THIS IS FINDON — www.findonvillage.com  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

TAKE SOME SLOES AND A BOTTLE OF GIN to make Findon Sloe Gin Liqueur

Copyright Valerie Martin 2002

I expect some of you will be wondering why I have gone into the gin distilling business. 

Sloes are the tiny globose fruit (rather like wild plums) of the blackthorn (a prickly bush which is commonly found in Findon hedgerows).   The fruits are a deep purplish-blue colour, with a cloudy bloom on the surface.  While they look attractive, sloes are almost unbearably bitter to taste.  The foul sharp sourness makes them definitely not suitable for eating but the bitterness is lost when making liqueurs.

If you are really serious about making sloe gin, you should keep your eyes peeled all through the summer months to see where there is likely to be a good crop growing.   The fumes from vehicles along the roadsides will contaminate any bushes, so it is best to walk along the local footpaths and note where the first green fruit appear that are not polluted.

Did you know that winemakers traditionally waited for the first frost (October/November) before actually plucking the sloes?  They would pierce each sloe berry with a thorn from the sloe bush (or use multiple needles embedded in an ordinary cork to speed up this process) but a shortcut is to stick the fruit in a freezer. This not only mellows the bitter flavour (simulating the "pick after first frost" tradition) but causes the juice in the fruit cells to expand and burst the cell walls.  

If the autumn has been mild it is always a race between pickers and the birds to get to the sloes.  From my recent experience on dog walks over the downland (with global warming) you'll be lucky to find any left if you leave it too long.  The pigeons, and other pickers, you will have been beaten to the gathering.   So pick when you see them before anyone else does.  The all-important sharpness of the fruit which makes this drink special makes you think that the raw sloe wasn't intended to be eaten by man — but don't worry, this is completely transformed in sloe gin.

Sloe gin is traditionally made in Ireland and Britain and is a berry-flavoured liqueur, once the preserve of middle-class Victorian ladies.... so perhaps even Margot Douglas made some when she lived at Fox Down with her artist father.   Maybe these days it would come under the category of a trendy drink.  The delicious dark red liqueur has a flavour similar to plum liqueur.   It seems to be best served in small amounts as an after-dinner drink with or without ice.

All you need for your project to get started on making some Findon Sloe Gin are screw-top jars.

The sloes (I guess you should wash and dry first) should be pricked (each twelve or so times) with a clean needle (years ago it was traditionally with a thorn!). 

Then three-quarters fill the containers.   

Demerara Sugar is then added.   The exact quantities do not seem to matter for the recipe for making sloe gin.   It all depends on whether the brewer requires the traditional sharper spirit — or a more sweet brew (the latter for me).   The requirements are about 1 lb (450 g) ripe sloes to 9 oz (250g) sugar and 1 bottle (70 cl) of Tanqueray Export Strength London Dry Gin 47.3%.   Do not be mean when choosing the gin, from tasting experience, I think it is worth buying the best.  Sprinkle on the sugar .... and pour on the gin.   I've been told to pop four blanched almonds in each jar and will try that next year.

Next stage.  Screw on the lid(s).  Give the substance a good agitate daily (some say) or twice a week for 4 - 8 weeks.  Stand in a cool place.   Remember - patience is a virtue.  

From then on.....up-end the jar from time to time to assist the sugar to dissolve.  You should now have a nice deep red liquid. 

This is the hard bit coming up.   Wait 3 months (or at least until Christmas) before straining off the precious Findon Liqueur (and removing the sloes which will have shrunk to the size of raisins) and decant the resulting nutty/plumy gin.  

To spur you on, remember all the time that a little nip of this Findon liqueur in a goblet will make your cheeks glow. 

If you are strong willed, leave longer than the season of festive cheer ... if you can!    Some say that the delicious substance should mellow for 6 months before used.  Others say leave for a year before broaching!  Good luck!  You do not even have to drink the brew, just marvel at the rich deep magenta-coloured liqueur you have created!  Oh, and it is  best served in small amounts as an after-dinner drink.   Cheers!

Pouring a good helping of sloe infusion onto a dish of your favourite vanilla ice cream and cantaloupe or mango will make a particularly luxurious boozy dessert too.

Since publishing this on the website, I have received so much mail on the subject that it is too numerous to include.

So how about taking some sloes and a bottle of gin and making some Findon Sloe Gin Liqueur everyone!

This is Findon — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.