Do we have any Sloe Gin fans here?
This will be my first attempt to be ready in time for Christmas.I Googled this basic recipe and have got the ingredients ready.
1 litre of Gin.
500g Sloe berries.
3 Table spoons of caster sugar.
Put everything in a 1.5 litre jar.
Leave in a cool dark place.
Stir weekly.
I would appreciate any tips that prevent me screwing up decent liquor, or does anyone have a better recipe? Me, me,pick me! ! data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Consider yourself picked.
Now hand over the recipe and tips. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Sloes are best collected after the first frost. If picked earlier pop them into the freezer overnight.Otherwise you should prick them with a fork, which is a right pain and best avoided.Don't stir them, gently invert the bottle.
Optional step: For maximum yield leave out the sugar at the start, until the gin is nearly ready.
Decant the alcohol when it's ready and then put the sugar on the fruit for a few days, this will draw more liquid out of the fruit. Decant that and rinse the fruit with a bit of the gin.Recombine all liquid and enjoy.
Your recipe is fine. Just about to start my first batch as well, been waiting for the first frost, before picking the sloe berries.
I'll check my recipe, its from a Victorian cook book. If you drink it too soon, you could easily conclude it's a waste of good gin, so don't be in too much of a rush with it.
It improves with age and after about a year or so kinda turns into a deliciously sweet and tasty liqueur, that's fantastic, say as a sauce with a desert - or maybe you just might like to drink it neat to help wash down a few pieces of good dark chocolate. I agree with allowing it to age. I made some flavoured Vodkas earlier this year which have certainly improved over time.
I have been given enough sloe berries to make two litres, one of which I will try and resist until next Christmas.
Apparently there are plenty of berries to be picked a few hundred yards from my home, but until I was given a bag full yesterday I had no idea what they looked like.
I'll probably pick and freeze some for later. There is a school of thought that thinks if you leave the gin over the sloes for too long, the product isn't as good.We leave ours for 6 months before decanting and then store in corked bottles for as long as necessary.(7 years is the longest so far, and that was pretty good).
Recipe:
Kilner jar, add sloes until 90% full add sugar with shaking until you can't get any more in, lather it all with cheap (Lidl, Aldi etc) gin.Top up with gin as necessary.Leave 6 months, decant, bottle, leave.
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Drink.data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Sloe gin is lovely.
But Damson Whisky FTW Try blackberry brandy as well....can't stand brandy but this stuff is pretty good!