While sloe berries have a limited season when you can pick them fresh (between September and November - not forgetting you can freeze these for use later) it’s also possible to make sloe gin with dried sloe berries, which you can get your hands on all year round. Here’s how.

What You Need: 

500g dried sloe berries
250g caster sugar
200ml hot water
750ml good, but inexpensive, gin (definitely don’t use your 58 for this!)
One or two clear bottles, sterilised

What You Do:

 1. Start off by making sure all of your ingredients and equipment are clean and sterilised. Boil your bottles in hot water, and wash your dried sloes repeatedly until the water runs completely still.

2. Rehydrate your sloes by soaking them for several hours in warm water. You want just enough water to make the berries plump and glossy; keep any residual water, and definitely don’t use gin.

3. Prick the skin of as many of the rehydrated berries as you possibly can. While this isn’t necessary with fresh berries, rehydrated sloes need a little help releasing their flavour. 

4. Pop the sloes and the rehydrating water into your bottle and pour in the caster sugar. Then add the gin and seal, shaking well.

5. Store your bottle in a cool, dark place, shaking every other day for the first week. Then, shake once a week for at least eight weeks – though twelve is better.

Enjoy over ice in the summer or in a wintry sloe gin cocktail come the new year! 

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Of course, if you’ve got some freshly picked (or frozen) sloe berries, then you can whip up a batch of delicious sloe gin in no time at all! Check out our quick and easy guide to making your own homemade sloe gin in a few simple steps.

Get our sloe gin recipe here! >>