Sloe Gin

I have decided to try and forage for some foods and experiment with making some things with what I find. We bought a foraging book a couple of years ago and have so far failed pretty much to use it for anything. We’ve had some ideas from it, but never really been brave enough to try recipes.


I am going to try and change that now and prepare a couple of things. I am a fan of gin so I figure Sloe Gin has to be a good starting point. Walking around the industrial estate where I work I noticed a Blackthorn tree which kind of set the idea in motion. We were also at some relatives recently and Mandy gave us some of her home made Sloe Gin to try and it was lovely, which cemented the plan. And now having noticed the Blackthorn I have begun to explore during lunchtimes and have discovered several more trees around. I have done some research about when to pick the Sloes and the tradition is to pick them after the first frost. But there is also a lot of info which says they are ripe when a deep purple colour and slightly soft to the touch. Some of the fruit I have discovered is soft to the touch and that colour so I thought I would pick some now. It’s been very therapeutic this week to go out and collect some of the berries and then take them home and freeze them.

In a couple of trips I have collected aver 500g of them and have put them in the freezer at home. I have ordered some glass bottles and printed off a Nigel Slater recipe. I have some sugar in the cupboard so I think we’re good to go. The bottles are being delivered today apparently and if so I think I’ll get started tonight.

My plan at the moment is to make one batch now. Then to wait another month or so and pick some more Sloes and make another batch, and when they’ve both matured at Christmas time do a bit of a taste test. If the frost hasn’t arrived by the time I pick the second batch I might even pick some more make a third batch later in the year.

Part of what has been fun at lunchtimes has been spying out the Blackthorns so that I can return in weeks to come. I will keep going round and looking at the trees to see how the berries are maturing, and also to see if the berries get taken or eaten.

The recipe I plan to follow is:

450g of Sloes
350g of sugar
750ml of Gin (Tesco own brand)

I have read that you should prick the Sloes before bottling to release the flavour, but this recipe says just bash them to split the skins so I am going to try that first.

I am taking some vinyl home to cover the bottles I fill as the liquid needs to be kept in a dark, cool place for 8 – 10 weeks. I am going to label each bottle with the exact ingredients and bottling date for the record. I’m going to put the bottle(s) in the drinks cupboard as the roof will be too warm and inaccessible I think. And then at Christmas time I will decant the mixture into new bottles and maybe use the Sloes to make a jam.

I guess I can adjust the flavour with more sugar or Gin if the taste isn’t quite right at Christmas time.

Fingers crossed this will work out.