If you’re a ‘sloe gin virgin’, you might be surprised to learn that this oft-home brewed beverage tastes nothing like ‘straight’ gin at all. In fact, it makes for a rounded, fruity refreshing drink – just the thing to help ease yourself into a evening of relaxation!
Sourcing Sloes
Sloes are the fruits of the blackthorn bush, and are readily available during late autumn in the wild. Check local woodlands and hedgerows around October and November for the small, plum-like fruits. But make sure you firstly check with any landowners before you start picking - and when you do, never take more than ten per cent of the fruit crop!
Sloes can also easily be grown at home. The plants themselves are fairly fast growing, and the good news is that a bare root plant can be bought for a very good price indeed.
Your Recipe
The process of making sloe gin is delightfully simple; however, as with many British food and drink ‘staples’, the recipe itself may vary from region to region. As you’d expect, the amount of sugar you use in the recipe will affect the final outcome. The recipe provided here is a simple take on a Suffolk recipe – but it may prove too sweet or too sour, depending on your preferences.
So if this is your first time making sloe gin, it might be worth your while making several different batches with varying amounts of sugar. That way, you’ll be able to select the recipe that best suits your own taste.
As a guideline, it’s suggested that you should use 150g sugar per bottle of gin. But why not try making additional batches that use up to 300g sugar, to see whether you have a particular preference for something a bit sweeter?
Equipment
You don’t need much ‘equipment’ to make sloe gin, as the process is fairly simple. As long as you have...
- a bottle or decanter (with a lid)
- a fork
… you’ll be fine!
The good news is that the ingredients you need are minimal too. For one bottle of sloe gin you’ll need:
- Half a litre of gin
- Enough sloes to fill half a litre bottle
- Around 150g of caster sugar.
Method
Firstly, you’ll need to source your bottle. This can be a recycled empty plastic drinks bottle (which you may wish to sterilise first, if preferred), or a glass bottle or decanter. Either way, you must make sure that whatever vessel you choose is airtight, and the neck is large enough to push a sloe through!
You’ll then need to prick each individual sloe several times; this can be done with a cocktail stick or fork. This is a necessary but messy job, as it allows the juices to permeate the tough skin of the sloes. As you prick each sloe, pop them into your empty bottle. Once all the sloes have been inserted into the bottle, you can then add your half litre of gin and caster sugar to start the fermenting process.
Next Steps
Once you’ve sealed the bottle, you’ll need to shake the contents thoroughly. The bottle will need shaking about once every other day for a week or so; thereafter it’ll only need a good shake once a week for a couple of months. You should also make sure that you store your fermenting sloe gin in a cool, dark cupboard, away from any temperature fluctuations or direct sunlight.
After a couple of months, your sloe gin should be ready for drinking. There are two options here; you can either decant the sloe gin from its original bottle into a fresh bottle, or leave the fruit in your original bottle. But do bear in mind that if you choose the latter, you only have around six months’ grace - any longer the fermented sloes will spoil.
One last point to consider is that if picked in season and used in good time, wild sloe gin should be ready just in time for Christmas, making it a perfect gift for friends and family alike!
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