Picked some sloes today but noticed that a lot on the tree were already split (not surprising in the middle of November). Most of the bagful I picked weren’t split but does it make any difference? I’m gonna prick them anyway. If it makes no difference I’ll get some more.
Ta.

Oh, & do you put your sugar in with your sloes or wait a bit?

Freeze them and bottle them frozen , apparently. Saves all that pricking.
No idea on the split ones, bit of a Sloe virgin reckon it would be fine if they arent full of tiny larvae that will grow into pit vipers, or not.

Freeze them overnight it imitates the ‘first frost’ thing that we’re supposed to wait for.

Have always put sugar in at the same time, but have read recently that you can add to taste at the end, which makes massive sense. So I might do that this year, so long as that really does work and I don’t ruin it…..

Although it’s been quite a few years since I made any I’ve always added an amount at the start then add any extra if needed at the end.

Evening,

Split ones will be fine, as above freeze them this will “pop” them and apparently breaks down the tannin in them.

Leave for as long as you can, when you are ready add simple sugar solution to bring up to your required sweetness. You don’t know how much natural sugar are in the sloes so if you pre-add the sugar you may end up with something over sweet, only to be offered to guests who over stay their welcome at Christmas.

Regards

Flash

Slight thread hijack….

I made my 1st Hawthorn gin in early September and it’s coming along fine. Picked about 1ltr tub of lovely red hawthorn berries and ‘fridged’ them overnight before mixing 1/2 tub with 1lt of cheap gin and a couple of spoons of sugar. I let them ‘soak’ for about 4 weeks before removing the now white berries and straining everything through muslin. Out of two 1ltr batches I’ve got maybe 1.5ltrs of good mix. It tasted like cheap gin when I bottled it but I’m hoping by the time the New Year comes in it’ll be a bit better. Hadn’t thought of adding sugar to taste so thanks for that one. If it’s still rank I’ll just wait the full year and have it next year!

That makes sense Flash. Most ‘recipes say put the sugar in 1st at 50%’

sloe gin???? you big wendy!! guinness and black is a blokes drink… 😆

sloe gin???? you big wendy!! guinness and black is a blokes drink…

Err, it’s for the err… Mrs, Tony. Honest.

Not for me, honest.

😆

sloe gin???? you big wendy!! guinness and black is a blokes drink..

But Guinness is vial.

Make a fair bit each year, normally freeze them for a few days and then just randomly prick them.

Always do 1/3 1/3 1/3 in each bottle. So sloes in first to roughly a 1/3, then sugar and top up with gin. All guesswork.

Turn every day for a week or so then once a week ish. Don’t normally strain it until the following summer, and good to drink the following Xmas. We keep at least a bottle back each year and it does tend to taste nicer the longer you leave it.

Use a mixture of gins, stronger the better but that gets pricey! Found Beefeater very good, but majority is the london one from aldi, or grovenor from cash n carry.

Similar to smeg above,

I do 1lb sloes to 1/2lb sugar with 70cl gin.
Make it all in cleaned 4pt milk containers on the windowsill (classy!)

I agree that some gins are better than others, but honestly I tend to use Aldi or Lidl variants just for the sake of cost.

As previously said freezing them is a good idea, which can make some of them split (saves on pricking) and I have never had a problem with sludge in the mix.
Turn them frequently for the first 1-2 weeks then leave well alone.
I strain mine through a pair of tights! I’ve found coffee filter paper is too fine to let that much through.

Seems to be a good Sloe crop this year locally (Suffolk) so will probably be doing another batch soonish.

Good luck!!

But Guinness is vial.

Eh? Guinness in a vial? You wouldn’t get much!

I actually think it’s just vile. (unless there’s nowt else to drink of course)

Might bring some ‘gin’ back from Goa in February, 80 rupees a bottle last time we were there in 2013, hit the spot too. 😈

Sloe vodka also works….

Eh? Guinness in a vial? You wouldn’t get much!

That’s the idea. 😀

Pretty much how Smeg describes is how I use to make it but I’d use any cheap Gin. Did use Gordon’s one years had been given a few bottles for Xmas, it didn’t taste much different to justify the cost.

Can’t see why people say to use good quality gin in the 1st place, It’s not like It’s gonna taste anything like the original once youv’e infused it with sloes is it? ‘Ooh, yes, this is definately Bombay Sapphire/Hendricks/Botanist/(insert posh gin name here)’

the Aldi gin (not the white label stuff but their London gin) is really good stuff for the price because it’s actually been properly brewed with the botannicals not just flavoured

tend to taste nicer the longer you leave it.

this is true but the not drinking it is the hardest part

Cheers Ed, might try the Aldi gin if the Goan gin has gone up in price!

jeez where have you been? My sloe gin has been steeping for two months already. I decanted a litre of it last weekend, left the remaining five litres to steep til Christmas.

IMHO pricking the sloes individually is worth the effort over freezing them. I find it gives a better flavour.

jeez where have you been?

Err, working, biking, fishing, in bed, you know, the usual stuff. What’s the hurry, It’s going nowhere for at least a year & I’m probably only 2 weeks late in picking anyway. Didn’t realise there was a timescale & It’s not a life changing event is it? 🙄

Get you!

Two bottles of bramble whisky should be about ready to strain now, although I might make them last until Christmas. One litre of Damson Gin about halfway through, and a couple of bottles’ worth of sloes leftover from last year ready for the kilner jar once the Damson Gin has done its bit. Got a whole bottle of Sloe Gin leftover from last year, so no rush. Hic.

Oh, and I do about half the weight of the fruit in sugar to start with

Freeze them flat on a tray and bag them up. You can then take them out and make the sloe gin at your leisure. I’ve tried lots of different methods and pricking them is soul-destroying. I just let them defrost a bit, bash them with a potato masher or something and sling them in the bottle with half a wine goblet of sugar to start them off. Shake every day until the sugar has dissolved.
Use the cheapest gin you can find. Waitrose was the cheapest for a couple of years – even lower than Aldi & Lidl.

If anyone lives near the Emersons Green area of Bristol I can tell you where there will still be sloes on the bushes!

I always do the thirds and rotate as mentioned above.

Last year was a great year, that good I made some with cheap whiskey as well

Try one bottle with gin and one with whiskey, I now prefer the whiskey version 😉

I assumed I had missed the sloes this year – will get out and have a look later!

I have some blackberry vodka on the go at the moment, it is good but still a bit too much like vodka at the moment. It has been going for about 2 months, but I need it ready for next weekend to give away. Have just started adding sugar, and keeping it a bit warmer than it was to try and make it all happen a bit faster!

Done whisky, vodka and gin. Was going to do a canada club and sweeten with maple syrup, then saw bombay now do a london gin, I’ve tried cheap and I could tell it wasn’t great so go for decent, the sloes are free so why no spend money on decent stuff. Back to op, how split were they? If they were a gunky mess I would transfer to new bottle pouring through muslin into a jug first, a cloudy shot of sloe gin looks rank.

It’s going nowhere for at least a year

I’d not leave it longer than 6 months.

I’ve tried cheap and I could tell it wasn’t great

You’re not leaving it long enough. If you can tell the differences between gins there isn’t enough sloe flavour!

I’ve got some 5 year old sloe gin in my STW hip flask.

Nectar 🙂

If you don’t want to freeze them but avoid the boredom and finger stabbing of pricking just put a cut in them with a sharp knife, it’s a lot quicker.
Once you’re ready to drink try making it up like a normal gin and tonic with a wedge of lime squeezed in, it’s lovely.

If you can tell the differences between gins there isn’t enough sloe flavour!

I disagree, left for approx 2-3 months, plenty of sloe flavour but some cheap gins have an unpleasant after taste, even straight with tonic. Don’t waste money on boutique gin but don’t buy rubbish. Perhaps I have a highly tuned palette 😉

If you don’t want to freeze them but avoid the boredom and finger stabbing of pricking just put a cut in them with a sharp knife, it’s a lot quicker.

I put 2 big chopping boards on a worktop with a sloe-sized gap between them. Tip a load of sloes into the gap then run a sharp knife along your little row of sloes. Roll them into a waiting bag and repeat. Far quicker than trying to do anything individually!

Freezing doesn’t make them split, but the defrosting process causes the cells to rupture so they release more flavour.

Another advocate of Aldi London Gin, it’s cracking stuff for the money. 1lb sloes, half-lb of sugar and 1 litre gin is my standard recipe.

If it’s not sweet enough, make a syrup of a bit of sloe gin and some caster sugar in a saucepan and dribble it in until you’re happy with the taste.

I’ve got some on the go with cinnamon sticks and cloves for extra festive flavour.

Chinchin!

G

I find the stronger the gin the better, but all the cheap stuff is 37.5%, which works fine but not quite as good as the stronger stuff.

Did this for the first time last year as well with left over sloe’s after straining.

All approx –

500g Sloes
Bottle of cheap red wine
100g sugar
200ml Brandy

Then do the same as per sloe gin.

Tastes very much like Port.

Cinammon sticks are good, as are vanilla pods. Haven’t made any for a while but last time I made 3 bottles – 1 normal, 1 with a cinammon stick, and 1 with a vanilla pod. All delicious and using Sainsburys cheapest gin.