StillSmart

Hey Home brewers....

I bet most looked at the topic and steered clear....

Those who are reading it...

Tell me the best way to make sloe gin using still alco and gin essence...Ive had a few people asking if i can do it and would like to give it a shot.

Any help and info will be good..

cheers guys and galls

make 1ltr of gin with the essance then


Ingredients
450g/1lb sloes

225g/8oz caster sugar

1 litre/1¾ pint gin

Preparation method
1.Prick the tough skin of the sloes all over with a clean needle and put in a large sterilised jar.

2.Pour in the sugar and the gin, seal tightly and shake well.

3.Store in a cool, dark cupboard and shake every other day for a week. Then shake once a week for at least two months.

4.Strain the sloe gin through muslin into a sterilised bottle.

Cheers Billmcc...i'll give it a go

Many years ago I discovered a lazier way to do this,which forgoes the picking Sloes after the first frost and pricking with a pin.
Pick them,freeze them (24 hours is enough).
The recipe that works for me is 1/3rd bottle of frozen Sloes,1/3rd sugar and 1/3rd gin.
Leave as long as possible,10 years is not too long,but it is good after a few months.
A sure way to make a gin essence work with neutral.
But works pretty well with just a neutral.
Robert

My recipe was taken from the net then modded......
1 pint of gin, 1lb sloes and 8oz of sugar - optional cinnamon, clove, star anise......

That's too much sugar for me, 4oz was good but just a little sharp so I settled on 6 oz sugar.

freeze sloes for at least a week. Defrost then into DJ, 2lb/2 pint/12oz at a time, until the DJ is as full as you can get it. Some air space isn't an issue.

If you can leave it somewhere so you can give it a shake once a day or so thats good, but not necessary. The sugar will dissolve with time anyway.

in theory, it takes about 2 to 3 months but I usually just mix it up in autumn and leave it till the following autumn........

Great replies

And here was me thinking that someone was gonna say steep for a week or 2 and its ready...wow...didnt realise it t6ook so long....well here goes...if the drinkers want sloe gin then the drinkers can wait for good stuff.

thanks guys

I always used the recipe from the Sloe.Biz web site:
http://www.sloe.biz/pip/index.php

I always used frozen sloes. In fact I found some ten year old sloes in the bottom of my chest freezer. Made about 1 gallon. That was about 5 years ago.

It matures beautifully.

BTW Sloe biz do not support home distillation.