Friday 18 September 2009

Sloes, Damsons and Gin!

I'm told it is a good year for damsons and sloes so that being the case, mother and I went into the orchard to pick some and decided, instead of making pies and jam we'd go down the alcoholic route and make some sloe (and damson) gin.

Damsons in abundance.
I had the task of picking the fiddly little sloes in the hedge while mother...

... had the relatively easy task of picking the damsons off the tree!

Don't they look lovely in their basket.

To make sloe gin you need to weigh out half a pound of sloes.

Buy some cheap gin - supermarket own brand will do and then drink half of it (not all at once)!

Prick the sloes or damsons with a knife and then put into an empty bottle.

Add four ounces of sugar.

Then add the half bottle of gin. Give it a good shake.

Then leave it for a few months to mature, shaking it every day for two weeks. After three or four months you can decant it into clean bottles and start drinking. Cheers!

22 comments:

  1. I've always wondered how it was made. Great to see the pics. Have a lovely weekend. x

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  2. I love sloe gin! Thanks for letting us know how to make it...XXX

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  3. What a great harvest!
    Have a lovely weekend (and friendly weather I hope!)

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  4. Aah.. One of my favourite past times. The sloes nearby are already past their best so am looking elsewhere this weekend as I would love to make sloe gin. Yours look fantastic. Love the idea of the damsons going in too.
    Have a great weekend
    Isabelle x

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  5. You had wonderful harvest! Surely they will become good recaliquor.

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  6. Well this was a fun post! Let's make some alcohol! I had heard of a drink called a sloe gin fizz, but I had to google what damsons and sloes are! It looks like it's going to be yummy. Please have a generous portion, for me, and CHEERS!

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  7. I love the colours of the damsons and sloes - how lucky you are to have them in your garden. Thanks for showing us how the sloe gin is made - it looks a lot easier than I had imagined:)

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  8. what happy memories this brought back, I remember my Granny making alcohol from berries from her garden. Have a lovely weekend, Catherine x

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  9. Hello, Susie,
    This was all new to me but very interesting! Thank you for sharing. Cheers to you, too. Vicki

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  10. I´ve never tried a sloe gin but did some cherries with "pisco" a national liquour, also made at home, it was so good as I believe yours is going to be.
    cheers!!

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  11. Darling, thank you, thank you for posting this recipe. My mum made all sorts of berry gins. I always wondered about the correct amounts to add and now I know.

    Cheers

    Duchess xoxoxo

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  12. Well thanks for telling us how it is made - I never knew ! I adore damsons

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  13. mmmm...pour me a glass!Your very good health.

    Bellaboo

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  14. well now...that is very neat indeed! Never seen it being made...but enjoyed it very much!

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  15. That sounds like it would be a lovely drink. My Mum used to make liqueur sometimes, mostly creme de menthe.

    Your blog is lovely and I'll be back to explore.

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  16. Hi Susie, this looks great!

    Barb ♥

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  17. Darling, you will be proud of me, I tried your
    mum's damsons/gin recipe. I have three bottles all ready to get vintagy delicious. Thank you darling for sharing.

    Love & Hugs
    Duchess

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  18. Dear Duchess,
    I'm so pleased to see you've made some sloe gin. I hope you enjoy drinking it as much as you enjoyed making it.
    Susie

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  19. Darling, I came by to you a lovely and sunny weekend.

    Love & Hugs
    Duchess

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  20. Hi Susie, thanks for your greetings! WOW the bathroom is going to be divine! the bath looks great, looking forward to seeing iy unfold. We had a sloe gin/damson vodka making session here down the lane before I went off on my jollys, will crack it open at Christmas, hiccup!
    Sarah x

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  21. How clever, I love it. I make Kahlua with vodka. The holidays or hurricanes (none this year) are great with coffee and Kahlua or even a White Russian. Blessings, Janet

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  22. Thanks for the tutorial on homemade Sloe/damson gin...I had forgotten about that...We used to make a white grape juice for the kids when we lived on the farm... same steps, this grown-up version sounds more fun!!! xoxo~Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings...

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