Sloe gin

If they are good and dark with a 'bloom', they're ready. Fab stuff, sloe gin. I seem to remember picking them in early September in Hampshire and Oxfordshire.

Our lovely next door neighbour knows of a local, 'secret' source of top quality sloe berries with which he infuses copious amounts of Plymouth gin. Party-time with him is an uplifting experience!

Down here in Cornwall they are just about ready now. I've made damson gin this morning but will do sloe too.

I know where there's some sloes and I know where there's some gin, what do I do next?

I was taught to do it this way:

Quarter fill a bottle with sugar.
Then fill up the bottle with sloes, nearly to the top.
Pour in gin (cheap gin will do) also nearly to the top.
Screw top back on, give it all a good tumble and store. Every now and then, tumble it to mix stuff. Ready in about three months.

Decant into another bottle. Drink.

Keeps for ages if you forget about it!

Some people de-stone the sloes but then you get bitty sloe gin.

I used to tip the strained sloes onto the compost heap and then the blackbirds got drunk as well.

A good friend who makes sloe gin (and sloe vodka; hic!) says the sloes are better once there has been a frost.

To this end she'll pick hers whenever they are ready and then freeze them.

We saw some promising ones when we were out walking at the weekend

Thanks Baggy I love the idea of tipsy blackbirds, does their singing get raucous?

Love sloe gin - supposed to be very good for you; can't remember why though (obviously doesn't enhance mental capacity then!)

Only thing I would add to Baggy's method ...is yes they need a frost ...yes pick them when they have the bloom ...generally means they're rip ...but only take the plump ones ...*prick them so juices can flow*... lay bottle on its side ...rotate weekly ... dark cupboard... only use cheap gin or vodka.

This has been a funny year regards weather ...so may be ready ...sometimes I've almost had to wait until October to pick the sloes ...which makes it suspect for Christmas ...will obviously depend on which part of the country you live in

A wonderful drink ...but don't drive after enjoying

I use the same method as Jacey, picked after a frost or into the freezer overnight to make pricking easier. Once soaking, leave for about three months.
To use up the left over boozy sloes -:
Slightly mash the sloes just enough so that you can fish out the stones. Gently melt some good quality dark chocolate. Mix fruit and chocolate together and spread in a shallow container lined with non stick parchment or similar. Mark into squares and leave somewhere cool to set. Chop up ~ Cook's perks!!

Aurelia

I also make bramble whisky.

Good idea, aurelia! Why did I never think of that?

I used to make haw brandy as well. Haws from hawthorn.

I always freeze sloes first - it saves all the pricking as they tend to burst when frozen - well mine do anyway.
Sloe gin is the only thing that will clear my husband's chest in winter, one dose of that and he's fine, or perhaps he is just happy and doesn't notice it!

I never pricked or froze the sloes and it always worked really well. I think the combination of strong alcohol and sugar can get through the skins, especially the bit where the stalk went, and of course, the sloe juices can come out, sloely!

I once had two big tubs of wine must starting in the kitchen. DD3 (age three) asked what was in them. One was sloe and rosehip. So I told her the black berries are sloes and the red....

"and the red ones are fast", she said.

We called it fast and sloe wine.