Help making sloe gin.

Crete to Lesvos and back is one hell of a day trip by boat! Even Santorini is a trek and that's only about 1/2 way to Lesvos.
 
Nod said:
Crete to Lesvos and back is one hell of a day trip by boat! Even Santorini is a trek and that's only about 1/2 way to Lesvos.
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TBH I can't remember, it was quite a few years ago, I just remember staying in Crete, and going on a day trip to a Monastery where they made Raki, Cinnamon was one, can't remember what else
( I hate Cinnamon) and it was there that them thar Monks told me about it being made from the left overs from Ouzo.
As I said before, also, I doubt that a Monk would lie ;)
 
I don't! Although it's the Catholic ones that seem to be at it more than the Greek Orthodox ones! Raki (as in the non-aniseedy one) is pretty much Cretan rather than Greek (although there are probably analogues in other parts!) so you were probably in a Cretan monastery and there are bleedin' 'undreds of THEM! Most seem to sell their own plonk and/or olive oil and often house monks and nuns... More fun than monks and choirboys!
 
So back to sloe Gin, I found a mother load of Sloe's as I was going to visit a customer in Cambs today,
and it would have been extremely rude of me not to go back that way ;)
They were smaller than previous years but definitely ripe :)

And an added bonus too 3 ladybirds / Kg :D
Now relocated near to my "insect shelter" in the garden.

Tomorrow will see me visiting a well known supermarket for 3L of their own make gin,
a 5L bottle of water for a quid, pour water down sink, demi-john for a quid
Can't say fairer than than now can I? :thumbs:
 
Seen 2 people picking sloes today but both were in mobility scooters, so plenty of the bitter little plums left above 4' above ground level! Brave people though - had to run the gauntlet down the long 8th... Luckily for them, we were heading up the almost as long 7th so they were out of range by the time they might have been in the line of fire!

Does seem a bit early to be picking, I can remember picking them as a kid but having to wait until after the first frost for some reason. I can't stand the smell of Gin so don't make it myself (and we don't really drink much these days anyway!)
 
Nod said:
Does seem a bit early to be picking,
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One very good tip, sod the frosts & pick when ripe and they are ripe ;)
Besides what happens on the odd occasional year when there is no frost?
Do people not make sloe gin? :p
Nod said:
I can't stand the smell of Gin so don't make it myself
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I can't stand the taste of gin either, but sloe gin tastes or smells nothing like gin.

If you like a nice liqueur the longer you leave it, the better
( the last lot @ 4 years old, was just about getting near its use by date though ;) )
 
They're ripe around these parts (Derby). Not had any frost yet. Made some last year and it was fine so I may have another go this year, though it'll not really be ready for Christmas I've got some Blackberry rum on the go for then! (White rum muscavado sugar and blackberries.)
 
Graham W said:
though it'll not really be ready for Christmas
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I may just get away with it, it might be ready for the odd sample, but what the hell Christmas is only one day,
2016 contains 366 days (y)

edit I never bother freezing mine either I just stick my thumbnail in the skin as they go in the "jar"
 
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Cobra said:
One very good tip, sod the frosts & pick when ripe and they are ripe ;)
Besides what happens on the odd occasional year when there is no frost?
Do people not make sloe gin? :p

I can't stand the taste of gin either, but sloe gin tastes or smells nothing like gin.

If you like a nice liqueur the longer you leave it, the better
( the last lot @ 4 years old, was just about getting near its use by date though ;) )
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The smell of gin makes me almost gag, so just decanting it onto the sloes in a demi-john would be too unpleasant! If we were more boozy, I suppose we could do vodka but since we're not, we won't!

If it's getting old, the best thing to do is put it out of its misery... :beer: (Big glass deliberate!!!)
 
:wacky: :D
 
I may have to collect more sloes soon - we have already had 2 frosty mornings in the Cherwell valley last week.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I may have to collect more sloes soon - we have already had 2 frosty mornings in the Cherwell valley last week.
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Blimey, you are not that far from me, keep them (frosts) over there in that case, I still have passion flowers & fruit on the vine :p
 
Getting chilly here too - had to put a T-shirt on under the polo shirt on Tuesday and even had a fleece on for the first few holes today. First time the car's climate control has pumped out hot air this autumn too.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Still got Passiflorae though.
 
I make sloe gin every year, the sloes have been out for ages here in south Lincs.

After the sloes have been soaked in the gin for the recommended time, remove them and remove the stones. Yes this is fiddly and takes an age that's why I get OH to do it ☺️ Make up a batch of flapjack mixture and add the bits of sloes to this. Trust me these are delicious, almost as good as the sloe gin:)
 
That's 3kg of sloes taking a long gin bath as of last night :thumbs:
 
6 litres of Gin? Better go on a booze cruise!!! (Going by the BBC's recipe - 1 litre Gin : 500g Sloes.)
 
Nod said:
6 litres of Gin? Better go on a booze cruise!!! (Going by the BBC's recipe - 1 litre Gin : 500g Sloes.)
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I always use 1:1:1

It has always worked well and is very much a liqueur.
 
Have to admit that that recipe seemed a bit pink rather than the deeper purple.

Enjoy!!!
 
Make an extra couple of litres to tide you over next year!
 
Nod said:
Make an extra couple of litres to tide you over next year!
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I don't drink that much of it TBH and circa 3L will last a few years, the last batch lasted 4 years.

Its great in a hip flask for the odd nip here and there when out hunting with the birds (Its a winter sport) ;)
 
Gremlin said:
It's the damn Gin I can't stand :puke:
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The strange thing is, nor can I!
It tastes nothing like gin, once the sloes have worked their magic.
(and they taste pretty disgusting too)

I'll bring a hip flask to the Nutters meet if you are coming this year, and you can give it a try ;)
 
I can't stand gin either! can't bear the smell either. Sloe gin neither smells nor tastes of gin and agree with Cobra, it's great to warm you up on cold days/evenings,
 
Well that tasted pretty disgusting!

Normally when I make Sloe Gin, 1L Gin, 1Kg Sloe's & 1Kg of sugar all goes in together at the start.
Its been suggested that by leaving the sugar out for a couple of weeks helps to increase the alcohol % from the sugar in the sloes,
adding sugar at the start stifles this process.
Not sure on that theory, but it does seem sound.
So I thought I'd try it.

I just had a "thimble" of the gin mix. It tasted like neat alcohol to me!
So I guess its working :D
 
It will make no difference: no alcohol is being created because there is no fermentation (too much alcohol present for normal fermentation) and no alcohol is being lost either after the sugar is added. The alcohol will be diluted by the volume of sugar dissolved in the gin, plus any juice that may be drawn from the berries by the alcohol and sugar: if alcohol was more important than sweetness then you could increase the alcohol level by reducing the amount of sugar added.
 
IIRC, Mum used to prick the sloes then toss them in sugar to coat them to help draw the juice out for a day or 2 before adding the gin. Then left to steep for a few months before being sweetened to taste in summer then being left again to mature. Of course, that was 30+ years ago so IMWNRC!!!
 
ancient_mariner said:
if alcohol was more important than sweetness then you could increase the alcohol level by reducing the amount of sugar added.
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I'm going for the sweet liqueur taste, can't stand gin on its own :D
It still tasted like IMS though :D
 
Have you ever tasted idustrial methylated spirit? (actually I know the answer to that ;) )
 
ancient_mariner said:
Have you ever tasted idustrial methylated spirit? (actually I know the answer to that ;) )
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Indeed I have don't ask :D

Actually it was part of an entry procedure where we had to dip our hands in it.
It would have been wrong not to lick my fingers in the interest of science wouldn't it?
:D
 
Is the industrial variety laced with Bitrex?
 
Nod said:
Is the industrial variety laced with Bitrex?
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It never used to be, but that was a lot of years ago, you probably can't even put your bare hands in it any more due to some EU reg.

edit, its tastes a lot like Raki too :D
 
No, because for most uses you do not want additional compounds present. IMS has been mostly replaced in my industry with isopropyl alcohol, which is generally considered both safer and undrinkable. It even smells nice.
 
Cobra said:
It never used to be, but that was a lot of years ago, you probably can't even put your bare hands in it any more due to some EU reg.

edit, its tastes a lot like Raki too :D
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Delicious then (if from the right source...)
 
Nod said:
Delicious
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That's certainly not the word I'd use, more like my 52 submission for this week "Fire water"
 
I'll admit that it's an acquired taste but most of them are delicious! Hard to buy the best of them but if they like you, you might end up with a plastic litre bottle being given to you. 18 years of consumption hasn't made us blind. Yet!!!
 
Nod said:
Hard to buy the best of them
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The couple of times I've been to Crete, there was always a (free) small vinaigrette type flask on the table, after the meal as a digestive.
It would have been rude not to drink it though :D
 
Yup, that's the usual dose! Often a small Ploumari ouzo bottle and they're 200ml. Great in the evenings but I'm usually driving at lunchtime, although there are a couple of tavernas that give an especially nice one so I'll walk to them (about 4km along the beach) and get the bus back for a siesta. Mrs Nod always tells me I don't HAVE to finish the flask/bottle but I always feel that it's rude to leave any!

As I understand it, the French and Italian equivalents often give a nasty hangover while the Cretan stuff doesn't (or at least the homebrewed stuff doesn't!) because while the recipe is basically the same, the French and Italians use a lot of chemicals on their vines but the Cretans use none (they can't afford them.) Not experimented with Marc or Grappa since we don't holiday there - happy with Raki!
 
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