Discussion
Mobile Chicane said:
kiteless said:
Good bump!
Having picked 14lbs of damsons last weekend, and got 3 gallons of damson wine bubbling away there are 2lbs of fruit left. So.
Damson gin?
Damson vodka?
Having not tried either, advice welcome.
You mean wild damsons / bullaces?Having picked 14lbs of damsons last weekend, and got 3 gallons of damson wine bubbling away there are 2lbs of fruit left. So.
Damson gin?
Damson vodka?
Having not tried either, advice welcome.
Vodka I think, to allow the subtleties of the damson flavour to shine. Damsons are more 'red berry-ish', sloes are more 'almondy'.
Mobile Chicane said:
You snooze, you lose.
You can say that again! Just went out to the bush I got 750g from last year and only managed 100g! Not happy. Luckily a firned came to the rescue with knowledge of another bush and I now have 1kg in the freezerEdited by RizzoTheRat on Saturday 25th September 16:19
3lbs picked today in the pouring rain and with a rapidly shrinking (due to the rain) puppy, only did one section of hedge and noticed lots of small immature sloes, so plenty more to come, let alone the main hedge, hurrah! Might skive of Weds to go get some more prior to Michaelmas dinner.
Just made 2 litres of normal sloe gin (250g sloes, 250g sugar, 550ml gin), and a half litre bottle using demerara sugar instead of normal white sugar.
Run of of bottles for now, however I have enough sloes for a further 1.5 litres, but only enough gin for a litre. I have got some vodka though. Anyone got any quantities for sloe vodka? As with sloe gin online recipies seem to vary massively.
Run of of bottles for now, however I have enough sloes for a further 1.5 litres, but only enough gin for a litre. I have got some vodka though. Anyone got any quantities for sloe vodka? As with sloe gin online recipies seem to vary massively.
RizzoTheRat said:
Just made 2 litres of normal sloe gin (250g sloes, 250g sugar, 550ml gin), and a half litre bottle using demerara sugar instead of normal white sugar.
Run of of bottles for now, however I have enough sloes for a further 1.5 litres, but only enough gin for a litre. I have got some vodka though. Anyone got any quantities for sloe vodka? As with sloe gin online recipies seem to vary massively.
H F-W has:Run of of bottles for now, however I have enough sloes for a further 1.5 litres, but only enough gin for a litre. I have got some vodka though. Anyone got any quantities for sloe vodka? As with sloe gin online recipies seem to vary massively.
2 Kg sloes
I Kg sugar
3 (70cl) bottles of vodka
Personally I find this too sweet and reduce the sugar to 800 grams. (You can always add more.)
I've a 5 litre demijohn (so 2.5 litres of gin when I drain it off in a few months) that I started last week and enough sloes for another 6 litres. I'm working away this week but a few days in the freezer will mean they'll be ready for bottling next weekend. I'm thinking of different recipes though. Cloves were mentioned earlier in the thread and I've seen one recipe that includes a cinnamon stick, might give that a try.
Coincidentally I started making my own cider this year so guess where the gin-soaked sloes will be going
Coincidentally I started making my own cider this year so guess where the gin-soaked sloes will be going
RizzoTheRat said:
I picked them before the frost and bunged them in the freezer
I did that. A local 'expert' stopped while I was picking some and told me I was wasting my time and the sloes saying "We all wait until after the frost" implying that everyone else was doing it better. He didn't seem so smug when I mentioned freezing them especially as I had stripped the entire bush Flintstone said:
RizzoTheRat said:
I picked them before the frost and bunged them in the freezer
I did that. A local 'expert' stopped while I was picking some and told me I was wasting my time and the sloes saying "We all wait until after the frost" implying that everyone else was doing it better. He didn't seem so smug when I mentioned freezing them especially as I had stripped the entire bush markreilly said:
Flintstone said:
RizzoTheRat said:
I picked them before the frost and bunged them in the freezer
I did that. A local 'expert' stopped while I was picking some and told me I was wasting my time and the sloes saying "We all wait until after the frost" implying that everyone else was doing it better. He didn't seem so smug when I mentioned freezing them especially as I had stripped the entire bush Waiting until 'first frost' does two things.
1) The fruit is far more likely to be ripe and sweeter (and fractionally less bitter)
2) The freeze/thaw cycle helps to break down the thick skin of the fruit to ease the absorption of the flavours into the gin.
The yeast has nothing to do with it, even if you're making wine, as then you'll be using a proper wine-making yeast.
Edited by stackmonkey on Friday 22 October 12:46
pugwash4x4 said:
Flintstone said:
RizzoTheRat said:
I picked them before the frost and bunged them in the freezer
especially as I had stripped the entire bush Anyway, buggerim. They're mine now...
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