UKC

As it starts to get colder hopefully the first freeze will soon be upon us and to the hedgerows many of us will flock. Sloe Gin is the best winter belay warmer Last years ratios was my best yet
Sloe = 680g
Sugar = 280g
Sainsburys own Gin = 1382g

Little splash of Almond essence

What are other peoples ratios or tips?

In reply to Jim Walton:
tried muscovado sugar a year ago - scrummy

In reply to Jim Walton:

Buy loads more gin than you need for the quantity of sloes you have, and drink the extra whilst preparing your sloe gin...


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In reply to Jim Walton: Pretty certain this should be in 'The Pub' thread though!

Our last year's batch is as simple as sloes, gin and a touch of sugar. No need to taint with fancy essences!

In reply to Jim Walton: I didn't weigh mine, but it was about 3 inches of sloes in the bottom of the bottle. I also made sloe whiskey once they were out of the gin, it is lovely.

In reply to marsbar: Oh and dark sugar, yum.

In reply to Jim Walton: Can also use brandy, or vodka. Brown sugar 50:50 with white sugar, and add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

In reply to Jim Walton:
Along with Sloe Gin, I've had varied success with damson brandy (good), quince gin (so-so), and blackberry vodka (fruity!).
The challenge I've got this year is what to do with the litre of white Mauritius rum I bought in France two years ago. It's ridiculously high strength, but taste absolutely foul. Any suggestions welcome!

In reply to Jim Walton:

No sloes around here this year

In reply to Jim Walton:

Go easy on the sugar. Better too little than too much, you can always add more to suite your taste when it's ready, but you can't remove it once dissolved.

In reply to Jim Walton: no need to wait for a frost for sloes, just bung em in the freezer overnight. Hawthorn whisky is tops, sounds bizzare but is excellent. Couple of handfuls in a bottle and some sugar. Leave for a month or two

We don't add sugar or almond essence. I try and buy export strength 47% vol gin, I think Plymouth do one. One year my gin was 42% after steeping.

In reply to Jim Walton: bit less s c ientific. tske bottle. half fill with sloes. add sugar till reaches top of slies. fill bottle with gin. lay bottle on side for two months snd turn every week

In reply to Jim Walton: am slso experimenting with bramble vodka this year. Any tips?

In reply to Jim Walton: don't wait for the first frost it's only a guide to ripeness and you may miss them at their peak. Give them a squeeze and look for other fruit on the branches that are over ripe as a guide. Wild plum are also good, almost the same as sloes but bigger and also hybrids of the two as you don't need to pick as many.

Toby

In reply to Toby_W: Got some Damson Gin on the go which is also a favourite

In reply to Jim Walton: I prefer sloe vodka to gin , but yes those are similar ratios

In reply to Jim Walton:

If you can find some damsons, they work even better.

If you serve sloe gin with a nice fizzy English white, cut about 50/50, you get quite the experience, and I find that more suitable for lunch time occasions.

In reply to wintertree:

Agreed damsons top sloes but isnt the seasons past now?. It's nectar if done well and why would people ruin it by sticking in anything else...if you want to make a flavoured drink add it afterwards as added you cant get it out.

In reply to Jim Walton:
I've got three bottle waiting for xmas: blueberry gin, raspberry gin and strawberry gin. Should be interesting.

In reply to pebbles:

Yes. Make bramble whisky as well.

In reply to Jim Walton:
Totally fill an empty 5ltr spring water container or similar with sloes, (after removing leaves, spiders etc) no need to jab or slit them at all, top up with cheap gin, expensive stuff seems to make no difference whatsoever, leave until around christmas with the cap slightly loose to allow gasses to escape, I dont add any sugar at all, but that's just how I prefer it, decant through a filter, this is the way of making it an old guy recommended years ago, and it tastes way better than the overly sweet shop bought Gordons rubbish I tasted! there will always be at least one grub of some sort floating in the stuff, this is normal, it died happy, and will not harm you in any way.