Making me own Sloe Gin

Tashyboy

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Nah then, at Royal Norwood, at the moment it is awash with ripe fruit. Plums were picked earlier today. Sloes are going to be picked tomorrow. Anyway I have bought 3 X kilner jars, and 3 X litres of award winning aldi gin.
However having had a look online at various recipes, there are several to choose from. But sugar in from the start or not. Any sloe and plum gin makers amongst us heathens and any advice to give. Cheers fellow Brewers.
 

ColchesterFC

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I made some blackberry vodka for Mrs Colch this year. Went out blackberry picking with the Colch juniors and then got a litre of Smirnoff. Poured half of it into a wine bottle and added the blackberries. Gave it a a good shake every couple of days and then filtered it through some muslin. It was fantastic either on its own or with lemonade. Next mission is to make some Skittles vodka as I've been told that is good as well.

As far as the OP goes, sorry, can't help.
 

Tashyboy

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I made some blackberry vodka for Mrs Colch this year. Went out blackberry picking with the Colch juniors and then got a litre of Smirnoff. Poured half of it into a wine bottle and added the blackberries. Gave it a a good shake every couple of days and then filtered it through some muslin. It was fantastic either on its own or with lemonade. Next mission is to make some Skittles vodka as I've been told that is good as well.

As far as the OP goes, sorry, can't help.
Skittles vodka, hmmmmm.
 

Rooter

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Note, if you make skittles vodka, remove the green skittles. They make it turn brown. Only use the brighter colours!
 

Mark_Aged_42

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I make sloe vodka. Very good flavour and colour. I use the River Cottage method, which is foolproof. One trick I use is to open freeze the sloes. It splits the skins, so allows more flavour out, and also make pouring them into the demi johns a doddle.
 

Tashyboy

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Am on with it now, 1 X plum gin done, 2 X bags of sloes in the freezer for bottle numbers 2 and 3, 450 g of plums and sloes for 4th batch. Off to shop for a load of strawberries to make a summer fruits gin which will be bottle number four. Might be lovely at er Xmas.
 

mikevet

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Keep it simple and avoid some of the complicated recipes:
To every standard bottle of gin add 1 lb of sloes and 6 ounces of sugar. Sugar is to personal taste really, but 8 ounces makes a sloe gin that can taste too sweet, and 4 ounces can be a little on the dry side. It helps to prick the sloes with a fork (or a clean wire dog brush) first, or freeze them and thaw them again to break up the skins a bit. Shake it up every day for the first week, then weekly. In a couple of months strain and bottle - keep as long as you can as it improves with age. You can buy some nice small bottles in Lakeland.
 

patricks148

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Not rocket Science, flavor spirit with what ever you like.. making the stuff from scratch would be fun. This is precisely what most producers are doing these days, why there's been a boom in Gins

Have thought of distilling my Cider/ Apple Juice, to make Apple Brandy, but not that much of a fan of Brandy TBH, so never bothered
 

Spear-Chucker

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Put the sugar in last to taste... make it into a syrup after steeping the sloes for a minimum of three months (I often leave em’ for a year!) - there’s a Sipsmith recipe online which is awesome. Piece of youknowwhat 👍
 

Tashyboy

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Put the sugar in last to taste... make it into a syrup after steeping the sloes for a minimum of three months (I often leave em’ for a year!) - there’s a Sipsmith recipe online which is awesome. Piece of youknowwhat 👍

I did come across the sipsmith recipe and was Suprised they put he sugar syrup in at the end. I have two batches of sloe gin to make tomorrow. I might put sugar in one and leave the syrup til the end on the other.
 
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