jamie101 Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 As the title says guys. Im a first timer at the sloe gin job and im also a dummy lol and would like to know a step by step guide how to make some sloe gin. All the ingredients/equipment i need, how long i need to leave it to stand, what to look for and when to pick the berrys etc etc. Thanks in advance lads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 (edited) This is a good start SIPSMITH Maybe only add 1/2 the sugar and make a sugar/water syrup for adding to taste at the end. edit to add my ratio is about 500grm Fruit 1L Gin 135 grm Sugar (but don't add it all at once) Freeze and thaw the only the perfect examples of the fruit a few times Leave for a year if you can HOWEVER For a first batch, I'd actually use damsons and drink much sooner!!! my "damson and orange" is in the food an drink section on here. Edited November 7, 2015 by malkiserow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonepark Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 2l sparkling water bottle empty or lemonade bottle washed, Sloes, Sugar, Gin fill bottle 2/3 with sloes, put in enough sugar to fill gaps in sloes and just cover them, fill bottle to brim with gin, leave for 6 weeks. Strain into original gin bottle. Done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted November 28, 2015 Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 I seem to recall a method on this forum that enabled the stuff to be made in next to no time-you bake the sloes then crush them to make a kind of concentrate-we did it a couple of years back and it works a treat. We used to make about 4 litres every year but now that Lidl do it for about £7-8 a bottle (and its awesome) it's simply not worth the hassle anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted November 28, 2015 Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 You shouldn't make sloe gin with gin because the gin you buy is already flavoured with juniper berries and is effectively "juniper gin". Gin is an old generic London word for any distilled spirit whatever the flavouring. You can get strawberry gin, blackberry gin, plum gin etc and of course the commonest is Juniper The best unflavoured base spirt to try is Sainsbury's Vodka but don't miss out on the strawberrys, blackberries and plums as well if you are experimenting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted November 29, 2015 Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 You shouldn't make sloe gin with gin because the gin you buy is already flavoured with juniper berries and is effectively "juniper gin". Gin is an old generic London word for any distilled spirit whatever the flavouring. You can get strawberry gin, blackberry gin, plum gin etc and of course the commonest is Juniper The best unflavoured base spirt to try is Sainsbury's Vodka but don't miss out on the strawberrys, blackberries and plums as well if you are experimenting A very good post. I have to admit I didn't know the above about "gin" being vodka flavoured with juniper until this week. Strawberries work very well and very quick too. Only needs a week ( or even less for that matter!) before it is very drinkable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnytheboy Posted November 29, 2015 Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 Don't put any sugar in at the start, beginners mistake, when you are decanting it you can add the sugar then to your taste! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedge Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Lots of variations on similar recipes. http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/two-recipes-wild-damson-gin-and-sloe-gin-37/ http://www.sipsmith.com/blog/articles/how-to-make-the-perfect-sloe-gin Sloes ideally need 6 months to infuse, then drain and bottle. Keep for another 6 months (test occasionally and add sugar if you need to - it's personal taste how much you add). Tends to taste better the longer you leave it! As has been said - Damson gin tends to mature quicker (4-6 weeks) and in my opinion is just as good if not better than sloe gin (naturally sweeter so needs less faffing). Damsons can also be picked a bit sooner around late September. A lot of sloes were `early` this year and near me some bushes have already finished - others still seem to have some decent fruit on them. Deffo checking out the Lidl option though, although I do still like the idea of `homemade`. Tesco had Greenhalls and Sipsmith on half price a while ago so I did get some (I had no sloes last year so needed something for this Xmas). Happy brewing - it is a bit trial and error! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzicat Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 I use dried sloes from home brew suppliers,matures far quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 Don't forget the toffee vodka VODKA, and Werthers original toffees, pour your voddy in a pop bottle and pop in a couple of packets of werthers. Shake every 30 mins and the moment all the toffee is dissolved its ready to drink Oh and BTW, many moons ago I was told 1kg sugar to 1kg sloes! DONT. Far to syrup like and awful, I now use 700g sloes and 200g sugar and its much better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted December 18, 2015 Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 I use a pound of sloes to a bottle of gin and add sugar syrup at the end to taste. Leave at least 3 months but really needs a year for the full effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo-1 Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 I use the Sipsmith recipe (see Hedge's post for link). Perfect every time. Takes out the guess work. I have two 2 litre bottles on the go as we speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Try and experiment with other spirts, i rarely use gin now. Sloe whisky is quite nice and i;ve even made sloe tequlia a couple of times. Just use any cheap supermarket spirt In the old days it was always 1lb of fruit and 1 lb of sugar but nowadays 1: 1/2sugar ofr less is more normal. Like everyone has said u can always add more sugar later on. If u do make a batch to sweet u can save it and make another batch extra sour to mix them together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyboy Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Someone gave me some homemade blackberry whisky on my last outing, it was delicious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPARKIE Posted December 24, 2015 Report Share Posted December 24, 2015 this post just reminded me i need to go get some cheese cloth to decant the damson gin ive made this year if i want to try it over christmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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