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How to make sloe gin
To make sloe gin, the sloe berries must be ripe. They were traditionally picked in late October or early November after the first frost of winter, although with spring now arriving earlier followed by warmer summers, the berries are now ripe by mid-September. A wide necked jar that can be sealed is needed. Prick each berry and half fill the wide necked jar with the pricked berries. Folklore has it that when making sloe gin, you shouldn't prick the berries with a metal fork, unless it is made of silver, thus conventional wisdom is to use a wooden tooth pick or something similar.
For each pint (0.5 litre) of sloes, add 4oz (100g) of caster (superfine) sugar and fill the jar with gin, adding a few cloves and a small stick of cinnamon, as well as the almond essence. Seal the jar and turn it several times to mix, then store the jar in a cool, dark place. Repeat the turning every day for the first two weeks, then each week, until at least three months have passed.
The gin should now be a deep ruby red. Pour off the liqueur and discard the berries and spices. Alternatively, the left-over berries can be infused in cider, made into jam or used as a basis for a chutney. The liqueur can be filtered, but it is best decanted back into clean containers and left to stand for another week. Careful decanting can then ensure that almost all sediment is eliminated, leaving a clear liqueur.
Made in this way, the alcohol extracts an almond-like essence from the sloes, avoiding the need to add almond essence. Home made sloe gin is a much more complex and subtle drink than that produced commercially. The sweetness can be adjusted to taste at the end, but sufficient sugar is required at the start of the process to ensure full extraction of flavour from the sloes.
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