Sloe Gin
Season: September to October. This is undoubtedly the best-known of the English hedgerow liqueurs. The sloe, or blackthorn, is a small, black, mouth-puckering plum that is native to Britain plum will do. If your plums are quite sweet, reduce the amount of sugar, or try some of my other favorite variations on this theme (below). There is no reason why you cannot use vodka instead of gin.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 4 cups
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put the sloes into a large clean jar or bottle. Pour in the sugar, followed by the gin. Secure the container with the lid and give it a good shake to mix up the contents. Shake daily for the next week to prevent the sugar from settling on the bottom and to help release the sloe juice. Thereafter, shake and taste once a week for 8 to 10 weeks.
Step 2
When the sloes have instilled their flavor, pass the mixture through a fine sieve. Pour the strained liqueur into bottles.
Step 3
Ideally, you should store sloe gin for 18 months before drinking, so it pays to have a year’s batch in han. Ofd course, that’s not always possible–but do try and stash a bottle or two away to savor when it’s mature and mellow.
Step 4
And what to do with all those gin-soaked sloes? You can either eat them just as they are, or remove the pits and serve the fruit with ice cream or fold them into melted chocolate to make delectable petits fours.
VARIATIONS
Step 5
In each case, follow the method for sloe gin, but with the following quantities:
Damson gin
Step 6
Use 1 pound of damson plums, pricked, 1 cup of sugar, and 2 1/2 cups of gin.
Blackberry and apple gin
Step 7
Use 8 ounces of blackberries, 8 ounces of cooking apples (peeled and chopped), 1 cup of sugar, and 2 1/2 cups of gin.
Cherry ratafia
Step 8
Use 1 pound, 2 ounces of cherries, pricked, 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of eau-de-vie, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 3/4 cup of vanilla sugar.
Haw brandy
Step 9
Use 1 pound of hawthorn berries, 1 cup of sugar, and 2 1/2 cups of brandy.
