Sloe Vodka

A sloe is a small blue-black fruit that grows on blackthorn bushes. Slow is pronounced ‘slow’ and comes from a mixture of old European words for plum.

Blackthorn bushes grow all over the place in the UK. They grow in rural areas as well as urban areas – you’ll often find them in city parks. You’ll be able to notice them by the thorns that grow on the bush and the dark purple colour of the small berries.

The number of sloes on blackthorn bushes depends on the weather over the spring and summer. If there’s been plenty of rain, there will be an abundance – hence why these fruits grow so much in the UK!

If the weather has been too dry, they will be small and shrivelled. Too cold and they won’t grow at all. The perfect balance is plenty of sun and plenty of rain.

Sloe doesn’t grow commercially in North America, which makes them very difficult to get hold of for those Stateside. However, they have been naturalized along the Northeastern Atlantic coast, which means they can be found.

The closest fruit to sloe in the US is the beach plum, which is native to New York. Juniper berry vodka is another alternative.

Wild sloes ripen in the autumn and are harvested in the UK between the months of October and November.

For the best flavoured sloe berries, wait until they have fully ripened. You’ll know when they're ready by their colour – ripe sloe berries are a dark purple. Also, they should be easy to squish between your fingers. 

You’ll often find perfectly ripe berries that have already dropped to the ground.

When picking sloe berries to make sloe gin or, in this case, sloe vodka, the traditional way to do it is to wait until the first frost. This is because frozen sloes have split skins, which helps the fruit juice to infuse into the drink. 

If you pick sloe berries before the first frost, you can replicate the effect by placing them in the freezer overnight.

Making sloe gin and sloe vodka are both great in their own ways.

Sloes really complement the flavour of each drink. One key difference is that vodka has a more neutral taste than gin, which allows the sloe flavour to stand out front and centre. 

Both are delicious drinks, of course. Still, if you’re looking for something different to sip beside the fire this winter, you have to give sloe vodka a try.

When sealing and preserving the sloe vodka, you are protecting it from harmful bacteria on the outside. However, if you don’t sterilize the bottle that you store the vodka in, you could end up trapping the bacteria on the inside, allowing it to grow. This will completely ruin the drink. 

Don’t worry, sterilizing bottles is easy and only takes a few minutes.

One of three ways. If you pick your berries after the first frost, the skins will have split. This will allow more of the juice to disperse into the vodka.

You can also replicate this by placing the berries in the freezer. Leave them overnight, before starting this recipe.

Finally, you can prick the skins of the berries. This is more time consuming, but it definitely works.

For at least 3 months. This allows the juices of the berries to properly infuse with the alcohol, to create the delicious taste of the sloe vodka.

For best results, leave it to steep for six months to a year.

It’s better to steep it for no longer than a year, as the fruit may start to go bad. This would destroy the drink – not what you want after a year of waiting patiently!

As long as you keep it out of the heat and direct sunlight, sloe vodka will last for years and years. In fact, like a fine wine or George Clooney, it gets better with age!

After just one taste, you probably won’t be able to resist it for that long though!

Usually, it’s because the drink hasn’t been left to steep for long enough. Eventually, the cloudiness will clear. 

There’s also a possibility that the berries were too cracked and too much sediment has got into the juice. Although, eventually, the drink will clear.

Yes! If you prefer sweeter liqueurs, you can add a little bit more sugar during the mixing process. If you find a sweet spot and get the perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness, remember your ratios so that you can recreate your success!

If your vodka comes out a little too bitter for your tastes, you can also sweeten your drink after infusion. Use sugar syrup, honey or a mixture of both.

Whatever you do, don’t throw it away!

This leftover fruit will have an incredible flavour, which makes it a very interesting ingredient to play with. Here are a few suggestions for what to do with your leftover sloe fruit:

Make sloe sherry, port or brandy

You’ll have so many sloes leftover, so don’t let them go to waste! Making another infusion is a great idea, although you’ll want to move onto something with a stronger flavour, as the fruit will have lost a lot of its punch.

Dark spirits like sherry, port and brandy are perfect. You could even use rum. Just make sure it’s not a really good quality liqueur – those should always be enjoyed as they come.

Make sloe jam

You’d be forgiven for thinking a slow jam is something you listen to in the bath after a hard day's work. It’s definitely not just that, though. You could combine the boozy fruit with some fresh plums to make a fantastic fusion jam.

Make sloe chocolates

Homemade chocolate makes an excellent Christmas present. Add them into a chocolate mixture for a wonderful, boozy festive treat.

Add them to desserts

Whether it’s pies, ice cream or tars, the addition of some of your leftover boozy fruit will definitely kick things up a notch or two, flavour-wise.

Add them to sauces

This is where things really get interesting. If you want to really wow the crowd come the holiday season, add your leftover booze-berries to some sauces and gravies. The flavour – with a little tinkering, of course – will be sensational!

Use them in a marinade

Find the right ingredients to mix them with – spices and condiments like Worcestershire Sauce, for example – and you could make a really incredible marinade for pork, beef, chicken or turkey.