Sloe gin is a staple of many shoots up and down the country. The guns are served it during elevenses and beaters come armed with hip flasks full of it. But how do you make your very own batch of sloe gin?
The origins of sloe gin are entwined with the Land Enclosure Acts of the 17th Century. Landowners needed a way of enclosing their land and often looked to Blackthorn hedges to effectively do this. People soon realised that the tart berries of the Blackthorn were the perfect addition to gin.
Myths about Sloe Berries
There are many myths surrounding the production of sloe gin, the most commonly heard are that you need to pick the berries after the first frost, and the sloes must be pricked with either a thorn from the same tree, or with a silver needle.
Picking the sloes after the first frost is being increasingly difficult due to global warming affecting temperatures; it is best to pick the berries when they are ripe. The berries should be feel softer like a ripe plum and not hard like stones. If a few are rip then the res of them are ready to harvest.
Pricking the sloes with a thorn from the same tree is ineffective as the thorn soon dulls after the first few sloes, and I don’t happen to have a silver needle lying around.
It is best to freeze the sloes for a day or two. This will split the skin in a much more efficient way that a thorn or needle.
Adding sugar during the initial stage of production is also something you are often advised to do. This is fraught with danger as the sloes can vary wildly in taste. It is best to make a sugar syrup and add this after the sloes have been steeping in the gin and then removed. You will be able to sweeten the gin to taste this way.
Making Sloe Gin
- Harvest ripe sloes
- Freeze the sloes for a minimum of 24 hours
- Fill a bottle half-way with your frozen sloes
- Fill your bottle to the top with gin
- Seal or cork your bottle and leave for a minimum of 3 months in a dark cupboard. Turn the bottle every so often during this period.
- Sample your gin
- Strain out the sloes using a muslin-lined funnel placed in a bottle
- Add sugar syrup to taste (see below for recipe)
- Fill your hip flask and watch your popularity rise on the shoot!
Sugar Syrup
Make your sugar syrup by combining equal measures of sugar and water* in a saucepan over a low heat. Gently warm until the sugar dissolves and then allow it to cool. Slowly add the syrup to the gin, whilst constantly tasting, you can always add more sugar syrup but you can’t take it away if you accidentally add too much.
*You can vary the strength of the sloe gin by adjusting the ratios of sugar to water.
Where To Find Sloes
Sloes can be found in abundance in the hedgerows of the British countryside. However, if you live in an urban area or don’t fancy foraging in hedgerows you can find freshly picked sloes from Lincolnshire on eBay.
If all of the above sounds like too much work you can always buy Sloe Gin ready made from Sipsmith Gin and you may even get away with passing it off as your own…
