Sloe Gin Recipe
As you may have gathered from my blogs and my books, I'm a keen amateur liqueur maker. But if you've made only one liqueur in your life before, the chances are it will have been Sloe Gin, as it tends to be the first introduction to (or only experience of) liqueur making that most people have. And it was mine. This is my Sloe Gin Recipe which I've been using for years. It's simple, straightforward and produces wonderful and consistent results year after year.
Sloe Gin became all the rage again a few years ago and there are now lots of ranges available to buy, from big commercial brands to small, artisan liqueur-makers. They tend to be expensive yet I defy you to find one that tastes better than one you made yourself, plus big commercial organisations can add colourings which you won't be doing. If you use the cheapest gin you can find and pick your own sloes, it won't cost you anything like as much to make 1 litre of Sloe Gin as it would cost you to buy.
Identifying Sloes
I don't claim to be an expert on identifying berries in the hedgerow, and if you've never foraged Sloe Berries before then be sure to do your research first. The sloe bush, prunus spinosa, is also known as blackthorn which is your big clue for the main criteria which sets the Sloe bush apart from other hedgerow berry bushes. The thorns on Sloe bushes are easy to spot, sharp with the potential to draw blood. If there are no thorns, the berries you have found are not Sloes.
Freezing Sloes for Sloe Gin
You may wonder why the recipe calls for freezing your sloe berries overnight. Traditionally sloes were picked after the first frost when they were perfectly ripe and ready to make gin. But very often these days sloes are ready to pick well before the first frost arrives, particularly in the South of England where I am. So when you pick them and freeze them, this replicates a frost. That makes the berry cell walls break down and the skins split, meaning you don't have to stand pricking each berry with a pin to release the juice.
Sloe Gin Recipe
Makes approximately 1 litre of Sloe Gin
Ingredients
approximately 500g of fresh sloes (the exact amount is not critical when making a liqueur like this so don't stress if you're just over or just under)
1x 700ml bottle of gin (as cheap as you can find - I defy anyone to identify what gin you used at the end of this process!)
340g/12oz granulated sugar
You will also need
a large clip-top jar, big enough to take all the ingredients
funnel for bottling
muslin or straining bag
push-in corks if needed (you won’t need corks if you use flip top bottles)
Method
Wash the sloes and remove any stalks.
Freeze the sloes overnight. This replicates the ‘first frost’ and will help to release more juice from the berries.
Sterilise the jar and put the frozen sloes into it. Leave to defrost for a while so you don’t lose any of that precious juice.
Pour the sugar over the berries in the jar.
Pour the gin over the berries and sugar.
Secure the lid.
Shake regularly for a week or so until all the sugar looks dissolved.
Leave for 3-6 months.
Using a sterilised spoon or pipette, do a taste test. If it still has a ‘bite’ to it, leave for another 3 months or so.
Strain through the muslin/cheesecloth/bag, keeping the berries if you plan to make something lovely with them. My suggestions are either Sloe Port (leftover sloes steeped in red wine with brandy added later) or Slider aka Sloe Cider (leftover sloes steeped in Cider).
pour liqueur into sterilised bottle(s). It can be drunk straight away but, as is the case with most liqueurs, the longer you leave it the better it will be.
You won’t be able to wait years before you drink your Sloe Gin but, if you possibly can, hide one small bottle from yourself for as long as possible. It will become even more smooth and absolutely gorgeous.
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