I do admire people who manage to produce their own wine from flowers, fruits or leaves, gleaned from the countryside. It seems to require lots of faffing about with all sorts of different ingredients, and endless decanting of fluids from one vessel to another – followed by a long, nerve-wracking wait to see if it has worked. I’m sure it’s easier than it appears once you get the hang of it. But in case you never do, I’d recommend sloe gin (or even sloe vodka) as an altogether simpler alternative.
Despite what you might read, making sloe gin really is as easy as picking the sloes in the autumn, adding them to a jar or bottle and tipping some gin on top. Unlike wine making there is very little to go wrong.
At the risk of contradicting myself I’ll add a couple of very quick caveats. You can add sugar and almond essence to the mix when you start, to sweeten the end product, something that does greatly improve the taste to my mind. If the sloes are still quite hard when picked then it’s worth pricking them to help allow the flavour to seep out. Some people apparently spike them with one of the defensive thorns, handily provided by the Blackthorn bushes, as they are picked. But if that seems like a lot of hassle you can avoid it; just leave the picking until after the first significant frost has done the work for you by softening the fruits – mid-October is often the perfect time of year.
Ideally, sloe gin needs to be left for a few months at least and the longer you resist temptation, the more the flavour intensifies and the better it gets. Making it in October for Christmas is fine if the holiday spirit means you can’t wait any longer, or there is a house full of thirsty guests to satisfy. But maybe try leaving at least one bottle for a full 6 months – or even until the following Christmas, just to experience the difference. If you’ve ever tasted the devilishly sour fruits straight from the tree you’ll be amazed that such a pleasant flavour could possibly be lurking within them.
Previous ‘Wild food’ posts by Ian Carter:
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The best thing in a hip flask, on a frosty day’s Pheasant shooting.
Trapit – or at a cold day’s racing.
That would mean breaking my 6pm rule. As well as my rules about Pheasant shooting, and horse racing.
Try with rosehips – great taste, great colour!
To make life easier, pop them in the freezer rather than pricking them.
Sloe, Rowan and Crab Apple jelly on buttered toast with a cup of tea.
I find that it tastes like medicine!
Then chase it with a large slow dram.
Damson vodka is my personal favourite, the trick I find is to use half the amount of sugar most recipes recommend and leave it for at least 12-months. It creates a great tasting drink which is free from the sticky cough medicine texture of many damson/sloe gins/vodka’s.