|
A M G
1,207 posts
111 months
|
No tips, but I'm part way through some made in 2000! It is rather good, a fantastic colour, smooth and slightly syrupy. In just poking around for the bottle now, I've found some more, from 2005. In the interests of research, I shall conduct tests this evening.
|
|
|
rovermorris999
1,831 posts
59 months
|
Third to a half a bottle of sloes, 4 oz of sugar, top up with gin. Lovely!
|
|
|
kiteless
6,332 posts
74 months
|
rovermorris999 said: the longer you leave it, the better.  12 months minimum. We use a 1950's recipe which produces a sharp, slightly sweet, sloe gin: 3 pints (by volume) of sloes (de-frosted ones) in a demijohn with 1.5lbs of sugar. Pour about 4 pints of gin into the jar (gin quality aint important). Shake the demijohn every 3 days for 3 months, then rack off through muslin into bottles. It's drinkable young, but aged is better.
|
|
|
madbadger
9,186 posts
114 months
|
Bottled my demijohn off at the weekend. Yielded just over 3l once off the sloes. Had a look at Hugh Fernley-Whittingstalls recipe in his cook on the wildside book. His is 1.25 pints of sloes, 55g of sugar and one bottle of gin. Not sure what weight is in 1.25 pints or how big a bottle he is using, but those proportions sound more like I used last year rather than some of the recipes earlier in the thread. Picked just over 10lb of sloes over the weekend. Never seen so many on the bushes. All perfect condition. Just nice and ripe but hardly any on the bushes were starting to wrinkle. Sometimes later on in the year you need to be quite choosy which sloes to pick. Should be enough for 2 demijohns this year so I'm doing one of Gin and one of Vodka. Chin chin. 
|
|
|
SwanJack
1,352 posts
142 months
|
Didn't bother with Sloe Gin this year, but made some Damson Whisky and Damson Vodka instead 
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
willyworm
431 posts
109 months
|
After you have made the sloe gin save thr sloes and cover them in chocolate for a really nice after dinner treat.
|
|
|
rovermorris999
1,831 posts
59 months
|
I've done that before, gorgeous!
|
|
|
eddo
Original Poster
148 posts
95 months
|
Chocolate covered sloes,,,that sounds luverly. Made 6 bottles sloe gin and 1 large sloe potcheen  Ed
|
|
|
majordad
1,309 posts
67 months
|
How mite one make sloe potteen ? or sloe whiskey ?
|
|
|
martin_b
77 posts
50 months
|
add a handful of chopped Almonds to the sloes for a nice variation.
|
|
|
escargot
16,039 posts
87 months
|
I really want to make some sloe gin this year, however, i've got no idea where to find the plants that yield the berries. Any tips as to where they like to grow?
|
|
|
madbadger
9,186 posts
114 months
|
escargot said: I really want to make some sloe gin this year, however, i've got no idea where to find the plants that yield the berries. Any tips as to where they like to grow? In the hawthorn bush. Common in the hedgerows - check around common land and country lanes. The sloes can be almost invisible if they are spread around so look closely. Watch out for the big spikey thorns in the bush.
|
|
|
eddo
Original Poster
148 posts
95 months
|
Yep the thorns are the giveaway. Small plum like fruits. Mines starting to taste almondy and sweeeeeeeet,,,yummy. Aint gonna last long.
Ed
|
|
|
Simpo Two
54,608 posts
135 months
|
Not long ago there were lots of elderberries in the lanes - can you make elderberry gin? (they make nice wine)
|
|
|
Simpo Two
54,608 posts
135 months
|
madbadger said: escargot said: I really want to make some sloe gin this year, however, i've got no idea where to find the plants that yield the berries. Any tips as to where they like to grow? In the hawthorn bush. Nope, hawthorn fruits are hips or haws, and they're red and poisonous. You want blackthorn
|
|
|
madbadger
9,186 posts
114 months
|
Simpo Two said: madbadger said: escargot said: I really want to make some sloe gin this year, however, i've got no idea where to find the plants that yield the berries. Any tips as to where they like to grow? In the hawthorn bush. Nope, hawthorn fruits are hips or haws, and they're red and poisonous. You want blackthorn You learn something everyday. TBH a bush is a bush. I don't think I would pick hips by mistake.
|
|
|
madbadger
9,186 posts
114 months
|
Simpo Two said: Not long ago there were lots of elderberries in the lanes - can you make elderberry gin? (they make nice wine) Bit better with Vodka but can be done with gin. The recipe is the same. Bottled a litre of Elderberry on the weekend. Made with spirit distilled from elderberry wine.
|
|
|
Simpo Two
54,608 posts
135 months
|
madbadger said: Simpo Two said: Not long ago there were lots of elderberries in the lanes - can you make elderberry gin? (they make nice wine) Bit better with Vodka but can be done with gin. The recipe is the same. Bottled a litre of Elderberry on the weekend. Made with spirit distilled from elderberry wine. So you make elderberry wine, distill it to give elderberry spirit, then add it to some more elderberry wine.... we're talking fortified here aren't we... ah! Elderberry Sherry!
|
|
|
madbadger
9,186 posts
114 months
|
Simpo Two said: madbadger said: Simpo Two said: Not long ago there were lots of elderberries in the lanes - can you make elderberry gin? (they make nice wine) Bit better with Vodka but can be done with gin. The recipe is the same. Bottled a litre of Elderberry on the weekend. Made with spirit distilled from elderberry wine. So you make elderberry wine, distill it to give elderberry spirit, then add it to some more elderberry wine.... we're talking fortified here aren't we... ah! Elderberry Sherry! Distillate is 50% so more of an elderberry Eau de Vie. I don't think you would get away with more than 15 - 20% in a sherry but it might work!
|
|
|
otolith
19,755 posts
74 months
|
Not that it would stop me, if I had the kit and was confident I wasn't going to give myself methanol poisoning, but isn't home distillation illegal?
|
|
