How To Make Sloe Gin

Autumn is the perfect time to begin preparing your sloe gin for the upcoming party season. Now is the time for picking sloes as they are ripe this time of year! Sloe gin is a British classic drink, it seems over the decades that it may of been slightly forgotten about, however in recent years it has reappeared and is becoming a staple drink throughout the colder months.

Preparation

First and Foremost, you need to get all your ingredients ready to begin your sloe gin. You need to pick your sloes and find the perfect bottle to store your sloe gin in. There are only 3 ingredients needed which are:

500g sloes

250g of sugar

1L of gin

It is fairly simple to create the perfect sloe gin, especially during the preparation process. The steps are as follows:

1. Sterilise your bottle.

2. Place the sloes in the freezer overnight.

3. Put the frozen sloes, gin and sugar into the bottle.

4. Shake the bottle for around a minute.

Let it brew

In order to brew the sloe gin properly, you need to lay it on its side in a dark room or cupboard.

Shake the bottle every 2 days until the sugar is dissolved.

Usually the gin will be ready after about 3 months, however the longer you leave it, the better it will taste! After about 6 months, the sloes need to be filtered out.

Have a little taste of your sloe gin every few months whilst it is brewing as it will highlight whether you need any more sugar adding to give it a sweeter taste.

The finished product

When your gin is ready to drink, strain the bottle through some muslin or a jelly bag.

A lot of people like to keep their sloe gin in a traditional bottle with a brown label around it to give it the ultimate home brew look. Also, this could be the perfect Christmas gift!

Sloe gin tastes best when its stored at room temperature and can be simply served in a short glass.

Cocktails

If you are throwing any Christmas party’s this year and you are looking to impress your guests with some delicious cocktails – sloe gin is the perfect main ingredient!

One of the most popular cocktails is a Sloe Gin Fizz. You can serve this in a champagne glass, with around 25ml of sloe gin, then fill it up with dry sparkling champagne and place a few blackberries on the top.

A Sloe Gin Collins is put together the same way as a traditional Tom Collins cocktail. You pour around 35ml of sloe gin, 25ml of lemon juice and 100ml of soda water over ice in a high ball glass then serve with a lemon wedge.

The Southwold Slammer is made with 35ml of amaretto, 35ml of Sloe Gin, 100ml of orange juice and 25ml of cranberry juice, served over crushed ice in a highball glass.

Sloe Gin is the perfect home made drink either to be served as a short or cocktail. The main benefit of Sloe Gin is that there are only 3 ingredients needed and it takes little time to brew it, you basically just need to leave it in the cupboard! Sloe Gin is a party favourite and can also double up as a gift.

Published October 13th, 2015 by Jordan. Article ref 4049

Tags: sloe gin

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