It's that time of year when our hedgerows provide ... if we know where to look. Unfortunately I was too late to catch the blackberries but luckily managed to find an abundance of sloes. I'm not overly worried about the blackberries ... if it comes to a choice between fruit crumble or bottles of rich luscious alcohol I know which one will win.
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| Raw sloe ingredient, early production and the finished article If you can allow it to mature it is worth the wait. |
This is my third attempt at sloe gin and I seem to have followed a different recipe each time. This year I followed my usual pattern of browsing on-line recipes and then hashing them together. I am not renowned for my methodical approach or even attention to detail. Although recipes varied with differing proportions it just confirmed my new found belief that it doesn't really matter!
The most commonly recurring quantities are the ones I decided to use. My next quandary was what to put it in while the flavours infuse. Last year I used large jars from olives but they seem to have found their way into the recycling. I had a collection of Litre water bottles but this is challenging when it is time to decant the sloes out again. I purchased 1.5 Litre jars with good wide necks to make access easy. Unfortunately I underestimated how many sloes I had picked and needed to use additional bottles ... and lots of them.
So ... lets get creative with my simple steps to making Sloe Gin:
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| Time to get picking |
First steps ... literally through our beautiful countryside. Take a sloe amble in our verdant land. The non-descript Blackthorn bush comes into its own in Autumn and the sloes are usually ready to pick October / November. This year I was caught unprepared as they have ripened sooner than I expected and we had to stretch high to the upper branches to reach the remaining sloes not already harvested by other canny pickers.
Folklore has it that the sloes should be picked after the first frost but this is not always practical or convenient. It is easy to simulate this by placing the washed sloes in the freezer; it also means they are kept on ice until you are ready to move on to the next stage. I would add here that it is best to soak the sloes in a bowl of water for 10 minutes to flush out any other hedgerow inhabitants. Although you're unlikely to find any rabbits or badgers I can guarantee that you're likely to find a maggot or two. In this years haul of 5 kg I only found 3 maggots so it's not too bad.
Prepare your containers: bottles or jars. Washed clean (sterilised if you are really fanatical but my theory is that the alcohol will sterilise).
Ingredients:
450g sloes
750ml gin
350g sugar
Another instruction is that the sloes should be pricked before putting into the gin. One argument is that the process of freezing will serve the same process of splitting the skin. I like to do everything possible to ensure the best flavour so I do both. Folklore instructs that the sloes should be pricked with either a thorn from the Blackthorn bush or a silver pin. Some people use a fork but that seems a little heavy handed for such a small fruit. I have even read that some people bash them with a rolling pin. For me the process should be as the title states ... SLOW SLOE.
I believe I have the perfect implement in my silver (ok, silver effect) cocktail sticks. They were purchased for spearing olives but are perfect for sloe pricking. I embrace this slow process by sitting with the sloes and jars on a tray in front of the television and indulge myself in the intensive process of pick, prick, drop. When I started out the first time I pricked my fingers a few times but I have now mastered the art of judging where the sloe stops and my finger begins.
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| Select your weapon |
Once the sloes are in you add the sugar and then the gin ... it really is that easy.
I had a slight panic this afternoon when I realised that I had used all of my purchased gin and still had bags of sloes left. This resulted in a mad scramble to the back of the dresser (grandly called a cocktail cabinet) to find any forgotten alcohol that could be drawn into this venture. The result is that I now have an epicurean cornucopia of sloe infused alcohol: gin, brandy, rum and vodka.
The next stage is to give these little beauties a chance to allow their flavour to slowly infuse and this takes some dedication and patience. The bottles should be stored some-where dark but accessible. They should be gently agitated during the next three months. Some people advocate daily shaking for a month, some say weekly is adequate, others say do it when you remember. You too can trawl through recipes and follow instructions to the letter but I reiterate that I don't think it really matters. I shall endeavour to swirl my bottles daily for a month or until I see that the sugar has dissolved. I am easily agitated so it only stands to reason that I should attempt to agitate something else. I keep them in the cupboard under the stairs where I also keep the ironing board and hoover so at the very least they will be seen and agitated when I perform these other house-wifely duties ... not very often then!
Then we all need to practice a little patience. The general consensus is that your sloe gin should be ready to sample at Christmas which has allowed 3 months to infuse. I am going to attempt to wait for 6 months for a superior flavour. After all I still have some of last years batch to keep me going. The final stage is to strain out the sloes and bottle the gin. The best way to do this is to use a piece of muslin lining a funnel. The first year I didn't have any muslin and didn't know where to find any ... so I used a pair of tights. As I have said several times: do whatever you fancy! (but I would suggest that fish-nets wont have a fine enough weave).
Enjoy your slow sloe journey. If you find you have made too much, fill and label small bottles and give them as gifts ... if you can bring yourself to part with it.
