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.
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.
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.
26-11-2019 04:40:41
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