how to make sloe gin

2020 is the first year I experimented with sloes. The first year I made my own sloe gin.

It starts with finding a blackthorn hedge. If you can’t find a hedge in your neighbourhood, perhaps the foraging website mundraub.org can help

We found ours at Dippeldorfer Teich, close to a beautiful field of wild flowers

the ratio of sloes to gin is 450g to 1 litre

homemade sloe gin

1 l gin
450g sloes
225g sugar

Wash the sloes and seal in an airtight bag. Freeze overnight or until ready to make the gin. The freezing is necessary to split the skin, so if your berries have been exposed to frost outside, you can skip this step.

Put the frozen sloes into sterilized jars.

Add the gin, then the sugar onto the sloes. Their skins will split while thawing, which allows the flavours to merge.

Store the jars in a cool, dark place and shake them every other day for a week. Afterwards you only need to shake them once a week for the next 2 months.

the moment after combining the ingredients

another walk to the hedge in December to cut some twigs for the final sloe gin photo

The liquid should now be ruby red and ready for drinking.
Serve the sloe gin neat, over ice or drizzle over ice cream. You could even make a cocktail by adding a drop to champagne.