One of the simplest and best tastings fermentations is Sloe Gin, having made it now for the last 3 years its a simple and great drink whether at home or in the hip flask on a walk!
Sloe berries grow in nearly every hedgerow and I see them when out on walks all the time, you start to notice them growing in July and this year its the biggest I’ve seen the Sloes so I have looked forward to harvesting them, I go to the same spot just off the banks of the River Stour near Wissington and its a great spot as the hedgerow goes on for hundreds of yards!
Tradition suggests wait for the first frost to then pick them, but the last couple of years there hasn’t been a frost in October, after Sunday the 15th’s frost myself and the girls went out to get them.
Recipe
Sloe Berries
Gin
Sugar
It really couldn’t be simpler, the note on the right is from my original recipe and it was very very sweet and this year I made a smaller batch so the amounts were revised down. In each sterilised demijohn I added 2 litres of gin, 500 grams of sloe berries and 250 grams of sugar. Once the cork is placed on you will need to give the mix and very good shake to agitate the sugar and help it along in dissolving, and you will need to do this over the next few days until the sugar has more or less dissolved, you will see quite a big colour change across those first few days and then will need to leave the Gin for 3 months somewhere dark before sieving of and bottling!
Other recipes suggest using brown or caster sugar for different flavours, and also to prick every single sloe once picked to help break down the berries, I personally don’t see the point as not only will it take forever when you pick the berry the stalk is removed and that leaves a hole and often a rip in the berry to help fermentation.
A short video on how I do it!