Two recipes: Wild Damson Gin and Sloe Gin recipes
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Liqueurs | 713 comments
Wild damsons are a beautiful rich dark colour
Unlike sloes, wild damsons are hard to find. For every thirty wild plum trees there may be just one wild damson tree. When I spot wild damsons in the hedgerows, they are harvested into a special bag.
These, and the diminutive bullace, are the kings of hedgerow fruit. These tiny fruit make such an irresistible liqueur that overnight guests have actually turned down Danny’s famous cooked breakfast, and gone back to bed to sleep off the excesses of the night before.
Our damson and sloe gin is not the thick ultra sweet variety. We prefer the sugar to enhance rather than shield the flavour. Every three months or so it’s sampled and, if necessary, topped up with sugar. Usually no extra sugar is needed.
We try to keep our damson and sloe gin well away from the drinks tray! Each year we make a lot of fruit gin and vodka (more recipes to follow, in time). Sloe gin is the big craze at the moment around here, as sloes are more plentiful.
Here are our recipes for both. We are also starting experimenting with sloe gin see this post for details
Tips and tricks:
- Make more than you need the first year, so you can compare different vintages. This liqueur does improve over time.
- Some people drain the grog through muslin after a couple of months, to clarify the liqueur and bottle. We don’t bother as one old soak tipped that, once the gin is drunk, you can pour medium sherry on the fruit and start all over again! The latter is devilish and drinkable within three months. We have a recipe for this in our wine and gin section.
- Keep your fruit gin away from the light as this will maintain the colour. Unless it is in a dark green or brown bottle. Wrapping it in brown parcel paper will keep out the light.
- Make notes on a label of your fruit gin/vodka /sugar ratio and stick it onto the bottle(s) so that you have a record, if you make a particularly good batch. We note our responses as the grog matures. Yucky after sixth months can be to die for in a year (you will probably not remember without notes). Notes seem boring when you are making the grog but they are so worthwhile when you start again the next year. It won’t be long before you will get a feel of what works well for your taste (and the notes will come into their own).
- Adding almond essence to sloe gin lifts it from good to great. I haven’t tried this with the damson gin but return in a years’ time for our review.
- Don’t kill the liqueur with too much sugar at the start. Use the amount above to start your sloe or damson gin and then every couple of months take a tiny sip. At this time add more sugar if it is too sharp for your taste.
- Gin v Vodka? Vodka can be used as the spirit for these recipes. Although I’m a vodka drinker, we tend to stick to a gin base for our fruit liqueurs.
- A good damson gin can be made from ordinary damsons available in the shops. As they are bigger you would need to put them into a larger Le Parfait jar (I’d use a 2 litre size).
- People have been picking sloes from September 1st around here. Some people say that you shouldn’t pick sloes until after the first frost. This can be circumvented by putting your sloes in the freezer overnight. We don’t bother with either method and always have great results.
- This year we have made up a number of small (1lb honey jars) of sloe gin to give as Christmas presents.
| Wild Damson Gin and sloe gin Recipes |
Recipe Type: Liqueurs
Prep time: 15 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Ingredients
- Wild damson gin:
- 1lb/454gm of washed wild damsons
- 6 ozs/168gm of white granulated sugar
- 75cl bottle of medium quality gin
- Sterilised 1 litre (at least) Le Parfait jar or wide necked bottle with stopper/cork
- Sloe Gin:
- 1lb/454gm of washed sloes
- 4 ozs/112gm of white granulated sugar
- 75cl bottle of medium quality gin
- Sterilised 1 litre (at least) Le Parfait jar or wide necked bottle
- 1-2 drops of almond essence
Instructions
- Wild damson gin:
- Wash damsons well and discard any bad or bruised fruit. Prick fruit several times with a fork and place damsons in either a large
- Kilner/Le Parfait jar or a wide necked 1 litre bottle.
- Using a funnel, add the sugar and top up with gin to the rim.
- Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved and then store in a cool, dark place until you can resist it no longer (leave for at least three months, we usually let it mature for a year). If you are planning to drink this after 3 months, have a nip afetr a month, and top up with sugar to taste.
- Some people strain the grog (through muslin/jelly bag) after 3 months and bottle it, leaving it mature for six months. We strain and bottle after a year. Don’t leave the straining process any longer than a year; leaving the fruit in too long can spoil the liqueur, as we found to our cost one year.
- Sloe gin:
- Wash sloes well and discard any bruised or rotten fruit. Prick fruit several times with a fork and place sloes in either a large Kilner/Le Parfait jar or a wide necked 1 litre bottle. I put several sloes in my palm to prick them rather than picking them up one by one.
- Using a funnel, add the sugar and top up with gin to the rim. Always open sugar bags over the sink as sugar tends to get caught in the folds at the top of the bag.
- Add the almond essence.
- Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved and then store in a cool, dark place until you can resist it no longer (leave for at least three months, we usually let it mature for a year).
- Some people strain the grog (through muslin/jelly bag) after 3 months and bottle it, leaving it mature for six months. We strain and bottle after a year.
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Inkdrop, Damsons;if they taste good, stone them and bake a fruitcake with them!!
Linda C, 30 yo Sloe Gin?? Suck it and see; it’s got to be worth a taste!
Help…..Just found a bottle of homemade sloe gin that is approx 30 yrs old….will it be OK???
Hi all.
I’ve made heaps of damson gin this year. It seems a shame to waste all the damsons once i strain the gin off.
Could i make jam with them? Or is there anything else i could do with them?
Thanks.
Hi Helen, excuse-me this late answer, have been a bit busy lately. Fiona, thank you so much for giving my blog address!
Helen, if you need any additional tips or details, feel free to ask! I can’t wait to taste it. Only 9 more days… I will let you know how it turned out. In the meantime I am tempted by other fruit cordials… and already have several Winter ideas. I think I am simply addicted! It’s so exciting to make one’s own liquors!
Hi fn,
Thanks for the heads up on the mandarin cordial recipe, and to Siss for posting it. It really does sound great doesn’t it?
Helen
Hi Sissi – Would love to hear more about your mandarin cordial. I resent throwing away such delicious ingredients – I chop mine up and stir it into cake batter, but we end up with too many cakes.
Do you have a recipe?
Helen
Hi Helen
Sissi has blogged the mandarin cordial on her blog http://www.withaglass.com
Sounds superb!
Hello! I have just popped in to say I started to make the damson gin at the end of October (not with wild damsons alas, but with similar plums from the garden). Since then I have already tasted it twice and it’s incredibly good! Since it tasted better when checked for the second time, I’m impatient to see how it changes in a couple of months. Thank you for this lovely idea! I hope one day I’ll stumble upon wild damsons… Meanwhile I started a mandarin peel cordial…
SLOE GIN COMPETITION;
Hi folks! I had the pleasure on Sunday (yesterday) of judging a sloe gin competition in Wiltshire, 29 entries, as I had won it last year – beating Oz Clarke into 3rd place!! & the most common complaint from the judges was that many were too thin. Best not to skimp on quantity of fruit & give a fuller flavour.
Mags; don’t worry about your wrinkly damsons!! A few months is usually good.
Hi all
I’ve just strained my blackberry vodka (just before the 3 month deadline to avoid woodiness)and it tastes fabulous already, I’d like to let it mature for at least another 6 months but don’t know if i’ll be able to stop my husband from drinking it , i’ll probably have to try and hide it!
I started off 2 bottles of raspberry gin at the same time as the blackberry vodka but just wanted to check with everyone what the recommended time is for leaving it before straining?
Also, my damsons have gone all wrinkly in the gin, is this normal? How long should I leave this before straining?
Thanks guys
Mags,
I would be very pleased to learn how the mirabelles turn out. Unfortunately we have no more left, but there’s always next year….
I get my gin from Morrisons. They sell a budget brand called Richmond London Dry Gin. A further advantage to the price is that it comes in a clear glass bottle with a plain white metal screw cap. Once sterilised the bottles can be re-used show off your finished product perfectly. A customised computer-printed self adhesive label adds a professional appearance. The result looks so good that it is not until they have read our name on the label that recipients ask if we have made rather than bought it.