What Gin to use does it have to be good stuff?
The range is
Sainsburys Basics £8 a bottle
No Name £10 a bottle
Gordons £12

Sainsburys Basic (or cheaper if you can find it)

Make sure the alcoholic strength isn’t lower than standard, I think 37.5% proof is normal for Gin. Also really fill up the containers, leave as little air as possible in the top of the containers. After that price doesn’t really matter.

Made loads and cheap gin is fine. Strength rather than quality is the most important – get the highest strength you can ie 42%+ it makes a better final gin.

Good luck with pricking the sloes!

currently finishing last years damson gin

this year there is
damson
sloe
apricot (vodka)
strawberry(vodka)
melon(vodka)
mango (vodka)
blackberry (vodka)

gonna have to do a few night rides to shift that lot!

so what’s the recipe??

don’t prick sloes: freeze them, it breaks the skins and saves hours!

I bought my sloes on ebay and they came with a very handy recipe sheet, including some options for alternative recipes.

I used two litres of Gordons gin as it was on cheap at Tesco. About 300gms of sloes, 200 grams of sugar in the bottle, fill with in as much as possible and shoogle twice a day for the next eight weeks.

Half bottle gin, top up with sloes, add 150g sugar, agitate daily for 1-2 weeks the leave for 3 months in dark. That’s my recipe 😆

I bought my sloes on ebay

do you live somewhere really remote? only the blackthorn can be found just about everywhere.

The last two years have seen prolific sloe harvests, you must live on the moon if you needed to buy them off Ebay.

Not so much remote as no time to wander round and pick them. Work, pregnant wife and cycling seem to take up all my time.

someone’s making money off picking sloes. How much did you pay?

teagirl is right.

riding a bike is a recce to find sloes. Get em picked.

Try some vanilla in there too.

Cheapest gin possible that is full strength. Sainsburys basic current cheapest. ANYTHING better is a waste.

Paid what felt like the right price for someones time to collect and post, and the time it allowed me to do things I enjoy more than picking fruit!

don’t prick sloes: freeze them, it breaks the skins and saves hours!

Brilliant! I’ll remember that.

Also, just thought, don’t put too much sugar in to start with and try it after a couple of months. You can always add a little sugar syrup to sweeten it but if it’s a bit sour, you can’t take any away.