Sloe Gin ~ by Tom

Very good to see this blog on making sloe gin. One suggestion: I’ve made this for years and have long since abandoned the most tedious part of the process – pricking the sloes, which my experiments have shown to be entirely unecessary. Results are just as good without doing it. In fact the traditional reason for picking after the first frost is because that it often splits the fruit, or weakens it, and thus naturally produces the same (supposed) result of pricking. I once made slow gin with mushy fruit which produced a cloudy result which actually, in my view, had a lot to recommend it – more fruit, intriguing fruity texture. I am not a wine maker but, no doubt. a quick ref. to a text on clarification might help where liquer is cloudy. Some recipes suggest (nay insist) on burnt almonds being included but I have found this makes little difference. I completely agree that used as a sauce to ice-cream it’s wonderful.

At least one commercial Sloe Gin uses base spirit (vodka) to make Sloe Gin. Gin is this plus Juniper berries, hence Sloe Gin is this plus Sloe berries. Particularly so if you do not like the taste of Juniper berries.

Very nice drink.

If you are feeling lazy you can put the sloes in the freezer overnight. This means you don`t have to prick them before you add them to the gin.
Does anyone have any ideas for the strained sloes? I usually just compost them but would love a recipe!

I haven’t tried this recipe for sloe truffles but it sounds really good – gin-soaked sloes mixed with melted chocolate and cream (you have to take the stones out of the sloes of course) http://www.sloe.biz/pip/viewtopic.php?t=171

Hi ,I use castor sugar and always put a cinamon stick in each bottle that I make, I use a blackthorne to prick the sloes with ,and as for losing colour over time? I have 2 bottles of 3 year old sloe gin and the colour and taste just keeps inproving.

Catherine I have made the Sloe truffles and they are DIVINE!

Hi, I saw a recipe/method somewhere for using spent sloes to
favour icecream. I can’t recall although I have a feeling it involves removing pulp from fruit – Any ideas if this sounds correct. Thanks for any thoughts Jilly

Hi Jilly – Why not make a sloe gin ripple to get around the stone problem. Soften the fruit in a pan with a little water, and just push it all through a sieve removing stones and skins in one go. Make a sauce with it and and ripple it into some softened vanilla ice cream. You don’t want too much alcohol in your ice-cream or it won’t freeze properly.

With un-ginned sloes you could try the bramble sorbet recipe at http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/wild-food/blackberries/ and subsitute sloes for brambles. You might want to do half and half sloes and cultivated plums – sloes are pretty tart. You also might want to put in a bit more sugar too. Lovely, plummy flavour. I’ve tried this and it looks spectacular – a really amazing purple!

Hi jade, just idea for the sloes once you’ve finished with them – add a hndful to gravy when your making a roast, give a beautiful fruity kick. I keep mine in the freezer, although they don’t actually freeze because of all the alcohol in them.

I agree with John, not seen any evidence of sloe gin losing colour or taste, quite the opposite – but how has he managed to not drink it for 3 years??!! amazing!

Just tasted my 1st Sloe Taquila! Mmm. worth a repeat next year me thinks!

I love the sound of the Sloe Sorbet, I am definately going to try your recipe next autumn. We also love Sloe Gin here at Littlecote Farm. In fact I have designed a whole “Sloe Gin” Natural Bath range using real Sloe Gin !! We handmake our soaps, Bath Fizz and Bath Salts on our working farm at The Littlecote Soap Co.

HELP, i have been looking for sloes now for a couple of weeks, i refuse to pay the £10 per pound that people are asking on e-bay. can anyone point me in the right direction????

Kind regards
Chloe

Can anyone help, I’ve done the Sloe berry Gin, now I want to have a go at Bramble Gin?
What do I do?
Thanks Eric.

Hi there i found sloes out on the bushes this time last year when riding my horse. so i took her back with her saddle bags the next week. after persuading her to stand still i picked shed loads of sloe berries. i slit each of them with a knife (on an evening whilst watching telly – less monotonous) before dividing them between big glass jars and then added the same amount of sugar and the same amount of alcohol – i just guessed at this with friends help. therefore each glass jar had a third alcohol a third sugar and a third berries. i used vodka, gin and tequila. the vodka has by far been the best; the liquer made is beautifully sweet and very drinkable. the gin i’m less into but i’m not really a gin drinker and the tequila i didn’t think really benefited from the sloe berrys. but ive beeen leaving them all till this xmas as i was told it tkes a year for them really to ‘mature’, so we’ll see.

anyway it’s sorted out xmas pressies for all my family – i’m just going to package them up in nice bottles and then go out and collect more fornext year!

I live in North Warwickshire and find that most of the blackthorn bushes don’t have many sloes on – where are they? I too would like to know if anyone can give any information on the disappearing sloes. Also, where can I but blackthorn bushes??

Spelling error – should read “where can I buy blackthorn bushes?

Hi Eric t Red

I think you just do the same with the brambles as you did with the sloes, except you won’t need to prick the fruit because the skins are much thinner & you probably won’t need as much sugar since they’re much sweeter. Would make lovely flavoured vodka I think.

Poor year for sloes as blossom suffered early on. Roll on next year. Wonderful to hear the pricking may be a task to archive off!!!

I live in East Yorkshire and have been making sloe gin for the past couple of years, we love it. i agree completely about the fact that there is really no need to prick the sloes – i never do and the finished product is just as good. i found only one group of sloe bushes with sloes on this year and managed to pick about 4lbs before the birds had them all, but because i have a cupboard full of rasperry vodka, bramble vodka, plum gin etc etc i gave mine away to my mum and sister in law to make sloe gin with (I am too kind!. we have a commercial sloe gin maker close by and there gin retails at around £14 for a half bottle! they have had to import sloes from the rest of Europe this year to keep up with demand.

Hi,
I have made some sloe gin and some plum brandy this year to give away for Christmas presents, and would love to find some fancy bottles. So far, Lakeland seem to be the only ones. Anyone know of anywhere else, or of any bottles that look good for presentation?
Thanks
Rachel

Well, I like Klein bottles myself, but I’m not sure they’re any good for distribution…
http://www.kleinbottle.com/classicalklein.htm

Hi there
Some friends of ours have pick sloes already for us i think there to early is there any thing i need to do with them like a day in the freezer or store with a bannana first to rippen any help would be great many thanks.
Dave.

Don’t wait for the first frost just pop them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. Once you’ve made Sloe Gin don’t discard the berries, cover them again with some cheap sherry and you’ll get a second batch virtually as good as the first. Have also tried white rum with the sloes and it was a great success.

have seen comments re sloe gin, tasted once before long while ago,picked lots yesterday.like idea of freezing instead of pricking, will send more comments after Christmas

Hi – I wonder if anyone could tell me what health properties sloes have and any contraindications. We have lots of sloes on our land and I would like to use some. Thank you

Caroline

just starting my fourth batch this year , i’ve been making sloe gin for the past nine years leaving it for six months is best but you can have a batch ready for chritmas by cooking the fruit and sugar in a microwave same weight of sloe’s and sugar into a Kilner jar and fill to the top with gin shaking the contents once a week.
I use a jelly bag to strain the fruit from the liquid, cheese cloth can also be used.hope this is of use to anyone happy hunting for your sloe’s

Hi. We liv ein wolverhampton and are really struggling to find any blackthorn trees – anyone have any suggestions. – Thanks!!

I’ve been making sloe vodka for a number of years now….. I find some batches have a misty (looks like fungus) cloudy web floating inside after the final filter – any ideas?

I’m now living in Italy and I wonder if I should pick now or wait till first frost – made a batch of rosehip jam yesterday – decided to pick them now… tempted to do the same with the sloes…. Any ideas greatly appreciated……

Hi – We have been making sloe gin for about five years now and this years fruit (Northants area) is one of the best harvests yet. Just made the first batch this year using the traditional pricking method. The next batch of fruit has gone into the freezer. Your comments have saved me a few hours – thanks. For the spent fruit I made chutney one year. Obsolutely lovely but if you think pricking is laborious try stoning them! Still it was worth it.

Dave

Hi

I’ve never made sloe gin before and thought I’d have a go this year. We had a mild frost the other day, so I picked my berries yesterday. I’ve noticed that some people put them into the freezer. Does it make any difference to the taste if they didn’t get caught by the frost? I pricked each sloe several times before putting them in the jar. I’m now wondering if I should’ve put them into the freezer just to be on the safe side. Has anyone picked them before a major frost then bottled them without going into the freezer? If so, does it make any difference to the taste?

hi,
i am in the process of making my first batch of sloe gin- but have run out of containers! i have some plastic lemonade bottles- can i use them??

Can’t think of any reason why not

hi,
I already have two bottles on the go this year (one vodka and one brandy!!) after
not been able to find any last year i am determined to make as many bottles as i can.
Problem is they are so high up this year?! maybe it is because everybody at work is
now looking for them after trying mine! make sure you make the slow choclate its fab!

I have a magi mix juicer, and put the spent fruit through the coulis tool, cook down to a thik syrup on the stove. it stores well in sealed jar all year. Clearly looses the alcohol content, but Mmmmmmmmmmmm yummy on vanilla ice cream

Is it too late to pick now (if I find any?) also do they have stones in today – found some but was not sure if they were sloe berries or not?
Thanks

The bushes are so heavily laiden with sloes this year and it seems that there are several friends making sloe gin this year that I think I’ll make a few litres. I’m not too bothered that they won’t be ready for Christmas as the bottles I made in 1985 are now ready.

As I havent any sloe berries growing near me I have been using plums for the last few years added to gin, and they’ve turned out rather yummy. This year I was given a tip to use brown sugar rather than white sugar to give it a slight caramal flavour and so far so good!!!

To the lady who asks is it too late – my hedges are still loaded Nov 11th.

However, at the risk of spoiling a little of the mythology around the making may I tell you what I have just done.

First year I pricked as told and found it very tedious.

2nd year I froze and then squeezed to break skin – still a bit tedious.

THIS year end September I froze them first, then took a large mixing bowl, threw in the sloes ( thawed) , plus soft brown sugar and mashed them with a potatoe masher!
Added 2 litres of gin and kept mashing and stiring for 2 weeks.

I then filtered off the main liquid and using muslin, removed the ‘mash’ squeezed it through and ended up with a quantity of liquid almost 2 litres in total.
That was mid October.
I have now watched the liquid in the bottles and the very finest solids that had got through the muslin have settled at the bottom of the two bottles.
I am looking at a very black clear as Bordeaux liquid – and tonight – less than 2 months from start – I tasted it.
THE best I have ever had – black, not too dry and delicious!
Who says wait 2 years!
Tomorrow ?? I shall go and pick again.
Joe

Hello! I made my first batch of sloe gin in September – have been tasting it weekly (for scientific purposes only, of course!) and it is really coming along – fruity, syrupy heaven! But I have a question: how long before I strain the concoction and decant into bottles? If I’m laying a bottle or two down until next winter, should I leave the sloes in it? Will they improve the flavour??? ANy advice gratefully received

Many thanks,

Demi

Try making “sloe” gin with other fruits. I’ve used leftover blueberries etc, all with good results. Use the fruit for making flapjack, once you’ve strained the liquid. There are good, simple recipes in websites.

As for a change and with the dilema of what to do with several bottles of rum, this time I’ve managed to place 1.5Kg of sloes in a demijohn together with (initially 400g) sugar and the remainder of the volume (approx 3 ltrs)with rum. although this may seem an unusual spirit to use it does seem to be working well. Two weeks since bottling and the rum has lost its distinct flavour to be replaced bt the strong smell and taste from the sloes. The colour is also a mid to deep red. Incidently the sloes were picked washed and frozen in the expectation that they would readily split when defrosting. This was not the case with less than 5% splitting since being bottles. I’m not sure if the lack of split fruit has mad much difference though. After one week an additional 50grammes of sugar was added and the dryness of the mixture seem to be just about right although this will possibly alter as the mix matures. I have a freind who is going to collect some more sloes for the gin.

If anyone’s buying sloes at £10 a pound, please let me know and I’ll spend a happy half-hour picking £100-worth from our local hedges!! – no problem finding any here (Northamptonshire)Fruits vary from bush to bush – -some are the size of small damsons. Just picked enough for 1 litre of gin and was checking recipes before starting.

Is there an optimum period for keeping the sloes and almonds in the gin?

We have 6 bottles “cooking” and they have been going for 6 weeks and have taken on a wonderful plum colour.

am impatient enough to want to decant a bottle now to act as a control bottle but don’t want to spoil it.

On the other end of the scale, can you leave the sloes in the gin for too long a period?

I have enough sloes in my freezer for another 12 bottles so I suppose potentially losing one bottle won’t be too much of a disaster – will it

Well, tradition has it that you pick them at the first frosts and it’s ready for Christmas, so that’s about 6-8 weeks. In my experience, you can leave it as long as you like, but the colour starts to go and it gets a bit cloudy after a while.

The first time I made sloe gin I pricked each fruit by hand and ended up with terribly discoloured fingers and cuticles for a couple of days. I now wear disposable plastic gloves which prevents the staining. I find that 8 oz of sugar to 8 oz of fruit too sweet for me, I use a normal wine bottle pop in 8 oz of pricked sloes, 6 oz sugar then top up with gin, this balance works very well for me and, by keeping the bottles in the bottom of the airing cupboard and tipping them upside down periodically, produces a wonderful, dark, sumptuous liqueur by Christmas. Enjoy!

Having trouble finding sloes? try using damsons next year – every bit as good and made in exactly the same way. Also in need of some contacts for pretty bottles to use to give damson gin and raspberry vodka as gifts if anyone has any??

Had our first go at Sloe Gin, Vodka and Whisky this year (in different jars – although..there’s an idea?). All delicious – especially the Whisky (and I don’t normally like Whisky).
We used the cheapest brands from Lidl and took the results to a New Year’s Eve party – well received by all and requests for the same next year!

Hiya
Does anyone have a recipe for gin soaked sloe jam or chutney?
There may have been one posted already and I missed it.
X

I’ve been making sloe gin for many years, and lots of variants too – sloe vodka, apricot gin, apple gin, blackcurrant vodka, plum vodka – they all seem to work very well for me. I don’t like mine too sweet, so I hold back on the sugar – just enough to take the “edge” off the raw/ cheap alcohol. I also add just a few drops of vanilla extract.

I pick in September & it’s always bottled in time for xmas (the traditional way) although it seems to keep in a very drinkable state for 2-3 years. It mostly gets drunk within the year though!

“Large” sloes referred to by others are probably bullaces – a near cousin to the sloe.

This year, for the first time ever, my sloe gin has gone cloudy despite careful & frequent filtering. It tastes a little “thick” too. Anybody got any ideas or experience of this?

Hi all just been answering a query about sloe gin, but the lady was a little confused as she wanted juniper bush in order to get sloes? For gin…think she has been informed though and have given her link to this site.

I freeze my berries too and this works well for apples for cider making. But sterilise and have before freezing. Then defrost and half the juice has already come out. then just press it gives a wonderful clear cider.

There are many bushes around Didcot and wild damsons of all colours along the outer distribution road. Near the power station….

Hi, does anyone know what slo berries taste like ?