Sloe Gin

[CR0X]

FaineantFreddy said:

Success! Thanks to a bit of Googling, I found a small blackthorn plantation very near to me and yesterday managed to pick almost 3 Kg of the little beauties. They're all in the freezer now.

Planning to make about 3 litres of sloe gin and 1.5 l of sloe vodka.

Just need to find the right containers and some good value alcohol and I'm on my way!

Drop me a PM if you want some help on the containers side!

[Bill]

Lots of sloes near us, and some in the garden, just need to get out and pick them. The damson gin's been in the go for a month and is looking good

[Puggit]

First frosts are expected next week - for those of us hanging on and doing it properly

http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=news;sto...

[FaineantFreddy]

Puggit said:

y googling has come up with nothing!

I see you're in Berkshire. Maybe we can swap sloe locations...

It was a bit of a lucky find. Searching for 'Blackthorn' I found a local council report on the flora and fauna of a large piece of land just a mile from me and Blackthorn was listed as growing in a particular area there.

Went for a walk and after half an hour found the sloes. Most of the easy ones had gone, but I was all prepared for a thorny encounter and once you get in amongst the bushes it's amazing how you can find big bunches of sloes which are invisible from the path.

Towards the end of my gathering, I was even getting a bit choosy and just picking the really big juicy ones.

We've now got about 3l of sloe gin and 1.5l of sloe vodka on the go using the freezer method, but we might go back after the first frost to see what's left.

What's annoying is knowing those sloes have been so close to our house but not finding them until this year!

[y2blade]

have you tried the "sloe finder app?"

[y2blade]

have you tried the "sloe finder app?"

[Bill]

Around here (Swanage) a lot of them are past it already, although I still managed to collect a kilo the other day.

[otolith]

Odd that people are struggling to find them, round here I can't think of a hedgerow that doesn't have any.

[y2blade]

otolith said:

Odd that people are struggling to find them, round here I can't think of a hedgerow that doesn't have any.

Snap.

[FaineantFreddy]

Us 'townies' are a bit challenged in that respect though. Most of us don't know a conker from a horse chestnut!

[y2blade]

FaineantFreddy said:

Us 'townies' are a bit challenged in that respect though. Most of us don't know a conker from a horse chestnut!

Good point.


btw don't eat roast conkers

[FaineantFreddy]

y2blade said:

Good point.


btw don't eat roast conkers

Now you tell me!

[jamiebae]

Just picked a kilo from the hedgerows near my house, loads still left too. Of to Sainsburys for some gin now I think!

[Johnnytheboy]

jamiebae said:

Just picked a kilo from the hedgerows near my house, loads still left too. Of to Sainsburys for some gin now I think!

Now if gin grew in the hedge too....

[jamiebae]

Johnnytheboy said:

Now if gin grew in the hedge too....

Indeed, £13.50 a litre! Decided to avoid the Sainsburys Basics gin as their regular stuff was only £1 per litre more.

I have a 3 litre preserving jar here, can I make it in that, I don't see why not as it has just as good a seal as a normal bottle.

[FaineantFreddy]

We also harvested another 1.6 kilos today. We had a frost here on Wednesday night and the sloes seemed softer and easier to pick than a couple of weeks ago. Does this mean they've had a frost or is there a specific way you can tell?

[Johnnytheboy]

jamiebae said:

Indeed, £13.50 a litre! Decided to avoid the Sainsburys Basics gin as their regular stuff was only £1 per litre more.

I have a 3 litre preserving jar here, can I make it in that, I don't see why not as it has just as good a seal as a normal bottle.

Easy to get the sloes in and out of I'll bet.

[madbadger]

Johnnytheboy said:

Now if gin grew in the hedge too....

Get a still - Gin works out about £4 a litre.

And you can pretend you are in the Dukes of Hazard.

[y2blade]

We picked another batch of sloes yesterday and used the last of the 6 bottles of Gin.

Still loads of sloes left-over so more gin on the way home from work



what Gin did you all use? ......I use Tescos Value stuff (apart from the left-over half-bottle of Gordons that got mixed in ).

......but as this is PH I'll "say" I used Bombay sapphire.

[stackmonkey]

I used to use the next-gin-up-from-value, but have since gone the same route as madbadger.

You can also use vodka, brandy or rum as a base.