Sloe Sherry recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Liqueurs | 43 comments
Sloes and sherry are a good combination
This sherry recipe works equally well for the sloes, bullaces and damsons that are left over from your sloe gin. Our old pal Gilbert always makes this on Boxing Day, having polished of a few bottles at their renowned Christmas Eve Drinks Party and toasted the Queen with sloe gin on Christmas day.
He claims that it is to salve the disappointment of his Christmas stocking. Everyone knows that anything as small as a stocking would never grace the foot of Gilbert and Marjorie’s bed.
Having finished the final batch of our 2005 sloe and damson gin I decided to make this wicked grog. Once upon a time I made sloe sherry every year and it’s lethal stuff. I used to use the cheapest sherry until Gilbert tipped that a reasonably priced medium sherry makes a much better tipple.
So when you finish your sloe or damson gin, don’t chuck out the fruit as there are several recipes for gin soaked sloes, damsons and bullaces. Damsons make a great alcoholic pudding, either baked in a suet pudding, in a sponge or in a pie. They also can be stoned and dipped into melted chocolate to make alcoholic sweets.
Sloes and bullaces are too bitter to be used in cooking but are ideal to have a second alcoholic outing as the base of sloe sherry. (Update: this is a marvellous grog, we added it to our roast chicken recipe, instead of port, with a great success).
| Recipe for Sloe or Bullace Sherry |
- Gin/vodka soaked sloes or bullaces
- Large (1.5 litre) Le Parfait jar
- 1 litre bottle of medium sherry (not too cheap, try a supermarket own brand)
- 1 tablespoon of white granulated sugar, after two weeks (optional)
- Half fill the sterilised jar with the sloes/bullaces from your sloe gin.
- Top up with sherry.
- Fit a new rubber ring and seal. Label the jar.
- Keep turning the jar each day for a week.
- Store the jar in a dark, dry area for 3-6 weeks.
- Sample the grog after two weeks, just to see how it’s progressing.
- A tablespoon of sugar can be added at this stage, according to taste.
Leave a reply
Hi Suzanne,
If the sloe berries are the left over from your sloe gin they will keep for a good few weeks (in a carton with lid in the fridge).
Can you please tell me how long I can store sloe berries that will be dipped in chocolate? I have just bottled my first lot of sloe gin and would love to make them into sweets.
Hi Paul,
The sloe sherry is lethal stuff!
I think that the sloe harvest is patchy in the UK this year.
Just made 6lts of Sloe Gin, so was very interested to find your recipe, as I’ve pricked an awful lot of sloes in the last week.
It will be good to reuse all that effort with another product.
ps Its been a brilliant year for Sloes around the Chilterns. Is that general in the UK.
I live in North Bristol and we’ve had a great sloe harvest this year. My gin was made from sloes from 3 locations as we wanted to leave some for other pickers.
I used the Sipsmith recipe too and I’ve made my first ever batch of lovely slow gin. I’m really pleased with it and like being in control of the sweetness at the end.
Hi Jackie,
It would be great to have your verdict(s), when they time comes.
Thank you for the sloe sherry recipe have just started our sloe gin so looking forward to reusing the sloes and enjoying both tipples.
Will let you know our verdicts.
Hi Jackie,
Glad that you are enjoying the site. Of course you can use cream sherry instead of medium. It will produce a sweeter sloe sherry.
can you also use cream sherry instead of medium?
P.S I love this site only just found it.
Hi Larry,
This is a wicked concoction! Hope that it works well for you. Looking forward to hearing your verdict.
hi thanks for the sloe sherry recipe will email you with results comment around christmas time regards larry w