Do we have any Sloe Gin fans here?

IronGiant

It possibly depends on how ripe the berries are and whether they have had a first frost.  The riper the berries/frosted/pricked they are the more likely they are to create sediment or go mushy.

hyperfish

Bottled up to make way for a new batch that I will be starting this evening.

Through the sieve catches the berries and the odd stalk etc.. I tried squishing a few between my thumb and finger, they were still quite firm and yielded very little juice to be of any interest. Next I tasted one, I won't be pursuing that any further.
                                                                               

Here are the bits that get through the sieve.
                                                                               

A single pass through the muslin cloth catches the rest.
                                                                               

Then pour into bottles of choice.
                                                                               

The one on the left is a gift with a few berries in the bottle. The rest may struggle it to make xmas eve hence a new batch.

[email protected]

Now this looks interesting.

Whilst I love Sloe Gin, in years I have struggled to fine and Sloes (i think others might have beaten me to them) so in the last few years, I have been making Blueberry Gin instead. Same approach (add blueberry and sugar to gin and leave for a few weeks).

I had never thought of whisky though but thinking about it, I feel it should be rather good. There might just be enough time to get some ready for Xmas to go with our Boxing Day BBQ

hyperfish

I would like to try the Whisky first as on it's own I'm not a fan at all.

A quick search for 1 litre of Gordons finds Asda selling it at £15 (Tesco £18.50 ). I've just bought two.

Edit: Couldn't wait so I got the job done.
                                                                       

Tempest

Well I hate Whisky!
I hate all spirits pretty much, other than ones you can water down to the point you lose the horrid mouldy/burn flavour, as I put it
However from memory the fruit and sugar totally masked that.
No idea on amounts, but as I wish to mask perhaps more than some I've used slightly more ingredients in these ratios:

1000g (1 litre) Whisky - (Lidl MARGOT £10.99 for 70cl bottle)
500g fruit (Picked, Washed and been in freezer for 2 nights)
200g Normal Sugar

Any views on these ratios?

sniffer66

Saw one of these Kilner jars in Wilko today for £20 so grabbed one. Holds 8 litres and has a raised tap so you don't draw in any sediment.
A friend has one and just keeps adding fruit, sugar and spirit all year round.
Decanted my 4 litres of Sloe Gin into it earlier.

Roll on Christmas


                                                                       

PsyVision

They're a really good size, especially with the seal and tap.  Will have to see if I can stop in Bristol at the weekend to get one.  Bath is too posh for a Wilkos.

My sloes are coming on well - keep giving them a stir each week and licking the spoon

stevenM

Not sloe gin, but I bottled my gooseberry gin that I have had brewing since June. Turned out really good and a bit too addictive. Works out a lot cheaper than when my wife purchased a small bottle of gooseberry gin for £15 last year for my Christmas present. Next year I will make sure I don't miss the sloe berries, I may also try making some red current gin.

shodan

I really love the idea of sloe gin, but....

I'm impatient. I don't want to wait months our even a year for it...

Buying a bottle ready made
isn't expensive, is it that much better?

How is it enjoyed? Neat over ice? With tonic?

reiteration

I bought some gordons sloe gin the other year and as I recall it was just a sloe flavoured gin - were as when i make it, it's a liqueur that's got added sugar - and much nicer..!

so, if possible I suggest you look for a liqueur based one as you can drink it neat...