damson vodka

[bigadg 5]

hi guys

looking for a good recipe for damson vodka please

been making sloe gin for a few years and want to try damson vodka

stu

[paddybarr 77]

hi guys

looking for a good recipe for damson vodka please

been making sloe gin for a few years and want to try damson vodka

stu

 

same as sloe gin but use damson and vodka

 

Wild Damson Gin Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

 

* 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

 

Method:

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 Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

 

* 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

* 2-3 drops of almond essence

 

Method:

 

* 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. Don’t leave the straining process any longer than a year; leaving the fruit in too long can spoil the liqueur.

o

 

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.

[trappa 518]

Great reply paddybarr!

[bigadg 5]

thanks for the reply.

i see that you put more sugar in you damsons than in your sloes

would have thought it the other way round with sloes being so sour

stu

[ratty789 0]

hi guys

looking for a good recipe for damson vodka please

been making sloe gin for a few years and want to try damson vodka

stu

did 3 bottles of cheap white rum and damson last year, turned ot great stuff

[Helen 2]

My Sloe Jin always goes a horrible mucky brown colour even if I strain it before a year is out. Why is this? It tastes vile also.

[bert the fert 28]

My Sloe Jin always goes a horrible mucky brown colour even if I strain it before a year is out. Why is this? It tastes vile also.

 

 

Are you saying that you keep the sloes in the alcohol for a year, or nearly a year ? If so, that's too long. I macerate fruit for about four months or so, strain and then it can carry on maturing.

[the ratcatcher 1]

not made this for over 30 years lol but we used to get the big old toffee jars fill them with the fruit and sugar then pour over the spirit of choice the missus loved it but was to sweet for me maybe if i start doing it again ill only use half the sugar

[Helen 2]

My Sloe Jin always goes a horrible mucky brown colour even if I strain it before a year is out. Why is this? It tastes vile also.

 

 

Are you saying that you keep the sloes in the alcohol for a year, or nearly a year ? If so, that's too long. I macerate fruit for about four months or so, strain and then it can carry on maturing.

 

When I takr the fruit out after a few months its still a funny colour.

[bert the fert 28]

My Sloe Jin always goes a horrible mucky brown colour even if I strain it before a year is out. Why is this? It tastes vile also.

 

 

Are you saying that you keep the sloes in the alcohol for a year, or nearly a year ? If so, that's too long. I macerate fruit for about four months or so, strain and then it can carry on maturing.

 

When I takr the fruit out after a few months its still a funny colour.

 

 

Do you always make sure to bin sloes that are damaged/bruised ? I always freeze mine first for a night or two then defrost, give them a good pricking and layer them into the kilner jars with sugar. Then fill with gin.....it's always produced good results for me.

 

Do you always use sloes from the same tree ? Mebbe try finding another source and see if it makes a difference