Damson Vodka

[griffshrek]

hello all i thought i would share with you my damson vodka recipie.
last year I made my usual amount of Sloe gin and due to an abundance of damson's I made a decent amount of Damson Vodka. I like Sloe Gin but the Damson vodka beats it hands down this is the rustic recipe used for mine.

ingredients
1/ one clean demijohn
2/ 5 lbs of ripe Damson's
3/ 2 bottles of supermarket vodka
4/ 1 bottle red wine
5/ sugar

how I made mine

Put 2" of sugar in bottom of demijohn then add the damson's until demijohn is 3/4 full (squeeze out stone in damson's when adding ) add the two bottles of vodka and one of red wine , place bung/stopper in demijohn and shake for 5 minuets.

shake every day for 1 minuet for 1st week,then once a week for next 5 week,remove out liquid and pulp I used a stainless steel sieve over a large pot as once the sieve clogs is a slow process of dripping through. (keep the pulp) once it was all sieved I again passed it through a finer filter(old pillow case) and it came out with no bits and clear.

I have used the damson pulp ( it tastes outstanding) to add make damson & apple crumble and add to ice cream, as for the Damson vodka it turns a stunning deep burgondy/red colour, to drink its outstanding on its own but very good with a good double measure poured over some ice topped up with either tonic or lemonade a very refreshing tasty drink.

hope you enjoy ....neil

 

[Orion]

Sounds good, I'll give it a go. What sugar did you use?

Reason I ask is that in the last batch of sloe gin I made I used Muscavado sugar, (also added a vanilla pod), and it is outstanding.

 

[griffshrek]

Orion, i used mostly white caster sugar with a small amount of Muscavado as thats all i had of that , i mad a Sloe Gin in 2009 and added a chilli and some ginger that was also very good.

 

[countrryboy]

That does sound good, will have to try and get some damsons for next year.
I have jist finished decanting the last off my sloe whisky and morgans spiced (both very simple 1L=1lb sloes=1/2lb sugar) going down very well too well infact, running out fast and still another 3 keepers days to go too. Could do with smaller bottles

Couple off questions:

Do/can u put the red wine into sloe gin or vodka? i've never heard off that before.

With flavourings how much do u put in? I have jist put a second batch off sloe gin on wi some almonds in, jist a couple off nuts thou as i thought i can always add more if needed.
Also wot other flavourings work well? I've heard of almonds, cinimon but thats about it.

Cheers

 

[paul k]

I tried adding almond to my sloe gin last year and decided that it was a way to ruin perfectly good sloe gin. My damson gin turned out really nice this year. One thing I do with damson gin is not to add too much sugar to start with as you never know how sweet the damsons are. I go through the maturing process, filter it and then add sugar until I judge the level of sweetness to be right.

 

[Pigglet1]

Damson Brandy is also rather tasty.
Just use the recipe above but I used Tesco VS cognac instead of the vodka.

Booze and fruit, always a winner

 

[Orion]

Also wot other flavourings work well? I've heard of almonds, cinimon but thats about it.

Vanilla pod as mentioned above seemed to go well by adding a smooth note without detracting from the overall taste.

The other thing I've tried this year is to use the sloes from the gin to make sloe sherry. Mix with a half decent litre bottle of Amontillado or medium sherry and a tablespoon of sugar added after a week or so (optional). Leave for a month, shaking occasionally, then decant. Mine was pretty good but a friend's didn't turn out as well - maybe he used cheap sherry?

 

[flytie]

I have always used a pound of fruit to a bottle of vodka, 1.5lbs to a litre. I always use at least 40%proof vodka. I always use golden castor sugar, the amount depends on the fruit. And as a final finish just add a drop or two (no more) of almond esscence.

Simon

 

[griffshrek]

countrryboy

i dont know if people normally add red wine i did as i had a feeling that the damsons would be sweet and i wanted to also bolster the volume i am glad i did as it turned out great..

 

[sikadog]

Home made sloe vodka and champagne nectar of the gods (well I like it) (elevenses on shoot days)

 

[badger 260]

last year we made damson port,we used aldi port ,frozen damsons(dont need to prick them they split when they defrost)castor sugar, vanilla pod split,root ginger

 

[DINGDONG]

Got some sloe gin at shooting show it was the first time i ever tried it was great now im going to try you recipes, hope it turns out better than it did when i tryied brewing beer, it went bang!!!!!

 

[bogtrotter]

Whisky,Gin ,Vodka, in fact any spirit and any soft fruit 1lb fruit 1 pint spirit around half pound of sugar, vary amount of sugar to personal taste.

 

[NigelM]

I was visiting a customer in Russia last year and was given a very large glass of Horseraddish Vodka with some cold meats as a mid morning snack/pick you up. Had to drink it to be polite as he was very proud he had made it himself. Took the sinuses clean out the back of your nose. You receipes sound far more civilized!

 

[Milly]

Any of you use the alcohol infused sloes when you decant the gin off? You might want to try stoning out the fruit and mixing it with a melted dark chocolate and allowing it to set. (Use a bain-marie for melting the chocolate so it does not get too hot.) Guess you could use milk chocolate instead of dark but not tried it. Stoning the sloes is a bit fiddly but the fruit chocolate is well worth it.

Fred

 

[bogtrotter]

Any of you use the alcohol infused sloes when you decant the gin off? You might want to try stoning out the fruit and mixing it with a melted dark chocolate and allowing it to set. (Use a bain-marie for melting the chocolate so it does not get too hot.) Guess you could use milk chocolate instead of dark but not tried it. Stoning the sloes is a bit fiddly but the fruit chocolate is well worth it.

Fred

+1

 

[Peter Eaton]

Havent read all the thread ... so apologies if already posted....with damson or plums etc..dont shake the bottle to much as when the fruit breaks down it releasea pectin, which is a sod to filter out....the booze will taste fab....but look yuk and cloudy.

 

[nicholiath]

I have some damson gin sitting in the garage should be very nice for next shooting season.

 

[John_R]

I have some damson gin sitting in the garage should be very nice for next shooting season.

I have been tucking into mine, came out very nice!

I got a free bottle of Roxton's Damson Vodka with a magazine subscription, which is also really good, and that is why I thought to make some gin. I have some Sloe Gin and Sloe Rum on the go as well, but not ready to taste yet.

 

[muddymalard]

hello all made some sloe bacardi last year...yum..yum alsohad a go at sloe jamesons irish wiskey ,it was so smooooooooth ya lips never leave the bottle

regards daz