdevil333]

Ta, well, my worldy friend told me plastic was no good, that it might taint the gin, but then he is a bit of a purist when it comes to everything.

I do have a 5litre spring water bottle I could use now you mention it.

Am I going to be ok though using gordons dry gin or should I find something else?

Geoff

I find this works
Take a bottle of Asda Smart Price Gin
Decant half the bottle into another empty "CLEAN" drink bottle (Whiskey vodka what ever.
Put 100g of sugar in each bottle
Then add Sloes(Pricked or split from frozen)right up to the begining of the neck.
Shake daily.
Couple of months...... drink and

I found even though i had frozen mine some of the skins didnt split so i just pricked them anyway.

Ive made 12 bottles so far....Bring on the RSI..

Hope this helps
Scott

 

[Toddy]

I do what Halfdevil does, but I bought Lidl's gin and it works fine I also used Billington's soft brown sugar in one batch and have to admit it was rather good I used Gordon's for years, we didn't have smart price or lidl's then, but the cheap stuff works surprisingly well.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Geoffrey_Bubbles]

Cheers guys, once i've made it all up, given it the time to mature and then processed it using m own body as a guinea pig I will let you all know what I think, that is providing I am still able to type!

Geoff

 

[moocher]

my grandad told me to ***** them all over and any cheap gin will do.good luck.

 

[Moonraker]

The almond will enhance the natural flavour from the sloes which contain trace amounts of cyanogenic glycosides, especially in the stones. In fact you can crack a few stones to release some of the flavour naturally, just don't overdo the numbers It is the same chemical which is found in the bitter almond used to flavour Amaretto liqueur and the famous Italian biscuits and marzipan.

Once you have finished macerating the sloe fruit in the gin don't just throw it away but use it to make the lovely, boozy sloe gin chocolate! There is a nice interview from the Radio Four, Woman's Hour Listen again with a farmer's wife who makes sloe gin commercially and also the delicious chocolate. If you listen you'll want to make some

Radio Four, Woman's Hour - a traditional winter warmer

To make:

Sloe Gin Chocolate

Melt some good quality chocolate (I prefer good dark chocolate) While it's doing, pit the gin soaked sloes, then add them to the chocolate in a suitable shallow container - just as many as it will take. Enough to hold it all together, but not so many that there isn't a goodly covering of chocolate on each one.

Optionally why not add some raisins and nuts too.

Allow to chill in the fridge then break into bite size pieces and enjoy

And don't throw the stones in the bin but scatter them back in the hedgerow and hopefully you will help spread the Blackthorn bushes for others in the future

 

[Klenchblaize]

My first attempt was a near disaster as I chose to substitute whole almonds for grated ones.

Big mistake!

Some hours and as many filter papers later I was able to enjoy the nectar but there wasn’t that much left having giving half to the Chemist friend who rescued it.

Cheers

 

[Moonraker]

There's also a great web site dedicated to the making of Sloe GIn here;

Sloe Gin Recipe Page

There is a dedicated forum too here;

sloe.biz Forum

 

[Moonraker]

My first attempt was a near disaster as I chose to substitute whole almonds for grated ones.

Big mistake!

Some hours and as many filter papers later I was able to enjoy the nectar but there wasn’t that much left having giving half to the Chemist friend who rescued it.

Cheers

One tip I learnt while making bullace chutney was to just crack the stones sufficient to release the almondly flavour then wrap those in some muslin cloth, tie securely and then hang it in the mix with some string. Once the stones have imparted their flavour then simply remove (bit like a bouquet garnier)They use bags of oak chips in a bag, in a similar way to flavour some wines.

 

[Klenchblaize]

That would be the correct way to do it for sure!

 

[beamdune]

I've got a batch of sloe gin and sloe vodka on the go. I've been sampling it (at this rate there isn't gonna much left come bottling time) and found whilst the gin is quite nice, the vodka is not particularly pleasant. I think I picked the sloes a bit early but I'm surprised how different my concoctions taste. I'm pretty sure I used the same amount of sugar in each

 

[Moonraker]

I've got a batch of sloe gin and sloe vodka on the go. I've been sampling it (at this rate there isn't gonna much left come bottling time) and found whilst the gin is quite nice, the vodka is not particularly pleasant. I think I picked the sloes a bit early but I'm surprised how different my concoctions taste. I'm pretty sure I used the same amount of sugar in each

Can you see much difference in colour in the two batches? I wonder if the vodka is missing some decent flavour. Can you remember the quantities of sloes to alcohol and sugar? I prefer a good deep wine colour. If the fruit were not pricked enough or frozen then that would inhibit the flavour and colour getting out

Picking early may result in a meaner flavour, also if there is not enough fruit flavour the alcohol will burn through when tasting and be rather harsh. Leaving it longer may help the rather astringent flavours soften and more flavour develop. Leaving it for a year is often recommended but not so easy to achieve

In terms of sweetness, there is no problem adding more to taste as you go. Equally if you add too much and it seems to sugary then add a bit more booze.

 

[beamdune]

I can't remember the quantities but I used Hugh F-W's recipe.

I used the same quantities of sloes (picked on the same day) and sugar for the gina and vodka. They look a similar color, but the vodka is much more astringent (if that's the right word) and a bit harsh.

I've added a bit more sugar to the vodka and will maybe add a bit more. Might not be that hard leaving it for a year (once decanted) to mature - I also have a bottle of bullace vodka on the go. My parents got a bit carried away so I'll probably have a few more bottles coming my way

 

[Moonraker]

I can't remember the quantities but I used Hugh F-W's recipe.

I used the same quantities of sloes (picked on the same day) and sugar for the gina and vodka. They look a similar color, but the vodka is much more astringent (if that's the right word) and a bit harsh.

I've added a bit more sugar to the vodka and will maybe add a bit more. Might not be that hard leaving it for a year (once decanted) to mature - I also have a bottle of bullace vodka on the go. My parents got a bit carried away so I'll probably have a few more bottles coming my way

Sounds like you have it all under control The bullace is a lovely fruit with so much more flavour than commercially grown plums.

 

[Bunnerz]

I have a litre sitting next to my bed. Been going for a month and a half now...so I guess my christmas...2 months....wont be long enough?

I used half littre gin, 400g sloes and 100g of sugar...or the other way round I cant remember! alot of sloes thats for sure.

I cut mine with a knife nearly all the way round....was that a bad move?

And one more thing...does it add any more proof? Or just flavour?