Late summer and autumn is the time of year that sloe berries on blackthorn bushes become ripe and they can used for making sloe gin or vodka, which is ideal for drinking on its own or in mixers.
This year in our area the sloes are just coming into season, which is earlier than normal, and anyone wanting to have a go at sloe gin or vodka should now be out looking for blackthorn bushes for ripe sloes. I went out and picked enough for me over the weekend. And if you find some blackthorn bushes and the sloes look ripe, pick them because if you don't others will and when you do go back they will be gone.
So if you fancy having a go the most difficult bit is finding the blackthorn bushes and picking the sloes. Choose the darkest berries, the darker the better, avoid those with brown marks and berries with green bits which means they are not ripe. And as you pick the berries watch the thorns, they can be very painful.
After you have picked your berries and got them home, de-stalk and discard any green or odd ones you may have picked, rinse with clean water and then dry the berries. Then weigh out and put in bags and put in the freezer. This is done so that the skins split a little when they thaw and the pulp juice and flavour is easier to extract during the steeping stage.
My recipe is 370g sloes, 110g caster sugar, and 330ml gin or vodka all of which fits into a standard wine bottle which is what I use for the steep stage.
Next put the weighed frozen berries into your clean steeping bottle, and allow to thaw out properly.
Then add the sugar and gin or vodka which ever you fancy, I do both (separately). I buy cheap supermarket gin or vodka, since I can't see the point of using the expensive stuff. Others may disagree.
Allow to steep for a couple of months, preferably in a dark place. For the first two weeks turn the bottle every day thereafter once a week.
When the two months is up, filter out the sloes and pulp and bits into a clean container, and then bottle. It can be drunk immediately but may improve with keeping, although you should be able to enjoy it by Christmas. Note that there may be a small solids layer on the bottom of the bottle after a while so you may have to decant when the bottle is nearly empty.
Enjoy :thumb:
This year in our area the sloes are just coming into season, which is earlier than normal, and anyone wanting to have a go at sloe gin or vodka should now be out looking for blackthorn bushes for ripe sloes. I went out and picked enough for me over the weekend. And if you find some blackthorn bushes and the sloes look ripe, pick them because if you don't others will and when you do go back they will be gone.
So if you fancy having a go the most difficult bit is finding the blackthorn bushes and picking the sloes. Choose the darkest berries, the darker the better, avoid those with brown marks and berries with green bits which means they are not ripe. And as you pick the berries watch the thorns, they can be very painful.
After you have picked your berries and got them home, de-stalk and discard any green or odd ones you may have picked, rinse with clean water and then dry the berries. Then weigh out and put in bags and put in the freezer. This is done so that the skins split a little when they thaw and the pulp juice and flavour is easier to extract during the steeping stage.
My recipe is 370g sloes, 110g caster sugar, and 330ml gin or vodka all of which fits into a standard wine bottle which is what I use for the steep stage.
Next put the weighed frozen berries into your clean steeping bottle, and allow to thaw out properly.
Then add the sugar and gin or vodka which ever you fancy, I do both (separately). I buy cheap supermarket gin or vodka, since I can't see the point of using the expensive stuff. Others may disagree.
Allow to steep for a couple of months, preferably in a dark place. For the first two weeks turn the bottle every day thereafter once a week.
When the two months is up, filter out the sloes and pulp and bits into a clean container, and then bottle. It can be drunk immediately but may improve with keeping, although you should be able to enjoy it by Christmas. Note that there may be a small solids layer on the bottom of the bottle after a while so you may have to decant when the bottle is nearly empty.
Enjoy :thumb:
