Discussion
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.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.TBH a bush is a bush. I don't think I would pick hips by mistake.
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.
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.
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.
I don't think you would get away with more than 15 - 20% in a sherry but it might work!
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