View Full Version : Sloe gin.
Philbert
18-08-2005, 20:51
I have always been intrigued by people telling me how easy it is to make sloe gin, and the delights of the results :) . However I am not sure how to make it myself i know there is gin sugar and sloes involved but not the quantities. Oh and how do you recognise a sloe when it's at home?? Any help would be much apreciated.
Sloe gin is a doddle!! :) I'm sure a google search will find plenty of recipes but my method is:
Buy a cheap bottle of gin from Lidl or somewhere.
Pour out about 1/2 pint into a jug.
Prick the sloes - about a good couple of handfulls will normally do a 70cl bottle - with a cocktail stick (if you can be bothered - it's not essential)
Plop the sloes in the bottle.
Add about 2-3 tbsps white sugar.
Top up with the gin you took out.
Use the left over gin for a large gin and tonic or two.
Ready after 6 months, but better after a year if you can keep it that long. Mine rarely reaches a year old.
They say that sloes benefit from a good frost, but they seem to be earlier and earlier each year, so you could pop the sloes in the freezer overnight before using them if you want.
Then (again if you can be bothered), the sloes can be added to sherry to produce a fortified sherry in the same way and then if you stone the sloes, chop them up and mix them with melted dark chocolate you can make your own liqueur chocolates.
BTW, sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn bush - dark blue-black, a big stone and sour as hell.
http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/trees/images/sloe.jpg
yeh, sloe gin is superb! the longer you leave it the better it is, but alas it never get to old...
the only thing i'd do different to scanker is get a good bottle of gin (best you can, i've tryed back-back cheap n nasty S-G and bombay saphire S-G. the saphire was leagues ahread) and possibly more sugar - but then i have a sweet tooth and like my sloe-gin gloopy. oh, dont forget to shake the bottle a few times.
Philbert
18-08-2005, 21:12
Thanks scanker, do you know what time of the year are sloes out and about? Could probably google for all this but why not ask the people who know eh!
Stoker37
18-08-2005, 21:17
Sloe Gin is incredibly easy to make. Take a demijohn or any other large container and half fill with sloes. Its best if the sloes are lightly crushed. Then fill the bottle with gin. I use Morrison’s own as it is 40% and relatively cheap in comparison to Gordon’s which is 37% and relatively expensive. (But then I’m a tight fisted Yorkshireman) Once the bottle is full tightly stopper it and give it a good shake. You need to repeat the shaking process every other day or whenever you think about it. The bottle should be stored somewhere dark. It usually takes about two months to mature. As to sugar personally I don’t bother as I like the gin sharp but once it’s matured you can sugar it to taste.
I would leave off picking any sloes though for another fortnight. I had a look at my favourite bushes the other day and there not ready just yet. If you’re further south than me in Sheffield they may be about ready now. When they’re ready to pick they look like black marbles.
I hope this is of some help. Cheers :p
BorderReiver
18-08-2005, 21:25
An easier way than pricking is to freeze the sloes.I'm an idle sod and I find pricking tedious. :o
I tend to use the sort of carboy (glass jar) that you make wine in.Bag of sugar,at least a litre of gin and at least a third of the carboy full of berries.Leave out in the garage or shed and shake everytime you pass it.If the jar is clear,cover with a black bag or the colour fades.
As the others have said,the longer you leave it,the better it gets.If you make enough each time,you can end up with some two years old before it's broached.
Bloody delicious. :D
The traditional way is to leave the sloes on the branch until after the first frost. This softens the skin so the flavour permeates quicker. With the advent of fridge/freezers, you can bung them in the freezer overnight and get the same result. No need for pricking all of the sloes either (Unless you're a masochist!!)
But I guess one of the reasons for waiting for the firest frost is to ensure that the sloes stay on the branch until they are fully ripe. I doubt any sloes you pick in the next couple of weeks would be fully ripe. They may be looking ripe, but don't think the taste will be there yet. Wait until October.
As far as recipes go, ratio of sloes sugar and gin is all down to personal preference, experiment and find one you're happy with.
Last year, I found a bottle that I'd made four years earlier and was still in a box in the shed from when I moved house last. Divine!!! ;)
Martin
qweeg500
18-08-2005, 23:26
I also add a few drops of glycerine into each bottle. It makes your sloe gin coat your glass like congac. I can vouch for leaving a bottle or two aside for a couple of years - it does seem to make it tastier. I usually make some every year but I've got 10+ bottles in the garage left from 2000-2004 I need to polish off so I'll be giving it a miss this year.
By the way, when you find where a good supply of sloes are don't tell a soul 'cos the news will spread like wildfire and they'll be nabbed before they're ready.
Matt
You may well find that the cheaper vodkas & gins already have glycerine added - it gives a better mouth feel to the product.
If home-made alcohol is your thing, then the site below is just what you're looking for:
http://www.danish-schnapps-recipes.com/
I've made vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, chilli, ginger, peppermint, raspberry, blackcurrant and lemon vodkas in the past. Vanilla, lemon and cinnamon were the nicest. There's plenty to choose from there though.
Buckshot
19-08-2005, 08:50
And don't stop at sloes either, blackberry whisky is very nice as is bolus brandy.
We're making some rasberry gin atm but we use one of the glass jars with a rubber seal and a metal catch - I forget what they're called. It makes it sooo much easier to decant to the bottle than a demmyjon. The fruit swells a little so berries that go in without a problem will be a little more difficult to come out.
I also filter mine through a coffee filter. Leave it untouched for a couple of months to allow a sediment to form. The carefully put it high enough to be able to syphone it out with a small tube. Dampen the filters with water first and change them when they're clogged up - which is frequently.
I think I've still got some pre 2000 stuff somewhere....
Enjoy
Mark
... but we use one of the glass jars with a rubber seal and a metal catch - I forget what they're called....
Kilner Jars?
I got half a dozen demijons donated to me, then the mixture I use is simply with a pint glass. Pint of sloes, pint of sugar, pint of gin.
You can either prick the sloes or freeze the first, causing them to split. Add together and leave till christmas (doesn't normally last past this), I just give mine a quick shake when I remember.
Final consistency is fairly thick, similar to cough medicine.
jamesoconnor
19-08-2005, 18:13
if you are interested in more recipes etc, you can try this excellent website on all things spirit related!!! i think its one of the best out there!!!
http://homedistiller.org/static_menu.htm
regards
james
beachlover
19-08-2005, 18:29
I adore sloe gin and so do my friends, to the degree that it never survives 12 months :D
We chuck a small handfull of dried almonds in ours too.
once upon a time i got married (but before this i made 2 demmy johns full of sloe gin for the beaters) i bottled said sloe gin 1 year later then put it up in the loft....
6 years later i seperated from my wife and discovered said bottles in the loft....
there begins the first mistake for a few months my uncle also separated and living with me polished the lot boy was that a way to forget..... bloody rocket fuel i wish i drunk it slower and i wish i still had a bottle or two but sadly no more.
just 1 demmy john a year now and it last for a year then i use it up ... just gone to pour myself a glass heres to the shooting season
phantomlynx
19-08-2005, 21:05
I gather it is best to wait till the first frost to harvest teh sloes, or alternatively put the picked sloes into the freezer. The cold triggers achemical change (in the sugars?)
BorderReiver
19-08-2005, 21:09
I gather it is best to wait till the first frost to harvest teh sloes, or alternatively put the picked sloes into the freezer. The cold triggers achemical change (in the sugars?)
I always find that as long as they are black and "give" a bit when squeezed,they are ready.If you wait too long some other sod'll have em.
I always find that as long as they are black and "give" a bit when squeezed,they are ready.If you wait too long some other sod'll have em.
They'll have to be good to strip the amount I've seen this year. I've seen absolutely loads in half a dozen places!!
Philbert
25-08-2005, 15:44
Cheers everyone, I Know its not the most bushcrafty thread but its always nice to do somthing with natures bounty. he he! I hope to be sipping on my own sloe gin or blackberry whiskey by crimbo!!
Thanks again. :D
I'm sure other people will share their opinion of blackberry whisky, but if I were to make it again I wouldn't leave the fruit in for more than say four or six weeks - my last lot had them in for several months and the taste went a bit "woody". Sloe gin doesn't seem to come to any harm though.
Are the sloes that are out on the blackthorn bushes now too early to be picked?
thanks
I picked loads this weekend down in East Sussex and they are more than ready
:)
Warrior Librarian
26-09-2005, 17:55
Reading this thread, I don't know what happened to our sloe gin, unless we just used too many sloes. There was sugar in with it, but after 3 months it was so sharp it felt like it was taking the skin off the roof of my mouth. :( Not sure how to save it - add more sugar or just dilute it a bit with more gin? Alternatively, I could always bring it along to the next moot. I'm sure someone would like it! ;)
WL
Reading this thread, I don't know what happened to our sloe gin, unless we just used too many sloes. There was sugar in with it, but after 3 months it was so sharp it felt like it was taking the skin off the roof of my mouth. :( Not sure how to save it - add more sugar or just dilute it a bit with more gin? Alternatively, I could always bring it along to the next moot. I'm sure someone would like it! ;)
WL
How much sugar did you use? The recipes I've seen seem to suggest about a wine-glassful of sugar in a litre of gin. I've used about a quarter of that in my sloe gin, but haven't tasted it yet to see what it's like.
Pappa
i've got a sweet tooth, so i use an equil amount of sugar to sloes. makes it stronger, gloopier and imho, v nice.
Warrior Librarian
27-09-2005, 12:35
How much sugar did you use? The recipes I've seen seem to suggest about a wine-glassful of sugar in a litre of gin. I've used about a quarter of that in my sloe gin, but haven't tasted it yet to see what it's like.
Not sure about the quantities now - basically, took an empty litre (Bacardi?) bottle, filled it about 2/3 with sloes, topped it up with gin. Can't remember how much sugar went in, but I'd think anything up to half a pound for that amount of fruit. Perhaps it wasn't as much as that, because you certainly couldn't taste the sugar in the finished product. It wasn't 'syrupy' in any way either, so maybe it just needs more sugar... I'll have to experiment. :)
WL
BorderReiver
27-09-2005, 12:51
Not sure about the quantities now - basically, took an empty litre (Bacardi?) bottle, filled it about 2/3 with sloes, topped it up with gin. Can't remember how much sugar went in, but I'd think anything up to half a pound for that amount of fruit. Perhaps it wasn't as much as that, because you certainly couldn't taste the sugar in the finished product. It wasn't 'syrupy' in any way either, so maybe it just needs more sugar... I'll have to experiment. :)
WL
I always find that a third of a demijohn sloes,1 bag (2.2kg) of sugar and fill up with gin works for me and everyone who's tasted it. :)
Warrior Librarian
28-09-2005, 00:14
I always find that a third of a demijohn sloes,1 bag (2.2kg) of sugar and fill up with gin works for me and everyone who's tasted it. :)
Blimey! :eek: I need a lot more sugar in it then! :D
I've just mixed up a first batch:
2 litres gin
1 litre jug of sloes
2/3 bag sugar
See how that comes out :)
MartiniDave
28-09-2005, 09:48
I use :-
1 lb of sloes
1/2 lb of sugar
1 litre of gin
Freeze the sloes, then let them defrost removes the need to prick them). Dump them in the container with the sugar, add gin. Shake well a couple of times a day untill the sugar is all disolved. Put in dark cupboard and forget for at least 3 months or as long as you want. Decant and strain. Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Makes an excellent winter warmer for the hip flask!
Enjoy!
Dave
I can't find any sloes near me. :(
Should I go looking in forests or do you think people will have already yoinked them?
Is it worth growing a blackthorn bush in my garden?
I went out picking a couple of nights ago. The field I went to is thick with Blackthorn, but there were hardly any Sloes to be seen. On closer inspection, I began finding Sloes on very high branches and also in the middle of dense Blackthorn thickets.
I can only assume that somebody else beat me to it, :(
I ended up with about 1/2 lb of Sloes and about 1 lb Rose Hips.
Pappa
I can't find any sloes near me. :(
Should I go looking in forests or do you think people will have already yoinked them?
Is it worth growing a blackthorn bush in my garden?
Josh,
Blackthorn is not really a woodland shrub although you may find it along cleared trackways in the woods. You might be better off looking around the edges of farmers fields. It has been used as a hedge plant for a long time.
As for planting your own, feel free. The more the merrier, although you might have to wait for a few years until they're big enough to produce sloes.
Cheers,
Martin
ilovemybed
29-09-2005, 09:10
I've always heard that sloes are better after the first frosts. Is this wrong, or does it apply if you're eating them straight off the bush?
Going to stoop to peer pressure and try making a batch. Time to check the woodland near work so see if I can find some. If I'm unlucky, I know there's hunners of Chestnuts up for grabs :) :)
I picked loads this weekend down in East Sussex and they are more than ready
:)
Any chance you could share the location? The only decent place I know is way up in Kent - but I live in Brighton now. Would be much appreciated if you could let me know a decent place round this area.
Any chance you could share the location? The only decent place I know is way up in Kent - but I live in Brighton now. Would be much appreciated if you could let me know a decent place round this area.
No worries
St Ives Farm - camped there the other week
Review and details of the site
St Ives Farm (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=8229&highlight=ives)
The farm sucked for camping but the sloes should still be there and you can probably walk right on site during the weekend and pick away from around the edge of the main field.
Try this one
1 bottle of vodka
1lb of rasberries
1/2 lb of sugar to taste
make as you would sloe gin, when you bottle it put a chilli in the bottle for that added bite. :eek: :beerchug:
enjoy