There’s no simpler ratio of effort to reward in foraging. You pick the berries, you stick the berries, then you put them in a jar with gin and sugar, and you wait. A few months later and you’ve got a classy bottle of booze that will gift well and drink well.
Makes: 700ml – 1 litre (depending on the size of your bottle of gin)
Prep: 30 mins and at least 6 months.
Keeps: As long as it remains undrunk
Ingredients
- 500g ripe sloes
- Gin – get a litre if you can, 700ml or more will do though- just get the cheap stuff
- Caster sugar 200–250g, or to taste
Equipment
- 1.5 litre sterilised jar and bottle(s)
- Cocktail stick or skewer
- Fine sieve or muslin cloth
- Sterilised bottle(s)
- Funnel
Freeze instead of pricking: you can freeze your sloes overnight before using them. It’s recommended if you pick before the first frost. The ice crystals break down the skin from the inside and saves you the job of pricking each one individually. Works just as well and takes about thirty seconds of effort.
Method
- If not freezing, prick each sloe several times with a cocktail stick or skewer. Get right through the skin. This lets the gin in and the juice out.
- Tip the sloes into a large jar or bottle. Add the sugar, then pour in the gin and close it up.
- Give it a good shake to start dissolving the sugar. Store the jar or bottle somewhere cool and dark.
- Shake the jar or bottle every day for the first week, then once a week for the following months. The colour will deepen from pink to a deep red as it matures.
- After a minimum of three months, or as close to Christmas as you can manage, strain through muslin into a jug, squeezing out as much liquid as possible.
- Taste it. If it needs more sweetness, dissolve a little extra sugar in warm water and stir in. If it’s too sweet, lesson learned- add less sugar next time.
- Decant into sterilised bottles (use a funnel. No really, get a funnel and make use of it, your kitchen will thank you). Label them with the date. Leave your sloe gin to age for as long as you can, or enjoy it immediately- I’m not your mum.
