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To me it’s not all guns and hunting and shooting. To me there is so much more to being a hunter and a sportsman and this time it was about sloes!

Prunus spinosa or blackthorn or sloe, the wood is wonderful for making walking sticks and shillelaghs and the fruit makes wonderful sloe gin or sloe vodka!

I was out this weekend in our concession and picked some 3 kgs of sloes which will be good for 3 - 4 liters of sloe gin! I guess I can actually use the word “harvested” on this occasion. I harvested 3 kgs of sloes!

Now here’s what you do -

1/ Pick your fruit and rinse / wash it clean and pick out any stalks or leaves.





2/ dry the fruit between paper towels and bag it up in zip locks and put it in the freezer overnight - this breaks it down and opens it up. Alternatively you pick the fruit after the first frosts in October but I can’t wait that long.

3/ place 500 g of fruit into a 1 liter fruit or preserve jar (sterilized) and pour in a bottle of gin and 250 g of sugar.





4/ shake the jar vigorously and then store it in a cool, dark place for a minimum of 3 months, turning and shaking daily for the first week and then once a week.

5/ after 3 months decant the now delicious purple colored liquid and strain it through a cloth or coffee filter into your ‘Sloe Gin Bottle’

And then enjoy!

You can use gin or vodka, both make a great drink! Typically in the past we would share it on shoot days at ‘11’sies’ but now with the zero booze when shooting in Germany that’s a thing of the past. It’s also great in a glass of champagne to give that something extra!

I have 3 liters on the go now which should be ready for Christmas and New Year! And it makes a wonderful Christmas present too - a bottle of self 'harvested' / foraged and home made ‘Sloe Gin’!

Now I just need a joint of venison or wild boar to enjoy along with the 2020 Sloe Gin when it’s ready to drink in December!

Anyone else out there make there own schnapps or infusions??


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I have found a similar recipe for making vanilla using high grade booze and vanilla beans.

Looks good Charlie. Surely it isn’t about guns alone....countrylife is what its all about..

Damson whisky is the home made beverage of choice here. Mother in law lives in a prolific damson growing area and sends a few stone of fruit up here every year that we convert into gifts for friends.

l've got 40yrds of Blackthorn in the bottom paddock hedge, but the crop's poor this year as a late dry spring nipped the flowers back.
There's two big jars of dried Figs in Dark Rum steeping in a cupboard awaiting cream and ice-cream this Christmas.

In our area of northern Wisconsin it was common to do the same with our Door County tart cherries and any suitable whiskey. It was called cherry bounce and was a very good cherry liqueur.

quote:

Originally posted by Ratwhiskers:
l've got 40yrds of Blackthorn in the bottom paddock hedge, but the crop's poor this year as a late dry spring nipped the flowers back.
There's two big jars of dried Figs in Dark Rum steeping in a cupboard awaiting cream and ice-cream this Christmas.

Please tell me more. I have a fig tree in my yard and too many figs go to waste every year.

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quote:

I've got 40 yrds of Blackthorn

Fantastic! Sloe gin and walking sticks! One of the best sticks I have is a Blackthorn market stick with a 3/4 curl Yorkshire rams horn!

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