Share your Sloe Gin recipe please!

[Sparrowlegs248]

I want to make some for Xmas presents. I don't do gin so need to know which Gin to buy. The sloes are on a bush/tree - how do i know when they are ready?

Also how soon after picking do they have to be used?

Thanks!

[tb]

Fill a 250g coffee jar with sloes, having pricked each one several times with a darning needle/cocktail stick.
Add 2-3 tbsp castor sugar
Add a couple of drops of almond essence
Fill to the brim with gin - any brand, doesn't matter
Screw the lid on and put in a cool place such as the back of a cupboard and leave until Christmas.
Strain all the bits out and put in a bottle/decanter.

Also works for damsons - we used to strain ours between getting home from Midnight Communion and putting the turkey in the oven at 1am on Christmas Day. The decanter we used wasn't quite big enough for a coffee jar full, so we had to drink the remainder.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Brilliant thanks. How do you know when the sloes are ready to pick?

[tb]

Would think that they have a bit of 'give'. We've got a bush in the garden but haven't looked at it recently. Damsons are ripe in September, so would think that sloes are about the same ie September/October.

You could always try eating one, but I've got a feeling they're rather bitter.

[rhihaf]

Traditionally you wait until the first frost before you pick them, but even then, they are still super bitter! I always add a shed load of sugar (about a quarter of a bag) to a wine bottle filled with sloes then topped up with gin. Then give it a shake once or twice a week to dissolve the sugar. After a couple of months you can drain off the liquid and store indefinitely ;)

A standard sized bottle of gin will give you about 2 wine bottles if you fill them with sloes. Lidl do a fab London gin for about 6 quid I think...

[rhihaf]

As tb says, damsons also work with this, but I use brandy instead of gin. It is perfect for dealing with (!) older relatives at Christmas and goes amazingly well in the Christmas cake - I make a last minute Delia recipe about a week before.

[RomComPhooey]

The recipe i found was 1 bottle of gin (750ml), 1lb sloes, 9-11oz sugar depending how syruppy you want it to be. I always freeze the fruit overnight to split the skins rather than individually pricking them.

[Mrsmorton]

Brown sugar is nicer than white IMVHO.