Can I use these bottles for my sloe gin?

[NecklessMumster]

Hi, I have some home made sloe gin infusing and will need some new bottles for decanting/gifting. I'm loth to spend a fiver each on kilner bottles, esp as you never get them back, and as I was finishing this milkshake I suddenly thought 'ooh, I could use these'. Would it be ok? They're glass with a twist off metal cap. This is my second year of making sloe gin, I am not an expert (e.g.this year I cracked jar in first batch putting frozen berries into too warm jar).

As long as you sterilised them, I can't see any reason not to use them.

Following because I've got two litres on the go.
I'd imagine if you sterilised them you could use them. I'm using jam jars.

Is it hard to pour from a jam jar though?
Exciting, I'll give it a go then, just a bit wary of them cracking.
Tbh I don't really understand the sterilisation of the decanting bit, once the bottle is opened you don't drink it all in one go or put it in the fridge after opening

You don't put the gin in them when the bottle is still hot.

I use those mini bottles of red wine for cooking, so save them for sloe gin gifts. Those bottles are fine. Just pretty them up with ribbons etc for Xmas gifts.

Do you not use old gin bottles? I save my pretty ones. As an aside, where do you get your sloes from?

I want some smaller bottles for gifts, my gin bottles were a litre/750 ml. We were lucky to find sloe bushes on a walk in a local nature reserve back in September, but I think you can get dried ones online.
Thank you

OP - can I be your friend?
I had some sloe gin for the first time last night. It was bloody delicious and I drank far too much of it! I would be very very happy to receive sloe gin no matter what bottle it was in!

I never sterilise the bottles for sloe gin, I just wash them up really thoroughly, and reuse whatever lid or cork the bottle came with. I rely on the alcohol to kill any germs and in 20-odd years of sloe gin production, I have never had a problem.

You're too late to pick sloes this year. Any left on the blackthorn bushes are almost all withered and miserable. I picked in October this year, drained last year's off the old sloes and bottled it, and washed up the jars and started the process again.

You don't need to leave it a year though. I drank some excellent sloe gin today that had had 3 months on the fruit (but was bottled in 2016!)

LunaTheCat yes!
Hopefully mine will be delicious, - after the kilner jar cracked, spilling sugary sticky gin everywhere I topped up the remaining concoction with more gin and sugar so the proportions have probably gone to pot. But I'm figuring you can't go too far wrong. I've got a little bottle left over from last year that I might have to test!!
EdithStourton that's what I meant, once you've opened it to drink it's obviously not sterile anyway ...

I would want anything that had previously contained milk to be 100% clean and sterile. It's not for safety, but to avoid lingering cheesey whiffs.

Personally I wouldn't use milk bottles at all.

IKEA do kilner flip-top bottles very cheaply. They look lovely with a ribbon tied round for gifting.

They don't smell now I've washed them but I'll sterilise, esp the lids. I don't get to ikea v often but will add to my mental list when I do, thank you.

They will be fine. Soak them (and lids)in hot soapy water and clean with bottle brush. Rinse thoroughly and dry.
You can sterilise them in the oven,cool down and fill up with gin.

I've also picked up kilner type bottles from charity shops before, if you don't have an ikea near you. I think I've seen them at asda, tesco, B&M etc before too.

Thank you, I'll keep a look out, was a bit unsure of cheap bottles, will test drive the one's I've got, will give it another 2-3 weeks