Sloe gin

[cf.]

I have 3lb of sloes in the freezer I want to make sloe gin with I have made it before I want to make 3 litres the last recipe said use two wine glasses of sugar for a litre bottle so my question is this
Do I triple the sugar as I'm attempting 3 litres as once I put it in I can't take it out ?

 

[oldbloke]

Well, were you happy with the sweetness level last time? If so, triple the quantity of everything. If not, adjust as appropriate.

 

[cf.]

Very happy with it I hate gin but this comes out like a liqueur very tasty . Thanks for the reply

 

[oldbloke]

Every year, we do sloe gin, bramble rum, raspberry vodka, and if the crop's been good, various other combinations (including plums, though I'm not sure they really worked with brandy: maybe I should have used a better brandy)
The sugar is a bit trial and error, but as we tend to mix them all with cream soda, it usually works out.

If you were happy last time, just multiply everything up. If you have any doubts, use less sugar - you can mix with something sweet, or just add a bit when you drink.

 

[Jonny69]

I go on the rule of half fill the bottle with sloes, then half the weight sloes in sugar. The easiest way to do this is weigh the empty bottle, half fill it with the sloes and weigh it again, then you know how much sugar to put in.

That's quite sweet to my palate, though, so next time I do it I might go for 1/3 weight in sugar. You can easily add more sugar later :thumb:

 

[Hawks]

I think everyone has a formula that they find suits them - it is pretty easy to make it with less sugar to start and then taste after 3 months and add more sugar if needed before bottling and hiding away.

After playing around with that I use the following mix and scale up depending on how many sloes I end up with

1 bottle of gin ( 75cl ) medium quality
1 lb of sloes
6 oz sugar
2 drops of almond essence

this suits us, but I know people who make it sweeter and it is still nice :thumb:

 

[GeorgeSalt]

I usually half-fill the bottle with sloes and then add sugar until the sugar settles between the sloes (giving it a shake) to the level of the sloes.

Who's got the best value price for gin at the moment? - anyone tried the Tesco Everyday one? (£13.25/l)