How to make sloe gin, a step by step guide to making the sweet-tart liqueur at home.
Sloe Gin is a liqueur that is the result of macerating sloes with dry gin and a little sugar. There are many delicious brands to buy such as Herno Sloe Gin, Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Sloe Gin and closer to home, McHenry Old English Sloe Gin but Sloe Gin is also one of the simplest liqueurs to make at home. All you need are ripe sloes, gin, sugar and time.
Sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn shrub and members of the plum family. They only grow in the cooler climates and are difficult to come by in Australia. The berries are very sour and astringent and once harvested, they need to be cleaned, dried then pricked before use. Freezing them overnight ruptures the sloes and removes the tedious task of having to prick each one.
This recipe for how to make sloe gin comes to us courtesy of friends in the United Kingdom where the blackthorn bush grows prolifically. The recommended ratio of sloe to sugar is 2:1 but it pays to use less sugar at the start then taste a month later and add more sugar if needed. Some recipes recommend macerating with blanched almonds, crushed almonds or almond essence which adds a nutty and marzipan-like note.
How to Make Sloe Gin
Ingredients
- 500 g ripe sloes, rinsed and dried
- 250 g white sugar
- 1 L dry gin
- 6 blanched almonds, or 1 tablespoon of crushed almonds or 6 drops of almond essence (optional)
Equipment You Need
- large resealable plastic bag
- large glass jar with lid
- funnel
- muslin cloth
- small swing top glass bottles
Method
- Place clean, ripe sloes in a large resealable plastic bag and freeze them overnight.
- The next day, take them out of the freezer to defrost. Place the sloes in the glass jar, add the gin and 3/4 of the sugar.
- Close the lid, give the jar a good shake and place it in a cool, dark spot.
- Shake the jar daily for one week and until all the sugar is dissolved then leave for approximately 2-3 months.
- After one month, taste for sweetness and add more sugar if required, shaking the jar daily until the sugar is dissolved.
- After 3 months, strain through a muslin cloth and bottle the sloe gin in swing top glass bottles.
- Store in a cool, dark cupboard and leave for the flavours to settle and develop.
Sloe Gin can be used in a variety of cocktails such as the Sloe Gin Martini, a Harry Craddock invention from the Savoy Cocktail book, The Blackthorn, Charlie Chaplin, Sloe Gin Spritz, and Sloe Gin Negroni.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons by Martin Olsson, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
