Monday 9 January 2006

Sloe Gin

Sloe Gin   -  Really delicious - meant to tell you how much I enjoyed it.....I am going to make some more for next Christmas....am told the longer it is left the better it is: -

Following is the recipe.......

 

  Ingredients:1 lb. (450 g) sloes
3 cups (710 ml) gin or vodka
1 1/2 cup (350 g) sugar

Wash and dry the fruit, remove all stems, and freeze the sloes for at least a couple of days (not necessary if they are picked after the first frost). Place the fruit in a suitable container, add gin or vodka, and shake twice a week for 4-8 weeks. Transfer most of the liquid to a bottle. Add the sugar to the remaining sloes. Shake twice a day until all sugar has dissolved; this may take up to two weeks. Mix this sweet syrup with the first unsweetened liquid. After three months strain the liqueur thru a muslin cloth. Add some more sugar if necessary. The liqueur should mellow for 6 months before used.

As an alternative you can mix the sloes, gin/vodka and sugar at the same time, but then use slightly less sugar. If preparing the sloe gin/liqueur this way you will also get a delicious flavor, however, the total volume of liqueur will be less because more liquid will remain within the fruit.

Sloes are the fruit of blackthorn and are actually a wild type of plums. The flavor of the fruit is bitter, so the small plums are not suitable for eating. However, the effect of frost makes them milder. The bitter flavor is lost when making liqueurs.

Sloe gin is traditionally made in Ireland and Britain. Sloe liqueur is also made in Scandinavia, Germany, France and Spain. This delicious liqueur has a flavor similar to plum liqueur and the color is dark red. It is best served in small amounts as an after-dinner drink with or without ice.


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

As we do not drink, we will not be using this recipe but it is nice that you are posting it.  That is what I like about journals, they are all so different and entertaining in their own way.

http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeanno43/JeannettesJottings/

Anonymous said...

Yes Iwondered what had happened to your sloe gin !!post this again in the Autumn lol ........chin chin ..........Jan xx

Anonymous said...

Sounds great.
I don't think we get sloes here though.
The other thing that strikes me is what a waste of vodka!
No Gin shouts the wife!

Anonymous said...

When I was younger and went out I would get a sloe gin fizz and it was very good I remember.... I never knew you could make the sloe gin though. Interesting. Sandra

Anonymous said...

Sounds lovely did not know too much about the subject.  Is it potent. Love Joan.

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm .... this I have to try.  Thanks for sharing the recipe !  Tina

Anonymous said...

It certainly does get better the longer you leave it!! The problem is leaving it :-) Oh and it gets better the faster you drink it too  er so mum says lol XspikeX

Anonymous said...

I'm like the other Jeannette, I don't drink......well, only tea, coffee or water. I bet a lot of your readers will try it out though!! Jeannette. http://journals.aol.co.uk/jlocorriere05/Welcometomytravels

Anonymous said...

Thanks. Don't guess we have any sloes around here. Interesting. Paula

Anonymous said...

I have never seen sloes fruit.    I have tried the store bought.    The home made must be much better.    I have tried home made beer, and was told the more sugar the greater the alcohol content.  Also, more calories so it can be fattening by drinking lots,  lol.     Of course that is due to the fermenting which your receipe does not do because you do not add yeast.     mark

Anonymous said...

I used to drink sloe gin fizzes back in the day. I always did wonder where sloes came from.