Making flavoured gin

[ThinksTwice]

Hi,

I'm interested in making some flavoured gin this year. Does anyone have any ideas or lovely recipes please?

I like the idea of sloe gin but it's too early isn't it to pick sloe berries?

I also love grapefruit!

[Hellywelly10]

I made rhubarb gin which was lovely, takes a month to brew. Currently ive got some blackberry gin on the go but it wont be ready for 4 months!

[gamerchick]

Isn't it illegal to make spirits?

(Genuine question as the husband makes all sorts and I'm not entirely comfortable with it) would love to have it confirmed.

[SpongeBobJudgeyPants]

I think you buy gin, then flavour it Gamer, so no distilling involved.

[gamerchick]

Ok, thankyou.

[RobinEggs]

I fill a bottle with sloes then pour in sugar filling the gaps about halfway up. Then pour gin over the rest to the top. Turn it every week or so and it’s ready at Christmas. Very vague measurements but it’s always pretty good! I’m in south Devon and sloes look to be ready in the next couple of weeks.

[ThinksTwice]

I know the whereabouts of some sloes near my work (colleague told me) but what do they look like when ready to be picked?

Rhubarb gin sounds interesting!

[Hellywelly10]

Its yummy. Good luck with the sloes, ive no idea where to find them.

[VelociraptorRex]

Rhubarb gin is lush, I make it with fresh ginger in too. I've made blackberry, I found it very sweet though. My current favourite is pink grapefruit - peel 3 red or pink grapefruit with a potato peeler (so you get strips of peel) and put the peel in the jar, with the juice from said grapefruit, a good amount of sugar and then top the rest up with gin and leave for a couple of months! (I should add that I make it in massive Kilner jars, so it makes 2-3 litres at a time). It's almost too easy to drink!

[VelociraptorRex]

Best place for sloes is in a hedge that gets plenty of sun - if you have any country lanes near you worth a look as roadsides are perfect, watch out for the thorns though!

[BIWI]

DH has been making rhubarb gin recently - and it's really easy.

Buy 1.5 litre bottle of gin. Supermarket ordinary gin is fine. Pour gin into glass or plastic bowl, and add a packet of rhubarb that's been chopped into 1 cm dice.

Leave for 3-4 days and then strain back into the gin bottle.

That's it!

It's lovely, served either with tonic or with ginger ale

[VelociraptorRex]

Ooh yes should have said I just use cheap supermarket gin!

[AmandaAndMichael]

How do you make the blackberry gin? It sounds like a nice idea for Christmas gifts.

[AveABanana]

Blackberry gin is lush. Lots of different recipes online.

There's always dishwasher vodka - obviously you can substitute gin for vodka.

[VelociraptorRex]

@AmandaAndMichael same way as the others - half fill your jar with blackberries, add a bit of sugar (not too much, blackberries are nice and sweet), and fill the rest of the jar with gin. Leave for a month (or longer, it gets better the longer you leave it), then strain it into bottles and let it settle before drinking it

[captainpantbeard]

@hellywelly10 I’m making blackberry gin but the recipes (I have 2) say 4-6 weeks. I’ve never done it before, will it be ok??

[VelociraptorRex]

@AveABanana what's dishwasher vodka? (I have some awful mental images now )

[captainpantbeard]

Amanda my recipes are 300g berries, 200g sugar, 750ml gin. Shake every day for a few days to dissolve sugar, leave 4-6 weeks

[cloudtree]

Hmm, I made rhubarb gin in the way most of you are describing and you couldn't really taste the rhubarb even though I left it for a good few months.

[Hellywelly10]

Ive never done it either captain. The rhubarb gin recipie i followed was fine after a month. So im not quite sure why it will take three months with blackberrys????? Im gonna have to taste mine after a month just to be sure.

[werekitty]

Raspberry gin or vodka is delicious

[BertrandRussell]

There was a recipe for mange tous infused gin in the Guardian last Saturday. I'll see if I can find it.

[userxx]

@VelociraptorRex Me too 😬. I'm imagining drinking through a straw out of the washing up bowl.

[AveABanana]

www.mumsnet.com/christmas/dishwasher-vodka-homemade-liqueur-recipes

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

I made Clementine, Bay and Black Pepper Gin last year, it was lush!