Sloe Gin and Sloe Vodka

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We made sloe gin and sloe vodka last year for the first time....the weather had been so bad, that there were virtually no berries, and what was there was small and shrivelled...we went collecting one sunday with some friends.  We had to walk for miles to find enough.  It was a real competition to find enough accessible ripe berries to fill our containers.

After this years amazing summer, not a problem.  We didnt have to venture past the end of our path.......the tree there was literally groaning with fruit.

I had planned to make several batches of vodka and gin this weekend, but was elbowed out of the way by Mr PSGC.

He pushed me out of the kitchen and got to work....no matter.... I get to enjoy all the spoils without any of the work.

For both vodka and gin the recipe is pretty much the same:

Ingredients
450g (1lb) sloe berries
225g (8oz) caster sugar
1 litre gin or vodka.

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Wash and prick the berries, taking out all of the stalks.

Add the sugar, booze and berries to sterilized sealable bottles (wide mouthed sterilized canning jars work well as you dont need to squeeze berries down the neck of the bottle).

We only had the bottles the vodka and gin came in handy, plus a couple of extras for overflow.  Add the spirit, sugar and fruit to your bottle and shake well.

The bottles need to be shaken periodically over the next 2-3 days until the sugar has all dissolved.

Dont forget to name and date your booze.

Store in a dark room for at least 2 months, ideally 3.  Strain through a muslin, and decant the liqueur into nice bottles.  With a nice bottle and label, these make great gifts.

Once bottled, store for another month if you can wait that long. Adjust the sugar level with sugar syrup if needed.