Sloe Gin

[User00047]

Hi chaps,
I know we've done this before but I need some inspiration, mostly in the form of recipes and methods!
Me + Mrs Buckaroo8 picked 2kg (4 1/2lb) of sloes yesterday and today we will bottle them up with all the ingredients.
So, I wondered what gin people use? what kind of sugar? quantities? other special ingredients? how long do you leave it bottled up before straining out the sloes?
any other tips from amateur sloe gin makers welcome!
Cheers

 

[weeman]

A old timer on my lane swears blind that sloes shouldn't be picked to the first frost, if wanting to do it early use damsons he says. He also says better gin like Gordon's will produce better quality end products. He usese ordinary sugar not sure what ration. He likes to dissolve the sugar with the gin before he adds the fruit otherwise the sugar will lie dormant mixed with the berrys.

Apoliges not much help.

 

[Highbird70]

+1, Always pick sloes after first frost, the frost helps with the process of making Sloe gin, its a bit like freezing them to break down the fruit.

A old timer on my lane swears blind that sloes shouldn't be picked to the first frost, if wanting to do it early use damsons he says. He also says better gin like Gordon's will produce better quality end products. He usese ordinary sugar not sure what ration. He likes to dissolve the sugar with the gin before he adds the fruit otherwise the sugar will lie dormant mixed with the berrys.

Apoliges not much help.

 

[Wingers243]

I use the second cheapest gin in the supermarket, usually in 1.5 litre bottles. The majority of those who drink it wouldn't appreciate anything different and half the time mix it up with cheap fizz anyway!

I like to get them done early so just freeze the sloes. Then once thawed, put them on a baking tray and run over them gently with a spud masher to pop the skins (you can sit and stick them with a pin if you like....). If using bigger fruits I just cut round them with a knife.

Then I just chuck the resulting sloe mush in the jar with the gin and turn each week.

This year I've done sloe, damson and spiced plum.

I add the sugar to taste once I have strained it off which I do as I need it. the sugar doesn't do anything in the soaking process and takes up room unnecessarily.




Then I have a load of big kilner jars that I stew it up in.

 

[NOTSHARP]

If you can, pick the sloes after the first frost. More concentrated flavour, IMO.

If not, freeze them. they will be quite soft when thawed out, and the skins will break quite easily.

Castor sugar will dissolve well, either added with the fruit, or after.

I have also substituted Maple Syrup in place of sugar, which gives a nice flavour.

Also,try adding a vanilla pod, for something different.

Below is strained and bottled sloe gin.
Gooseberry gin.
Unstrained sloe gin.





The gin used was not The Botanist, in case anyone was panicking.

I've also tried, but not made, orange gin and banana gin. Both pleasant enough.


Steve.

 

[tozzybum]

my recipe for wot its worth is 2lb sloes ,200gr sugar and a good 46% proof gin .***** the sloes ,drop them in a BIGGG kilner jar .sprinkle the sugar on then pore your gin in.turn once a day till the sugar dissolves then put in a dark cupboard for 3 months ,turning once a week .after 3 months filter n bottle adding sugar to each bottle depending on taste.enjoy chin chin

 

[Taff]

Just taken the sloes out of a jar which had got pushed to the back of a cupboard must be 8 yrs old, it is so smooth , I use the best gin I can afford usually Gordon's , I slit the sloes with a knife, 4lb of sloes to 2lb of sugar, shake daily until sugar has dissolved and leave for at least a year if possible.

 

[User00047]

I haven't quite got round to putting the ingredients together yet so still time for more suggestions folks!
Thanks for the replies so far.......
I have frozen the sloes that we picked......we are in a sheltered part of Cornwall so if we waited for a frost we might not actually pick them until Feb 2015
If we do get a frost early on this winter I can always pick more and do another batch
I have seen bottles of Tanqueray on special offer in one of the supermarkets recently, just can't remember which one so if I see it again I'll use that.....
Also, I have a half bottle of Courvoisier which nobody seems to be drinking......would it hurt to throw it into the mix just to get shot of it??? or would it be better to make a batch of sloe brandy on its own?? or any other kind of fruit brandy for that matter.....open to suggestions
Cheers

 

[tozzybum]

sainsburys had the tanqueray at 13 quid a bottle last week.your post had me open a 4 month old jar ,i was saving it for christmas but oh dear its now an empty jar.if your in a sloe free area u can also substitute plums ,gives a smoooth sweet drink that doesnt last very long

 

[Badgerslayer]

just thaw them out now - the've had a pretty brutal -18 degrees of frost!

 

[Dorsettaff]

The problem we have down in the balmy South is by the time of the 1st frosts the blessed blackbirds and thrushes have scoffed the lot. So often its a case of picking them early......before someone else gets to the bush and does it for you!

I dont bother with freezing or pricking them..... 1 Litre of gin, 6-8 oz sugar, 1 lb of sloes...into a demi john....swirl once per day for one week, once per week for one month....then resist the temptation to slurp! Leave for 12 months with sloes in place....then filter through muslin or coffee filters and enjoy before the 1st drive and after the 3rd!

 

[merlin]

I've only ever used cheap gin/vodka whenever I've made stuff (Damson, Sloe, and last year, Blackberry); perhaps I lack a sophisticated palate - I am from the North, after all - but by the time fruit has steeped into it for a year, could anybody really tell the difference between el cheapo and significantly more expensive stuff anyway? If you can, great - but I've never had any complaints about the muck I've churned out, so I'll stick with it. (And as a spinoff benefit - how classy do I look when I come out of the supermarket with 6-8 bottles of their own-brand spirit clanking around in the trolley??)

In terms of approach: freeze fruit, defrost, lob into big jars with lots of sugar, top up with booze, shake, leave for a week, keep shaking every week until all the sugar has dissolved, leave for at least 6 months, longer of possible, decant.....and enjoy. Not hugely scientific in terms of exact measurements I grant you . But it works for me.

I've got some blackberry vodka on the go made over 12 months ago that needs the fruit straining out this weekend. I reckon that's gonna be deeeeeeeeeelish!

 

[CornishOli]

I've only ever used cheap gin/vodka whenever I've made stuff (Damson, Sloe, and last year, Blackberry); perhaps I lack a sophisticated palate - I am from the North, after all - but by the time fruit has steeped into it for a year, could anybody really tell the difference between el cheapo and significantly more expensive stuff anyway? If you can, great - but I've never had any complaints about the muck I've churned out, so I'll stick with it. (And as a spinoff benefit - how classy do I look when I come out of the supermarket with 6-8 bottles of their own-brand spirit clanking around in the trolley??)

In terms of approach: freeze fruit, defrost, lob into big jars with lots of sugar, top up with booze, shake, leave for a week, keep shaking every week until all the sugar has dissolved, leave for at least 6 months, longer of possible, decant.....and enjoy. Not hugely scientific in terms of exact measurements I grant you . But it works for me.

I've got some blackberry vodka on the go made over 12 months ago that needs the fruit straining out this weekend. I reckon that's gonna be deeeeeeeeeelish!

This kind of echoes my un-scientific approach to it: Demijohn (or any other glass container). Half fill with stabbed sloes. Add Gin. Add a bit of sugar. Shake every time you wander past it and remember to do it, for 4-ish months. Steal my wife's tights and strain. Leave for 12 months to mature.

A mate of mine swears that adding a couple of orange segments makes it even better

 

[CornishOli]

It definitely improves with age!

 

[User00047]

Well, I've got hold of 1litre Tesco Classic and also 70cl Greenalls and I will try and do a trip to Sainsburys to stock up on the old Tanqueray.......just need to remember to save a bottle for when Snoop Dogg comes round for Christmas lunch.

This evening, whilst rambling with the hound, I discovered another great place for the sloes, much bigger fruit than the ones we picked the other day but some of these new ones are beginning to shrivel up like prunes. I will go back to pick a load in the next day or two before they're all knackered beyond usefulness. I tasted one of the big fat prune sloes and it was very sweet like a plum to begin with, becoming bitter after a second.....there's got to be more sugar in these later fruit I would have thought, so I will do at least two separate batches using different fruits and different gins for comparison. Maybe the bigger, sugary ones would go best with the Tanqueray?

Looking forward to the coldest nights of winters 2015/16/17 !!

 

[western woodsman]

We have tried the sloe gin thing this year. We just froze the sloes to start it rather than ***** each one and used more than usual in the jar, like one third full of berries. It is coming off nice and deep in colour already after a month. Who knows what it will taste like, but it looks good. We do keep shaking it every three days.

The second experiment will be to create a jelly compote from the spent sloes- best for venison.

 

[Blackrider]

Over the years I've found that you get "good" years and "bad" years for the number of sloes on the bushes.
Last Autumn wasn't too good around my neck o the woods so I'm hoping for a better crop this year.
As for gin, I use the cheapest, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons own. Certainly wouldn't use Hendricks or Caorunn !

As for picking, I prefer the sloes when they're soft and juicy not hard like bullets. Freezing helps.
Dont bother "pricking each one with the thorn of a Blackthorne" just bruise the lot when they're soft and ripe.

 

[FGYT]

After teh first frost is a good one BUT with warmer longer summers the Berries here have already gone over long past and no sign of frost for a while yet

pick when ripe I got 5lbs a few weeks back and some had already started to go over they are in the freezer Im saving up for the 5 bottles of Gin needed (prices seem to have gone up a lot in a few years since i did the last lot cheap is still £10 a bottle )

I use less Sugar than when i started as you can end up with a sugary cough syrup nice if you like it but its easier to add a little more later

will put the Berries in and take out 3-4 months later these then marinade in Ruff scrumpy to make Slider (they release the alcohol they absorbed out of the gin back into the scrumpy and smooth it off as a nice pint of Rocket fuel )

I find a good 12mths after berries out is min is best to get the Sloe gin to mature cant see how you get a good drink to make for the same years Christmas

 

[paul k]

I endorse what FGYT says. I always hold back some sugar, especially when using sweet fruit like damsons, as you never know how how sweet it's going to turn out. I just add more to taste when it's all finished.

 

[Basil12]

Just taken the sloes out of a jar which had got pushed to the back of a cupboard must be 8 yrs old, it is so smooth , I use the best gin I can afford usually Gordon's , I slit the sloes with a knife, 4lb of sloes to 2lb of sugar, shake daily until sugar has dissolved and leave for at least a year if possible.

How much gin, 1 litre??