It’s Time to make Your Own Sloe Gin
I’ve finally done it! After years of thinking ‘Ooh I should do that!’, I’ve finally got my ass in gear and got everything together and have made some sloe gin, which should be ready in time for Christmas.
Where do I get sloes?
First issue I had was where on earth I would get sloes? I live in London, not exactly widespread countryside. My first point of call was to try some supermarkets, none of which had any in stock. I then asked the lovely people in Turnips in Borough Market, who hadn’t any either. In the end, I went to ebay and found 2lb s of sloes, ricked and vacuum packed in Wales for £15. Since I bought these, I notice that the price has gone up. If you need some, get in and get them quickly.
The sloes arrived a couple of days later, vacuum packed, everything beautiful. I stuck them in the freezer overnight and separated the packet in two.
Recipe for Sloe Gin
When I was looking for a recipe, I decided to go with one Nigel Slater wrote in The Guardian in 2010.
Here’s the thing, I’m not a gin drinker. Nope, not a clue do I have about what is a good gin and a bad gin. In his recipe, Nigel said not to spend a fortune on an expensive gin, so I headed to Lidl and got a litre of Finton’s gin for £15. with a standard bottle being 75cl, that meant I had to adjust the recipe. 33 per cent more.
I put in the gin first, added the sugar then bashed up the frozen sloes a bit and put them in a jar.
Here’s what I used:
1 litre of Finton’s gin
600g of sloe berries
466g of sugar
The Waiting Game
For the first week, I stirred the potion everyday, this ensures that the sloes don’t clump together and the sugar gets a good chance to dissolve.
Now, I’m still stirring the jar, once a week. I’ve chosen Sunday so I won’t forget to. After two weeks, I’ll admit, I’ve taken a lick of the spoon and there is a gorgeous sweetness battling against the gin. Now, myself and Talulah just have to sit tight and not touch the jars until at least Christmas. It’s going to be a yummy one!
How about some Sloe Vodka?
Once I had the sloe gin all sorted, I wondered what I would do with the leftover sloes. After a quick google, I decided to try sloe vodka.
Our friends in Lidl have a Putinoff vodka which comes on 50cl bottles, perfect for the amount of sloes I’d left over. Adjusting the recipe to suit, I now have sloe gin and vodka sitting on my shelf.