The late summer days of plenty might be over, but that doesn’t mean the swaps should come to a stop – autumn can bring its own gluts of squashes and pumpkins, leeks, apples and pears while the hedgerows are still providing free food for foragers with hawthorn berries for jam and sweet chestnuts for roasting on cold autumn evenings.
However, what I’m most excited about this year is the blackthorn as it looks to have been a good year for sloes and I’m keen to make the most of it. One thing you can’t swap on Lourish is alcohol, but I’m not intending to have a glut of sloe gin, just a bottle (or 3) for Christmas! I’ve left it a bit late but I’m hopeful I’ll have a reasonable brew if I crack on and make it this weekend.
I got in touch with the experts for some advice and Lynda at www.homebrew2u.co.uk very kindly sent me this recipe for making sloe gin – the key thing, she tells me, is to wait for the first frost which makes the berries naturally sweeter, however she does sometimes put the berries into the freezer if the frosts aren’t forthcoming!
Ingredients
- Sloes
- Granulated Sugar
- Gin
Recipe
Prick each sloe with a darning needle and half fill sterilised bottles or jars with the fruit, adding approximately 3oz sugar for each 1lb of sloes.
Cover with the gin, seal firmly, shake well to dissolve the sugar and store in a warm place. Shake the bottles each day for several weeks.
After 3 months, strain the liqueur through coffee filter papers or muslin into clean sterilised bottles, seal well and leave to mature.
More sugar can be added later if the liqueur is too sour for personal taste.
Sloe gin improves with age so it’s probably worth making a few bottles to see you through the year!
Thanks to Lynda at www.homebrew2u.co.uk for this recipe.
