Make your own Sloe Gin
We started making our own Sloe Gin a few years ago. Just to see what all the fuss was about, because we'd never tried it. Once we tried it... oh my. We realised we'd been missing out and have made it every year since.
Not as a substitute for regular gin with tonic, though I know many people enjoy sloe gin that way. But as a liqueur in the depths of winter when you're snuggled by the fire, it's hard to beat.
The truth is: you can never make too much Sloe Gin
At some point in our Sloe Gin adventures, we've worked out the thing that everyone tells you but you don't listen. The longer you leave it, the better it gets. So make lots because otherwise, by the time it's at the 'wow' stage, you've hardly any left.
In previous years, by the time we've given loads away as gifts and drunk some ourselves, we've run out pretty quickly. So we've never had much to keep back, to let it really mature. However this year I think it's safe to say: we've gone for it.
For yes, dear reader, your eyes do not deceive you. This is a one gallon demijohn of sloe gin. We made it a couple of weeks ago when we realised we like it better than any of the other variations (damson vodka, sloe vodka, damson brandy... we've tried them all).
So we decided to put all our eggs in one basket, so to say. I had just shaken it before I took the picture, in case you were wondering how I managed to get all those heavenly berries floating in mid-air...
What Gin do you use?
Some say: the better the gin, the better the sloe gin. I say: how would you know? By the time you've added sugar and sloes, shaken it a bazillion times and left it to mature for months or years (if you can stand it), I don't know how you'd be able to tell what type of gin you'd made it with.
Sloe gin is a totally different animal to regular gin. I wouldn't be able to tell my Gordon's from my Plymouth by the time I'd turned it into sloe gin - my palate is nowhere near that sophisticated. I really can't see the point in buying expensive gin, only to change it beyond recognition.
So we're always on the look out for cheap gin. From Aldi, Morrisons, Lidl, or when the other brands are reduced. When it is the right price, we stash it away for this very thing. Yes a bottle of gin is at least £10. But I've noticed Sloe Gin becoming fashionable, and branded versions creeping on to the shelf in the supermarket. Commercially produced Sloe Gins are much more expensive than £10, and never as nice as your own. And when you read the ingredients, they don't just add sloes and sugar... this way you know exactly what's in it.
Where do you find sloes?
Sloes (Prunus spinosa) are the fruit of the blackthorn bush. It took us a while to sort out the difference between damsons, bullaces and sloes. They all have stones, they all grow in hedgerows, they're all dark purple/black. None of them taste great raw (sloes being positively bitter), they all make great booze and they all come from the same horticultural family. However sloes are our favourite, so they're the ones we pick for gin.
We find them in the hedgerows around Horam in East Sussex, where we live. By some amazing stroke of luck, we have them by the shovel-load in the bushes directly opposite our allotment (that's a secret by the way, so please don't tell anyone).
What if I can't find Sloes?

When you eventually strain off your sloe gin, those gorgeous sloes won't go to waste. You'll be able to make Sloe Port with your gin-soaked sloes, red wine, sugar and a bit of brandy - Sloe Port Recipe here.
Make Your Own Sloe Gin - Recipe
We use the Andy Hamilton recipe from his legendary and outstanding book: Booze for Free. The recipe calls for 750ml of gin; if you have different quantities of gin/sloes then adjust the other ingredients accordingly.
Ingredients
750ml/1.5 pints Gin
340g/12oz granulated sugar
500g/1lb sloes which have been washed, frozen and defrosted so the skins have split
plus a large jar which you can seal like a mason jar, or a bottle with a lid (remember the neck needs to be wide enough to get the sloes in and out) or (ahem) a demijohn. Obviously you need a lot of gin to fill a demijohn...
Method
Place the sloes in the jar/bottle with the sugar. Top up with gin and shake. Repeat for ages, at least until Christmas (I'm not joking). Theoretically at Christmas it will be ready, so strain it through muslin into pretty bottles at that stage, remembering to keep the berries for your next creation: Sloe Port.
But if you leave it for a few more months, it will be lovelier. Just pop it in a cupboard and forget about it (I know). You don't need to keep shaking now. If you can bear to leave it for ages, like years, it will be utterly delicious.
Other Almost Off Grid Favourites
Making Sloe Gin with Dried Sloes
Sloe Port Recipe using left over Sloes from Sloe Gin
The Best Homemade Irish Cream Recipe
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what is this slow port have you a recipe please
Hi Eric, we leave ours a minimum of 6 months. The longer you leave it, the nicer it is!
please can you tell me how lone do i wate before i can drink the sloe gin.
Hi Andy, in theory it is not a problem because you are not fermenting the gin. However I don’t like large spaces in vessels because the more space there is, the more potential there is for contaminants and/or for the fruit not to be completely below the surface. So I would either top up the vessel or move the sloe gin to a smaller one. More gin sounds good,,,, ;-)
Do you have to eliminate all the air from the container? Currently only half way up a 5ltr container.. if I do I’ll have to get more sloes from the freezer and more gin from Tesco..
Andy