John Boy Saint Posted 1 December, 2011 Share Posted 1 December, 2011 I have read that the limit is about a year, otherwise a trace of the cyanide begins to leak out of the stones making it sour. ............. Oooo-er that reminds me I have a jar that is just over a year in the cupboard so best decant it. The last lot I had on the stew for a year was chuffin lethal: when you can't taste or feel the burn of 80 proof neat Vodka from the next production after having just had a shot of a well matured Sloe Gin you know it's a little bit naughty!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Tone Posted 2 December, 2011 Share Posted 2 December, 2011 I have read that the limit is about a year, otherwise a trace of the cyanide begins to leak out of the stones making it sour. ............. Oooo-er that reminds me I have a jar that is just over a year in the cupboard so best decant it. The last lot I had on the stew for a year was chuffin lethal: when you can't taste or feel the burn of 80 proof neat Vodka from the next production after having just had a shot of a well matured Sloe Gin you know it's a little bit naughty!! That does tend to focus the attention somewhat! But I take it that for now I can just leave this year's batch(es) until we want to drink it, then strain/decant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribbo Posted 17 August, 2012 Share Posted 17 August, 2012 Im all about bumping old threads today, hows everyones Sloe Gin plans doing this year? my bush/tree/monster has berries but they dont look ripe yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor_Saint Posted 17 August, 2012 Share Posted 17 August, 2012 lol very timely. Off to the neighbours tonight and just syphoning off a 1.5 litre bottle to take with us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheaf Saint Posted 7 October, 2012 Share Posted 7 October, 2012 Pickings are very slim round my way this year. Went out foraging this morning and found loads of Blackthorn but very few actual berries. The two trees I normally go to, which have yielded far more berries than I need in recent years, are practically bare. And it's not because somebody has already had them either. Must be a result of the crap summer we had. Still, it's a good thing I found a bumper load of damsons a month or so ago. I tried a little of the 2 litres I made the other day and it's great stuff already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Saint Posted 17 October, 2012 Share Posted 17 October, 2012 Just found the "lost" bottle from last year, at the back of the sink cupboard. Must have put there when pie eyed, to hide it from my brother. Just had a glass - mother of god, my tonsils have just dissolved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Tone Posted 18 October, 2012 Share Posted 18 October, 2012 Picked a pitiful few sloes last weekend, and just started of this year's lot after leaving them a few days in the freezer. Hardly any berries around at all. No apples from our trees, only a handful of (outdoor) tomatoes ripe before the plants died off, only about a quarter of the usual yield of courgettes, etc. It was the sort of summer that would have caused a major famine in earlier times, and still would in some countries. God knows how birds and other wildlife will survive this autumn with so little to eat. (Though we seem to be feeding a very cunning wood mouse in our kitchen!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 5 October, 2013 Share Posted 5 October, 2013 How's the 2013 Sloe harvest been this year ? Just completed the dog walk and come back 4lb of sloes better off !! My recollection from years gone by is to bottle after about 2-3 months, keep and drink next year ! Others on here seem to drink after two months, what's the consensus amongst the Saints Web wine circle ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Gotsmanov Posted 5 October, 2013 Share Posted 5 October, 2013 (edited) There have been better years but there are still some about. I think you can drink after three months but you are better to wait for longer. Other suggestions are always welcome - I put raspberries in and that seemed to deliver Edited 5 October, 2013 by Sergei Gotsmanov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 5 October, 2013 Share Posted 5 October, 2013 There have been better years but there are still some about. I think you can drink after three months but you are better to wait for longer. Other suggestions are always welcome - I put raspberries in and that seemed to deliver You surprise me with that to be honest, we still have a bit of a glut up here in Gloucestershire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheaf Saint Posted 5 October, 2013 Share Posted 5 October, 2013 Been a bumper crop round my way this year. Already got a 3L load on the go and fully intend to go and find some more tomorrow. I've also made some blackberry vodka and cherry brandy from wild fruit so far this year. The cherries were ripe and ready in july so that's bottled already, and very tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 5 October, 2013 Share Posted 5 October, 2013 Been a bumper crop round my way this year. Already got a 3L load on the go and fully intend to go and find some more tomorrow. I've also made some blackberry vodka and cherry brandy from wild fruit so far this year. The cherries were ripe and ready in july so that's bottled already, and very tasty. Interesting. We have a bit of a surplus of those blackberry bastards this year. Can you advise on quantities, methods etc please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Gotsmanov Posted 6 October, 2013 Share Posted 6 October, 2013 You surprise me with that to be honest, we still have a bit of a glut up here in Gloucestershire. I might need to correct my assessment after today - but some bushes have not delivered. Nature is a funny thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheaf Saint Posted 6 October, 2013 Share Posted 6 October, 2013 (edited) Interesting. We have a bit of a surplus of those blackberry bastards this year. Can you advise on quantities, methods etc please? I make it with pretty much the same fruit/booze/sugar ratio as sloe gin. Fill your bottle up to a bit less than half with blackberries, fill to near the top with vodka and then add as much sugar as you prefer but make sure you don't overdo it. If you don't put enough sugar in you can always add more after it has brewed and been bottled, but obviously you can't take some out if you have added too much. Edited 6 October, 2013 by Sheaf Saint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor_Saint Posted 17 October, 2015 Share Posted 17 October, 2015 The first batch is now fermenting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upwind Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Got my plum rum on the go at the moment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so22saint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 2 litres of Blackberry vodka made (and I basically made a blackberry jelly without the pectin and added vodka), and I've just picked a kilo of sloes from King Sombourne area - they were nearly the size of grapes. Now in the freezer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Saint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 I have had Black Cherries sat soaking in Brandy since August: Obscene on Ice Cream Need to go and get some Sloes this weekend and get them going. Anyone got an apple brew up their sleeve, that isn't Cider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suewhistle Posted 22 October, 2015 Share Posted 22 October, 2015 This has just reminded me to go and give my two bottles of sloes a shake. Picked a few weeks ago, but King Sombourne is quite far north... I've got some more in the freezer but not enough for another bottle: perhaps I could make sloe and blackberry, as I've got those in the freezer. I've also got a bottle of 95% genepi under the stairs which I should really dilute and bottle.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so22saint Posted 24 October, 2015 Share Posted 24 October, 2015 This has just reminded me to go and give my two bottles of sloes a shake. Picked a few weeks ago, but King Sombourne is quite far north... I've got some more in the freezer but not enough for another bottle: perhaps I could make sloe and blackberry, as I've got those in the freezer. I've also got a bottle of 95% genepi under the stairs which I should really dilute and bottle.. There's normally a load sloes by the river at Eling - down the cutway at the end of Downs Park Crescent then turn left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suewhistle Posted 24 October, 2015 Share Posted 24 October, 2015 This board is a mine of information! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuz Posted 29 September, 2020 Share Posted 29 September, 2020 Insane year for Sloes this year. We were picking ripe ones at the end of August. Still plenty around near us but with 3 litres of Slow Gin now brewing not sure how much more we can make... Anyone else experienced this bumper harvest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Corbyn Posted 29 September, 2020 Share Posted 29 September, 2020 Planning on making Sloe Gin for the first time this year, just need to find some bushes around Croydon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suewhistle Posted 29 September, 2020 Share Posted 29 September, 2020 Haven't picked any sloes this year but my new allotment has a damson which was laden, so I've damson liqueur on the go, using the last bottles of 95% alcohol which I get in Italian supermarkets. I'm guessing that won't be possible next year, although I've yet to see any regulations on personal importation of alcohol. Three months to go and still all up in the air.. I've also got cherry and redcurrant bottles lurking under the stairs. Perhaps strong enough to kill any little lurking virus in the throat or nasal passages, but undiluted would probably remove stomach lining as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 29 September, 2020 Share Posted 29 September, 2020 Haven't used this recipe / what not to guide yet but looks good https://sipsmith.com/how-to-make-the-perfect-sloe-gin/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 29 September, 2020 Share Posted 29 September, 2020 35 minutes ago, suewhistle said: Haven't picked any sloes this year but my new allotment has a damson which was laden, so I've damson liqueur on the go, Sloes and damsons are part of the same family apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Saint Posted 19 October, 2020 Share Posted 19 October, 2020 Stood on the 11th Tee of the local golf course the other day with my Nephew not long moved here from South Africa, when the dusty blue hue from the bushes caught my attention "blimey just look at all of those Sloes there's flipping loads", confused he was "whats? where?" then spent the rest of the hole explaining the mystical art of Sloe Gin and Vodka. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suewhistle Posted 20 October, 2020 Share Posted 20 October, 2020 Don't explain, demonstrate!:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuz Posted 11 November, 2020 Share Posted 11 November, 2020 On 29/09/2020 at 14:33, buctootim said: Haven't used this recipe / what not to guide yet but looks good https://sipsmith.com/how-to-make-the-perfect-sloe-gin/ Its a decent recipe that one. The important thing being not to add sugar until you tasted the finished product and found out how much you need to add... Lots of people brew with the sugar it which in my view is a mistake as it doesn't need much, if any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Gotsmanov Posted 11 November, 2020 Share Posted 11 November, 2020 1 hour ago, chuz said: Its a decent recipe that one. The important thing being not to add sugar until you tasted the finished product and found out how much you need to add... Lots of people brew with the sugar it which in my view is a mistake as it doesn't need much, if any If you switch the sugar for raspberries it is less sickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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