Sloe Gin Recipe

Sloe Berries

I couldn't wipe the horrified look off my face as I arrived at Didcot Parkway rail station and walked towards my friend Hannah- 7months pregnant and waving a bottle of gin in her hand!

'We're off to pick sloe berries’ she shouted.
I let out a deep breath, phew.

So, off we went on a wonderful walk alongside the river Thames in search of sloe berries to make sloe gin. My Sally sausage dog was tiny in comparison to Conner collie dog and they fought and played along the way.

After about 20 minutes we came across bushes and bushes of sloe berries. 

Picking The Sloe Berries

Hannah came prepared for this part and while Kev (Hannah’s husband) and I picked a kilo worth of berries, Hannah excused herself with pregnancy waffle and sat this part out. 

Hannah and Conner Taking a Break

We slowly strolled back in the gleaming afternoon sun and began the first stage of making sloe gin. 

Pricking The Sloe Berries

Sloe Berries and Sugar Awaiting the Gin

It should be ready in a few months -just in time for the birth of Hannah’s first child. I'll be back on the train to drink the first glass and celebrate.

The Sloe Gin Mix

Recipe makes: 1 bottle of Sloe Gin

500g sloe berries

250g of sugar

750ml gin

Wash the sloe berries and prick each with a pin or the point of a knife and place in a large sterilized jar.

Pour over the sugar and the gin. Seal the lid and give it a good shake.

Store in a dark cupboard and give the jar a shake everyday for a few months (if you can remember to!), allowing the sloe berries to steep into the gin.

After about 2-3 months, strain the gin through a muslin cloth and pour into a sterilised bottle. Kev recommended keeping the original gin bottle and pouring the sloe gin back into it once strained.