Recipe for: SLOE GIN (or other fruit flavours)
Ingredients:
- 1-2 lbs sloes, bullaces, damsons or plums (or
sour cherries)
- 6 oz sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 litre (or more) of (very cheap & nasty) gin
Method:
- wash the fruit, but no need to stone
- prick every fruit with a fork & place into a
clean demi-john
- add the sugar & vanilla extract
- cover with the gin
- stopper the demi-john with a bung or air-lock
- shake the demi-john vigorously until the sugar is
dissolved
- place demi-john in a cool dark place, label with
contents & date
- shake the contents every few days for the next 3
months
- when the liqueur is ready, remove the fruit
(depending on what it is, this can be eaten in small quantities as a VERY
boozy sweet with cream/ ice-cream/ yoghurt)
- filter the remaining contents through several
layers of muslin & a funnel into another demi-john. You may need to do this more than once,
until you have a fairly clearish liquid.
Try to let the liquid drain through itself, rather than squeezing,
as this will help to keep the liqueur clear rather than cloudy
- then decant again into sealable bottles.
- label the bottles
What else you need to
know:
- traditionally, the fruit is picked in August/ September when it s fairly ripe, and the resultant liqueur can be bottled in time for Christmas (sloes are best after a frost, but this is not vital)
- do not, under any circumstances, waste your money on expensive or good quality gin - it does not improve the end result one jot. The whole point is the sheer alchemy of changing a a "base" liquid into "gold"
- the liqueur will keep for years, and improves
after a year or two
- if a sediment forms in the bottom of the
bottle(s), it can be re-filtered & re-bottled
- fruits with a hard stone work the best. I’ve used apples, peaches, black-currants – they all work OK, but sloes are the very best
- you can also use the same recipe with cheap & nasty vodka
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