Here we go,
On the 11th of September I opened the crammed freezer's door and finally had enough. Not enough space in the freezer for elderberries which I hoped to pick imminently. A problem neededing a solution fast. What's that I see, a couple of kilo's of sloes generously given to me. Time to make the Sloe Imbibements then. 3 versions, all very simple.
Recipes
Sloe Rum
150g Raw Cane Sugar
600ml Dark Rum (Sainsbury's Basics, Cheers Jon W, nice tip)
500ml Washed frozen and defrosted Sloes.
Sloe Vodka
125g Caster Sugar300ml Vodka (Sainsbury's basics)
400ml Sloes (as above)
Sloe Gin 1
125g White Sugar350ml Dry Gin (Sainsbury's London)
350ml Sloes (as above)
Sloe Gin2
125g Raw Cane Sugar350ml Dry Gin (Sainsbury's London)
350ml Sloes (as above)
Method
Dead simple, wash, freeze and thaw the sloes. Now you don't need to prick them all individually. Pour them into an empty bottle. Add the sugar. Now fill up with your chosen spirit. Shake to dissolve the sugar, tyhen for the next 1-2 weeks shake daily. After that once a week for a couple or 3 weeks. Then leave it alone 'til xmas and enjoy. If you can leave it for a year it'll be worth it. If you forget you ever had it and find it after 7-10 years then lucky you!
Hi. Picked a few sloes this weekend although not many about and i'm wondering if they've been affected by the poor summer like the apples have. I wondered what difference you got between to two varieties of sugar in your sloe gins? I was thinking of doing some but fermenting the sloes first and i wondered if you'd tried it that way? Been reading your blog for a few weeks now since i first started making wine. I like your ideas and the recipes sound good but often the scales are too big for me so i have to find recipes for smaller batches but i still read yours for variations and tips on techniques etc. Got elderberry and blackberry in the DJ at the mo and about to do a second run on the pulp since reading your blog. lets have some new posts! Rachel
ReplyDeletehi Rachel
ReplyDeletethanks for your comment, especially because it jogs my memory to give a feedback on these delights ...
first of all i noticed little difference between using two varieties of sugar, all were delicious. Tho i did make an effort to keep these recipes very simple and uncomplicated so that comparison would be easy. And i think i would change nothing. I'd probably use a genuine unrefined sugar (rather than a white sugar with caramel added for colour).
I've noticed some good looking sloes (in abundance) near to my place, but have also heard plenty of folk talking about a bad year for apples. i guess that on average it's a poor year, not surprising given the weather this summer. But it also seems to me that casting your net a little wider means that you'll find the good stuff is out there too.
All the recipes on my blog will scale up or down depending on how much or little you want to make. Just get your calculator out. The only thing to watch out for if making smaller quantities is that you do on-the-pulp fermentation in a suitable vessel. trying to do primary or secondary on the pulp fermentation in a 1 gallon demijohn is tricky for obvious reasons! If you can stock up on demijohns and get a couple of 5 gallon vessels then you won't regret it.
If this is not practical then you have my sympathy cos i'd love to brew more but space doesn't permit. If you like the quickie wine recipes then keeping the gravity lowish (1070-1080 max) and using only 2 litres of juice per gallon of wine is the way to go. Friends have made these in single gallon batches and been delighted.
More recipes ... ok ok, i only one to add, but it's been a couple of weeks since i started so i'll get on it right away ;-)
it's blackberry and elderberry, which won't be much help to you as you've just made a similar one. And, worst of all i missed the window of opportunity to do a second run on the pulp. But seeing that you're doing one gives me a warm feeling inside that makes up me missing out.
Many thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences and questions.