Recipe for sloe gin and for raspberry vodka

 I make these every year and thought you might like to have a go... dead simple and well worth the minimum effort involved!
.
Sloe Gin
It is very fruity and warming. You can of course drink it neat but it is also rather good diluted with sparkling water to make a long drink. It is a beautiful dark pinky red colour.

Ingredients:
1lb of sloes (few more, few less , doesn't matter), washed
6 oz white granulated sugar
3 crushed cloves
2 drops of almond essence
1 bottle of gin --any kind but don't waste the best ones  

You also need:
large glass jars (I use one large one from pcikling vinegar and one big coffee jar --- take the amount just right and you can mix the two together before bottling)
small screw top bottles to put it in when ready -- this year's favourite are from single serving fruit drinks in cafes that I have saved and taken home to wash) You can just put it all in one bottle of course  
something to make holes in the sloes -- I can't be faffing about with needles. forks etc as I am more likely to poke a hole in myself, so use a small sharp veg knife.

1.Clean the large glass jars well and divide the sugar bewteen them
2.Make small slits/holes in the sloes, enough so that the juice can get out and add them to the jars
3.Add the gin, cloves and essence
4. Pu the tops on securely and shake well
5. Keep for 3 months, shaking night and morning as often as you remember. Keep out of bright light as the clour is better then
6. Strain through muslin and bottle into your saved and sterilised little bottles (or one big one if you prefer)
7. Enjoy!!!

Raspberry Vodka
Refreshing and the taste of summer! This one is a pale, clear red.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of clean raspberries, with no really squidgy looking ones
6 oz white granulated sugar
1 bottle of reasonable quality vodka


The equipment and method is essentially the same as for sloe gin, except of course you don't need to poke holes in the raspberries you just put them in the jars

BUT some prefer this a little bit sweeter, so if you do, just taste it after 2 months and add more sugar if needed.... carefully! it is easy to add more but once it is over sweet you cannot take the sugar back out again  

Hope you like these  

Thank you - we'd noticed the heavy crop of sloes this year and didn't have a recipe to use them.

Better buy a lot of gin and that'll be the Christmas presents sorted!

CLOVES. . . . . . . in sloe gin ! ! ! .      Cheers,     Tony.

Now now Tony -- You can amend the recipe if you like 

If you fast freeze the sloes and then defrost them before using, there's no need to mess around making slits or holes in them as they crack when freezing

No frenzied stabbing from this quarter -- I was very careful whilst watching TV and used a double pronged end of a cheese knife 

The freezing tip is a good one New Shoot and I always strain the gin anyway through a jelly bag so no worries about bits.

I shall remember that next year 

I shall keep every drip 

The raspberries will be added to something as a pudding, but no idea what to do with the sloes

I usually throw them out ------ any ideas?

I had never heard of Ursus Roter so had to look it up 

I almost made some sloe vodka. I do still have a sort of half measure of aloes so I might do a half bottle to try it out 

Ta for the idea , MoS 

PS My sloe gin and raspberry vodkas are both beautiful colours now