{"id":6536,"date":"2016-10-20T17:19:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T16:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gousto.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6536"},"modified":"2019-03-20T12:16:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T12:16:05","slug":"how-to-make-sloe-gin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gousto.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-make-sloe-gin","title":{"rendered":"How To Make Sloe Gin"},"content":{"rendered":"

October to December is prime time\u00a0for picking sloe berries in the UK. These big berries have an unintentionally apt name – while\u00a0it’s\u00a0a really simple process to make sloe gin, it takes quite a long time for sloe berries to break down and\u00a0make\u00a0the syrupy ruby-purple goodness that is sloe gin.\u00a0You’ll need to wait at least 3 months until your sloe gin is ready – though\u00a0many say the longer you leave it the better it tastes – so leave it for a year or more if you can resist cracking into it for longer!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6 Steps to Sloe Gin Heaven
\nYou’ll need: 1 bottle of gin\u00a0per 500g (approx.) of sloes and some sugar<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong>\u00a0Know your sloes!\u00a0<\/span>Be<\/span>fore you get started\u00a0on making the stuff, you need to get your hands on some sloe berries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sloes are<\/span>\u00a0fruit from blackthorn trees, which are reasonably common throughout most of the United Kingdom. Traditionally, they’re best picked after the first frost, but with freezers and global warming (meaning the sloes may well not be ripe when the first frost arrives) this isn’t really that relevant these days. Make sure they’re the right berries (pierce the skin on one – they should have a green flesh inside, and will taste bitter as hell!), then fill your pockets!<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:\u00a0If foraging isn’t for you, or you’re too busy to bush hunt, you\u00a0can just buy some online…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Pop your sloes\u00a0in the freezer overnight –\u00a0this\u00a0makes the skins burst and helps with\u00a0releasing their flavour<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Remove the sloes\u00a0from the freezer\u00a0and allow them to defrost, then prick each sloe a few times – this completes the process above and\u00a0will make them start to leak<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip: To save time, slice each sloe with a knife instead<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> Add\u00a0your sloes to\u00a0a\u00a0sealable\u00a0jar along\u00a0with\u00a0good quality gin and leave<\/span>\u00a0to steep in a dark place for at least 3<\/em> months<\/em>,\u00a0giving the jar a shake every few days<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip: Instead of adding sugar at this point, we recommend waiting until the sloe berries have steeped. This\u00a0allows you to adjust the sweetness to taste later on, and also lets the gin draw the natural sugars from the sloes themselves<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0<\/strong>When you’re happy that it’s fully steeped – we’d recommend waiting a year if you can face it –\u00a0make a simple syrup by heating equal parts water and sugar in a pan over a low heat until the sugar crystals have dissolved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6<\/strong>. Add the syrup\u00a0to your unsweetened sloe gin a little at a time, stirring and tasting as you go, until you’ve reach a sweetness that suits your taste.\u00a0When you’re happy,\u00a0strain your sloe gin through muslin into bottles and enjoy\u00a0at your leisure!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The art of making\u00a0sloe gin is full of tradition, so there’s loads of varying techniques and personal touches people add, from including crushed almonds to pricking the berries with silver needles. If your favourite way of making sloe gin is a little different to ours, let us know in the comments!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October to December is prime time\u00a0for picking sloe berries in the UK. These big berries have an unintentionally apt name – while\u00a0it’s\u00a0a really simple process to make sloe gin, it takes quite a long time for sloe berries to break down and\u00a0make\u00a0the syrupy ruby-purple goodness that is sloe gin.\u00a0You’ll need to wait at least 3 … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “How To Make Sloe Gin”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[531,530],"tags":[52,234,275,488,517],"class_list":["post-6536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-to-cook","category-drinks-recipes","tag-autumn","tag-how-to","tag-local-food","tag-winter-recipes","tag-booze"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/gousto.gurucloud.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Blog-banner-680x500-Sloe-Gin.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Will","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gousto.co.uk\/blog\/author\/will"},"yoast_head":"\nHow To Make Sloe Gin | Gousto Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Making sloe gin is really very simple and everyone's approach is slightly different. 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