It's that time of year; late October/early November when sloes are perfect for picking. In these 'ere parts this year's crop of sloes is better than average and as I've just started this year's batch I thought I'd share with you what I do. For those who aren't familiar with these berries, sloes are the small, dark, bitter berries of the blackthorn bush. Making sloe gin is easy; you can't burn anything and the only skill you need is patience. If you take the time to make your own, you'll be rewarded with a drink that is far superior to the weak, syrupy stuff you typically find in the supermarket. By the way, the quantities and times below are not at all critical.
You'll need:
Paul
You'll need:
- a clean and empty 1 litre bottle (I use gin bottles)
- sloes, naturally
- gin, of course
- white sugar
- scales
- a funnel small enought to fit into the neck of your bottle
- a small, sharp knife
Pick your sloes from blackthorn bushes in October or November when they are nice and ripe.
Wash them in cold water in a bowl and remove the leaves and other crud you've inadvertantly picked aong with the berries.
- Take the empty 1 litre bottle and add half fill it with sloes. I'd estimate this requires about 300g or so of sloes. Use the knife to make a small cut in each sloe before dropping it into the bottle -you want to provide an exit route for the juices.
- Then add approx 120g ordinary white sugar to the bottle. The funnel helps a lot here.
- Fill the bottle with gin (about 700ml I reckon). Leave a small amount of air in the neck of the bottle as you'll find mixing the contents much easier if you do.
- For the first week or so, up-end the bottle once a day. During this time the sugar will dissolve fully and you'll start to see the purple colour developing in the gin.
- Put the bottle in a cool dark place for a few months, upending every week or so (uncritical). Do this for a minimum of 3 months for a decent flavour. In my experience there's little benefit in waiting any longer than 6 months as the flavour is fully developed by then.
- Strain the sloe gin through muslin into a clean bottle, though if you're careful you don't really need the muslin. That's it.
Paul
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. Didn't spot a single damson in the garden this year. Last year it was a struggle to get them picked.
