Sloe Gin

[Khandro]

I have recipe which requires a 'two litre glass container such as a Kilner jar' but that sounds enormous, is there such a thing, or what else could I use please?

[Chipchopper]

Freezing the sloes overnight is a neat little trick!, it mimics what happens in the wild, making them available to the birds, sweetening them after the first frosts and making them more palatable.

I'm sure the size jar that you require would be available online.

[Khandro]

OK, I've ordered a 2 litre Kilner jar from Amazon, not cheap at €17 delivered, but it looks like the business, it says because it is tall, it can be used for bottling rhubarb ! but I'll stay with the gin. Cheers.

[AuntPollyGrey]

I make my sloe gin in a large 'Tupperware' with a lid. It takes 4 litres (we love sloe gin.) You can get really cheap ones in the Pound shops or this is similar from Amazon. It needs to be kept in a cool dark place. I have a pantry but a garage or outhouse is better than room temperature.
Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[Khandro]

Polly, That looks OK but is under 2 litres & around the same price as my new ('arriving Wednesday') Kilner jar.

What I wonder about though, is freezing the 500g. of sloes, do I just put them dry, as picked, in plastic bag into the freezer?

[Chipchopper]

Khandro,
yes just pop them in the freezer, I like to leave the wild yeast on the berries, as I think it improves the flavour of the liquor
good luck.

[AuntPollyGrey]

Khandro the link I sent was for a 4.2 litre tupperware:

Brand Sistema
Model Number 1450
Colour Blue
Product Dimensions 21.51 x 11.48 x 28.45 cm; 330 Grams
Capacity 4.2 litres
Material Plastic
Item Weight 330 g

[Peter Pedant]

compared to the home made nectar
the boughten stuff is ughghgh

[Khandro]

Polly that 's an awful lot of sloe gin you are making :o)
sorry but the link that came up for me was for a 1.8 litre version.

The sloes I have lined up are huge (that's what gave me the idea) & are on south facing bushes out on my golf course. I'm off shortly for a round on this glorious afternoon & will do some picking.

[AuntPollyGrey]

// The sloes I have lined up are huge//

Are you sure they are sloes?

I've actually downsized my sloe gin recipe from my Mrs Beatons preserving book. The original recipe says 'procure 20 pints of ripe sloes'

I make about 4 litres a year and some goes for Xmas pressies.

[alavahalf]

Khandro.. The tree the Sloes come from have thorns about 2" long..
If your trees have no thorns they may well be Damson's. You may have to forget the Gin.. you might be making Jam instead!

[shoota]

Damson gin is good - exactly the same method.
I do a healthy pound of sloes (roughly 18oz), a 70cl bottle of gin and a mean 1/2 pound of sugar.
You can always add more sugar later if it is too tart.
I tried the equal measures of sloes/sugar but it was like syrup, nice but too sweet.

[shoota]

You must leave the 'must' on...

[MartinMillar]

I use empty gin bottles

[Khandro]

Thanks, the recipe I have from 'The Oldie' is: 500g of frozen sloes (they are definitely sloes) layered in a 2 litre Kilner jar (on the way from Amazon) 250g of caster sugar topped up with a litre of gin. Store in dark cool place, shake every day until the sugar has melted then once a week for 2 to 3 months, then strain through a muslin lined funnel into bottles then leave for another few weeks.

So according to that, it won't be ready for Christmas :o(

[Prudie]

"So according to that, it won't be ready for Christmas :o("
I've made it countless times and that rule has always been broken, I've always drunk it at Christmas - well what's left of it after many tastings along the way :-)

[shoota]

You can drink it as soon as the sugar has all gone but it doesn't taste 'ripe'.
I leave it for six months before I decant the liquid into a gin bottle and then leave it for another 6 months at least.
The longer you leave it the better it gets - I have a bottle that is 15 years old.

[alavahalf]

"shake every day until the sugar has melted"

You will be like a dog staring at a sausage trapped inside a jam jar.

Easter Gin it is then!

[shoota]

Pick all the sloes you can get and make 3 lots.
Drink one this Christmas, save one for next Christmas and lay one down for whenever.
Repeat next year ad infinitum.

[alavahalf]

We have a massive secured field at work where Sloes have self seeded over the years. There are so many you could never harvest all of them. I can't have the natural yeast which they contain, so no Gin or Jam for me !
A real opportunity goes begging!

[Khandro]

I can see this a long-term project. I'll make this one as planned, drink it at Christmas, pick & freeze another 500gs of sloes now & when my €17 Kilner jar (I'm not buying another one!) is decanted make a second lot for Christmas 2021