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Please can someone tell me what to do with my sloe gin?
I started it in October, have shaken it faithfully, have bought some little flasks to put it in.
But what next? It's got bits in, so do I strain it - surely that will lose alcohol content (please understand my priorities!)?

Just remove the sloes and allow the sediment to settle for a day or two before pouring off the clear sloe gin into a clean bottle leaving the sediment behind. Repeat this process as often as necessary to obtain absolutely perfectly clear sloe gin.

Even quite a clear bottle will benefit from being decanted again after a week or two - after the last of the very finest sediment has settled to the bottom.

The last dregs of each bottle can be poured through a paper coffee filter if necessary. Doing so will not affect the alcohol content whatsoever.

You can use a coffee filter is you are desparate fo clear liquid ... but you loose booze  ::) ;D

And then - according to the book - leave for a year!!

Nooooooooooooo! Leave for a year??? But I want it now!

Have only made damson gin, but the principles are the same.

Once you have the sloes/damsons in the gin/sugar mix they will keep indefinitely.  The alcohol/sugar being the preservatives.

I use the coffee filter method of straining the liquid.

Don't stint on the sugar.  If you do, the end result can be very thin.  More sugar makes it nice and syrupy, and slurpy.

valmarg

I haven't found any sloes yet   :-\

Make sloe gin in November & bottle before Christmas.
Keeping doesn't improve. Fill your hip flasks & take it on your post Christmas walks & all the others throughout the year.
A walkers companion!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Quote from: flowerlady on December 13, 2007, 14:25:36
You can use a coffee filter is you are desparate fo clear liquid ... but you loose booze  ::) ;D

Any chance you can explain your comment further as it seems you are suggesting there is a significant loss in alcohol when a coffee filter is used I can't find any evidence of this, if we had been talking about filtering through activated carbon on the other hand it would of been easily understandable.


I tested the theory today I don't have any sloe gin to hand so I used vodka. First I tested the alcohol content using a Widder alcoholmeter, a glass hydrometer jar and a laboratory thermometer which gives me distillery precision in measuring the alcohol content. It was was 94.7%ABV I poured exactly 5 litres of it through a coffee filter then measured & tested it again there was 4985ml so only 3 teaspoons full had been absorbed by the coffee filter the alcohol content had reduced to 94.6%ABV which is far more likely attributed to evaporation due to the time it took rather than the coffee filter but even so it is hardly a significant loss.
I then tried the same thing with other spirits & liquers with almost identical results the only difference being that when smaller quantities were filtered (in a shorter time) the alcohol content remained unchanged which reinforces the assumption that it is evaporation rather than the filtering process which affects the alcohol content.

Baccy Man, the only thing that bothers me is that you had 5 lts of vodka to hand ;) 

It's going to be a good Christmas and New Year at your house ;D

Quote from: SMP1704 on December 16, 2007, 13:34:17
Baccy Man, the only thing that bothers me is that you had 5 lts of vodka to hand ;) 

Multiply that by 20 & you have the actual amount of full strength vodka to hand once it is diluted to 40%ABV there will be 237.5 litres of it.

My house has always been better stocked than the village pub.

You get the best advice ever on this site. Thanks everyone.

Yeah I could also not find sloes - but then again I would not know a sloe if it stood up and hit me in the face.  I have never tasted sloe gin though so will put that on my christmas list for next year to look out for.

I did however manage to get some acid cherries from my friendly neighbour and made some cherry brandy.  So guess what we are having at Christmas.... ;D ;D ;D

Jitterbug

had to buy my sloe gin from Tesco's this year  :'(