Sloe-ly does it

It takes two to three months to make sloe gin....and its the easiest thing to do...and at the moment its still not too late to have a go....there are still some decent berries out there to be had....

It always surprises me when people look amazed that I have made wine or a flavoured gin, as if its difficult....it isnt.

Heres how I do sloe gin....and the recipe I use....

Get some sloes....from a Blackthorn shrub....if you get sloes from any other shrub they arent sloes...they are something else and I cant take any responsibility for what you will be making, what it will taste like or...er...if you will die or not from some peculiar poisoning....so...get sloes....here are some....

Pick a pound of sloes....450g....its not a lot and therefore doesnt take long to collect, which is always good....best time to collect sloes is around mid September to first week of October when they will be at their best squishy-ness.

Once home....wash them gently....put them in a container, I use a plastic sandwich bag....put them in the freezer....go and do other stuff till tomorrow, for example...go and buy a bottle of gin and a 2 litre bottle of coke and a muslin cloth (try a home brew shop)....spend the evening drinking the coke or lemonade...

Putting them in the freezer is to replicate the first frost....a frost would make them squishy...

On the morrow they will look like this, above...and yes, they will be squishier than yesterday....this is good...

Did you buy your gin?...theres some debate here...some say buy decent gin, others say buy cheap gin....me...I buy cheap gin from a german supermarket....I dont see the point in buying an expensive bottle when theres no point....in my opinion...

Now...empty your gin in to the clean 2 litre coke bottle....

....put the empty gin bottle somewhere safe as you will need this to put your sloe gin in when its done....

Add 4oz of sugar...some say caster sugar others say granulated....as caster sugar is ground up granulated it wont make any difference....heres a picture of some sugar....

This next bit takes me no more than a couple of minutes....I dont do all that pricking each berry with a needle stuff....takes far to long...so...as they are squishy you can just give them a quick squish as you put them in the bottle....easy...!

Almost done...almost....some say add vanilla essence...some say almond....your choice...I put vanilla in, just a couple of drops or so.....doesnt need any more....

Now, all you have to do is put it in a dark cupboard.  Shake the bottle once a day for a week.  Then once a week for a month.  This ensures the sugar is dissolved and the flavours are nicely mixed.  Then just leave it alone in a dark place till Xmas.....

A few days before Xmas....one last job with the gin....

First, it was a few weeks ago...hopefully you will remember where you put your muslin straining cloth...or at least remembered to buy one in time....all you have to do is strain the liquid out of the coke bottle in to a jug....most of the sloe mush will stay in the coke bottle....it will take a bit of time to drain out and then through the muslin...dont rush this or you will end up with a lot of sludge in the bottom (though this isnt the end of the world as it tastes great anyway)...

Now go and get your gin bottle back from wherever you put it....I store mine in the wine rack so it doesnt go missing...put the new 'sloe gin' in the bottle...inevitably you will have a little left over...all chefs making a cake etc will always have some 'left over'....chefs perks....and the same here...

I crack mine open Xmas Eve....it tastes marvelous....and is usually gone by New Year....