Ingredients
1 lb sloes
3 cups gin , or vodka
1 ½ cup sugar
Preparation
Wash and dry the fruit, remove all stems, and freeze the sloes for at least a couple of days (not necessary if they are picked after the first frost).
Place the fruit in a suitable container, add gin or vodka, and shake twice a week for 4-8 weeks.
Transfer most of the liquid to a bottle.
Add the sugar to the remaining sloes.
Shake twice a day until all sugar has dissolved; this may take up to two weeks.
Mix this sweet syrup with the first unsweetened liquid.
After three months, strain the liqueur thru a muslin cloth.
Add some more sugar if necessary.
The liqueur should mellow for 6 months before used.
As an alternative you can mix the sloes, gin/vodka and sugar at the same time, but then use slightly less sugar.
If preparing the sloe gin/liqueur this way, you will also get a delicious flavor, however, the total volume of liqueur will be less because more liquid will remain within the fruit.
