sloe.biz site contents © copyright brian donnan

 

Find out how to make your own sloe gin - here, and also on the sloe.biz forum.
You only need sloes, sugar and gin. It really is that simple.
The great thing about using sloes in gin is that they are almost completely useless for anything else!

Go to our sloe.biz forum for tips,
and for answers to your questions

Show me a sloe

there's no biz like sloe.biz

Questions? Search for answers
on the FORUM!

Sloe Gin Recipe
Pick your sloes from blackthorn hedges in October or November when they are most ripe - probably after the first frosts.
Take a litre bottle of gin, and drink half a litre
Cut or prick the sloes and drop into the half-empty bottle so that they displace the remaining gin to near the top.
Add one wine goblet of sugar (approx 150g).
All you have to do now is turn or agitate the bottle daily for a week, then weekly for a month or two ... by which time it will be ready to drink (but it is really best kept until the next winter).
Want to know when to remove the sloes?
Why wait for first frosts?
What makes the best containers?
Go to the
sloe.biz forum
Essential ingredients: sloes, gin, sugar ... and an Ordnance Survey map for locating those small
lanes and paths! © photos Brian Donnan

The sloe.biz calendar calendar © brian donnan, sloe.biz
These calendar notes are based on Gloucestershire sloes. Expect wide variation from the warm south to the cold north - and during warmer/cooler seasons too.
January
 Celebrate New Year with your own sloe gin
February
 Sloe gin and champagne for Valentines Day
March
April		 Look out for the emergence of white blackthorn blossom in otherwise bare hegerows - and make note to return in the autumn for the sloes.
May If you haven't done so already, remove sloes from last year's bottles. There is no benefit from leaving them in the gin for more than 6 months. Decant sloe gin and store in cool dark place until required.
June
July		 Young sloes are very evident on blackthorn bushes if you look through all the leaves
August Sloes acquire their typical 'bloom' and look good - but DO NOT pick yet! Allow more ripening time for best results
September Make a bottle or two, but only if you must!
October October is probably the best time to pick your sloes (but can depend on location).Traditionally you would only pick after the first frosts of the year. Sloes bottled now can be ready for this Christmas and New Year
November Still a good month to make sloe gin, but a little bit late for this Christmas.
December

Christmas holidays are a good time start sampling the bottles you started in October. Christmas presents of your own sloe gin are also always much appreciated by friends!
  calendar © brian donnan, sloe.biz

The Gloucestershire Echo
featured sloe.biz
on 19 Aug 2004
See the page here

Photographer Cher Permaul earned herself a bottle of this year's sloe gin for this great photo of me - skillfully set up in just 30 seconds, against a glass door!
  © photo by Cher Permaul, Gloucestershire Echo

This bottle is four months old. The 1.7L cider flagon was half-filled with sloes (approx 700g), plus two wine goblets of sugar (approx 300g) - then topped-up with about a litre of gin.

Decant the liquor off between 3-6 months, then either drink or store until next winter.
The litre bottle on right has just had sugar added to the sloes and gin. The flagon on left is only a couple of hours old but has already aquired a good magenta colour.

Freezer Tips: There are many more useful tips on the FORUM
Don't confuse 'first frosts' with domestic freezers! Leaving the sloes on the bush until 'after the first frosts' is in my opinion entirely about allowing full ripening, and has nothing to do with any so-called benefits of freezing!
Freezing sloes at home will do them no harm, and many people actually think it is helpful.
If you do choose to freeze your sloes - to preserve an excess bag for another time, for example - then be sure to bottle them as quickly as possible after removing from the freezer bag! Frozen sloes quickly become covered in a frosty deposit of condensed water vapour ... and you should be careful not to allow too much of this to enter your pure gin!
Be careful to remove all the leaves and twigs etc from your bag of sloes before freezing ... otherwise you'll find them much more difficult and unpleasant to separate later.
there's no biz like sloe.biz
Frequently Asked Questions There are many more useful tips on the FORUM
The sloe.biz FORUM is packed with useful FAQs.
When to pick sloes?
What type of bottles?
How to clear sediment?
Can I add almond essence?
Where can I obtain sloes in Arizona?
... and many more queries ...
there's no biz like sloe.biz
The sloe.biz simple recipe is just that - very simple. Make sloe gin in the sloe.biz way, and you won't go wrong
The great thing about using sloes in gin is that they are almost completely useless for anything else!
Top of Page
sloe.biz site contents © copyright brian donnan