Sloe Gin

[eddo]

Just moved to the country this year. Ive noticed in the lanes loads of bushes with sloes on them.I fancy a go at makeing sloe gin,anyone got any tips?
cheers Ed

[zakelwe]

I fear we have lost Garlick already who has run out with his welly bobs on and a large pot in hand

You're not helping are you?

Regards
Andy

[eddo]

Thanks for the tip Andy,,,,ive got my bucket and im off!!
Ed

[JayBM]

I've made some each year for the last 5 years! Tips would be:

• Freeze before using; this saves you having to "prick" the berries before use.
• I typically use 1lb of berries, to 10-12ozs of sugar (you can add less to begin with if you like and then add more if required). These are then added to a empty 750ml bottle which is then topped up with gin.
• Use any gin, the intense falvour of the sloes means that you can get away with using cheaper gin.
• Shake well.
• Store the bottle at a comfortable room temperature.
• For the 1st 3-4 weeks shake regularly to ensure all the sugar is dissolved.
• For best results keep the sloe gin for between 18-24 months before drinking (however you can remove the fruit anytime after 12 months and it can be drunk from then on). Leaving it the 2 years will give you a syrupy conistency of sweet fruity sloe gin
• Enjoy!

HTH
Jay

[LittleMiss]

Prick the sloes before putting them in the Gin, also worth trying Vodka. Store in a cool dry place and don't forget to shake it everyday until the sugar has dissolved.

The hardest part is not trying to drink it too soon.

[bint]

Just finished off the last bottle of 2007 vintage and I've already sussed the trees laden for this year's crop. Just have to hope there won't be someone with their eyes on them too.

Thanks to this forum I'm hooked and the variants (Bacardi etc) work just as well too!!

[rovermorris999]

If you make it now, it'll be good for Christmas though the longer you leave it, the better.

[madbadger]

Put some effort in and make a demijohn.



A small bottle is useless as you really need to keep it a couple of years. One good session and it will be gone.

[Simpo Two]

The elderberries are rie now - wonder if you can make Elderberry Gin?

[madbadger]

Simpo Two said:

The elderberries are rie now - wonder if you can make Elderberry Gin?

Yes. Exactly the same way as sloe but don't bother pricking them.

Elderberry Vodka is also good.

[SPR2]

Just checked and found a litre bottle not touched from 2007. Been neglected though as sloes are still in it! I thought it was a week or two early for them but must go and suss things out.Does there seem an abundance this year?

[Mobile Chicane]

Sloes are supposedly best after the first frosts have had a nip, however the increasing popularity of wild food foraging means the bushes are stripped bare long before then. I pick them as soon as they're ripe and sling them in the freezer.

It really is true that you don't need to use expensive spirits since the sloes will take the rough edges off the cheap stuff. However 'Russian Standard' vodka is on offer at £10 a bottle at Sainos at the moment, so no need to go cheaper than that. I rate Russian Standard way above eg. Smirnoff Red or Absolut which typically cost £4 - £5 more.

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Tuesday 8th September 22:57

[eddo]

Several bottles made and a load more sloes in the freezer! Had an old bottle Potcheen and have made a couple of sloe potcheen bottles 70% each
Ed

[Brink]

Drink sloely

[otolith]

Some people give the used sloes a second soak in sherry or cider - might try that this year.

[BadRotorFinger]

For your Elderberrys try

http://www.autumnfruits.co.uk/elder.htm

Elderberry Mead Port looks good, not as nice as Sloe Gin I wager

[RizzoTheRat]

Anyone else care to put up thier quantities? I've just made a litre using my mothers recipy of filling the bottle with a third sloes, a third sugar, then topping up with gin. This works out at roughly
225g sloes
300g sugar
600ml gin.

I've got another recipy here which says
450g sloes
225g sugar
1 litre gin.

Seems like my mothers recipy is very heavy on the sugar compared to the other one, and the one posted by JayBM above uses a lot less sugar too.

Still got about a pound and a half of sloes left so plan to make some using several different mixes and see what works out best

[Podie]

RizzoTheRat said:

I've got another recipy here which says
450g sloes
225g sugar
1 litre gin.

Sounds familiar

[madbadger]

I do it by eye but my demijohn above was about 1/3 to half full of sloes and at most half a bag of demarera sugar. Topped up to about 4 liters.

I'd say your mums recipe is over sugared but as always it is down to personal taste.

[otolith]

I've always made it in the normal way, adding sugar and sloes at the same time, but it seems to me that there is no reason not to steep the sloes in neat gin and add sugar to taste before bottling. There is no fermentation going on, it's purely an extraction of flavour.