Today I freely admit when British Brian tossed the word sloe into a blog post the other day I was, well, slow. I did not recognize the name and thought it conjured up an image of a slug.
You may be shocked by this admission as I frequently toss in random thoughts on lovely libations of all sorts. And, don't we all adore libations? If you don't, get thee to another blog, because today Brian sets me on the sloe course.
Go on, judge me harshly for being slow on sloe.
But, I'm an authority now, so you kids can put a lid on your judgment. Yep, my friend, Brian of Bath, has straightened me out, not to mention made me really envious with how he has a personal relationship with that crazy sloe!
Read on and be jealous along with me.
Best part?
Avoiding those pesky alcohol taxes! What a drag to be heavily taxed on something so deliciously wicked, right?
Oh, one more thing. The photo today is not from Brian's collection, but it is Sloe Gin. Told you I am now an authority on the topic.
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Contributed by: Brian Wilson
United Kingdom
All rights reserved and copyrighted
The Sloe is the fruit of the Blackthorn (Prunus Spinosa).
Blackthorn is very common in hedges in the UK.
Sloes are a small greenish/blue plum like fruit with an acid flesh and a bitter skin.
So far, this may not sound very promising - but although it is very bitter if eaten raw; if preserved in alcohol, made into jams, or wine; it has a very full plum like taste.
In the UK sloe gin is a drink used in the winter.
You collect and wash sloes, in the autumn, prick them to release the juice, then put them in a container, then top up with Gin (we also use Vodka or Brandy) and add some sugar.
The container is well sealed and then put in a cool place to create it's magic.
By mid winter time, the sloe juice has infused into the alcohol, with a resulting yummy taste.
It certainly "warms the cockles" (I hope this translates!!) - but drink it with care - it is in effect flavoured Gin!
Last year, we made Sloe Vodka, Blackberry Vodka, Sloe wine (you put boiling water on top of a pile of sloes, stir well, leave for a few days, sieve out the sloes, the add a wine yeast to the resultant liquid) - and wait!
I have just realised that with my blog, saying that we have made circa 200 bottles of wine, linked with sloe gin etc, you may think we have a drink problem - not really, but we do like to grow our own food in our garden, deal with surplus fruits and collect free food (sloes and brambles or blackberries) - this is what my family did years ago (when I was a child).
Also, do not forget that the tax on wine/beer is quite high in the UK!
Hope this clears things up.
Brian and Mo
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Stay with us. Brian gets us buzzing...you have to wait to see why!
I've heard of Sloe gin fizzes but never tried one.
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