Sloes - (Blackthorn / Prunus spinosa)
Woo hoo! I am really excited (I know sad!) to share my first attempt at making home made Sloe Gin! We went for a walk on Sunday afternoon around the very quiet country roads around the village, something we have not really found enough time to do since we moved in, so it was great to get out.
Not wanting to miss an opportunity I took a bag with me just in case I came across some sloes. I had almost given up hope until I spotted some hiding away in a hedgerow. So we all dived in and picked about a pound and a half. Now some people would say they should not be picked until after the first frost. BUT it has been so dry here, my fear if I leave it that late the sloes will have shrivelled up like raisins!
Now this is a first experiment for me into both ‘foraging’ and also making sloe gin, so I am not 100% sure of the outcome. However, I was very encouraged to do so after Tescos delivered a 75cl bottle of Gordon’s Gin for free – we phoned them up and said they had made a mistake but they said to have it on them! Now not being a gin drinker, I wondered what on earth I was going to do with it!! Sloe gin here we come 
So onto the recipe I am following…
Sloe Gin - New
Sloe Gin Recipe
Ingredients
- About 1lb sloes (450g for the metric lot)
- 5oz to 8oz caster sugar (to taste and you can add some later on)
- 750ml to 1 litre of strong gin (40%+ proof)
Method
- Wash and place sloes in freezer overnight (or you can prick them individually and traditionally using a thorn from the bush they were picked or a silver fork!?)
- Add (thawed) sloes to a sterilised bottle (old gin bottle?) and add the sugar (using a paper funnel is easiest for the sugar)
- Add the gin to the very top of the bottle, seal well and shake vigorously
- Store in the dark and cool (like mushrooms) and shake every day for a week and then about once a week for a couple of months (all the sugar needs to dissolve)
- I am told after a few months the clear gin will be a dark ruby red colour
- Finally decant off around Christmas and enjoy!
You can see from my first attempt in the picture all the sugar at the bottom that the already saturate spirit is trying to dissolve and also the fact the today it is ‘gin clear’.
I shall keep you appraised of the progress, and who knows, maybe even share a glass (or thimble!) with you all some time.
Tags: Blackthorn - Prunus spinosa, Foraging, Home Grown Organic Vegetables, Kitchen Garden, Sloe Gin Recipe, Sloes
Categories: Living the Country Life, Posts with Photos, Self Sufficiency
Are you a professional journalist? You write very well.
Great article, Very informative
Very well written, well done!!