Damson Gin

Ken

Strange; I put damson gin recipe into Google and within the first ten results were:

Here's the recipe that I've been using for a number of years. It's much like making sloe gin, but with one big difference. There's a very usable bye product!

Ingredients Makes 700ml (11Ú4 pints) Damsons - 450g (1 lb), stalks removed Damsons are picked from late August to late September depending on summer weather conditions. Choose ripe, soft, fruit. Sugar - 60g (2 oz) Gin Ð 70cl (11Ú4 pints) (std. UK bottle)

1 gall. Demijohn is ideal for 2.8l (5 pints, 4 bottles) Bottles for final bottling. The original gin bottles are ideal. Nylon coffee filter or muslin cloth.

Method. Wash the damsons in cold water & freeze for 48hrs. Freezing serves two purposes. It causes the skins of the fruit to split removing the need to needle the fruit & it makes it far simpler to put the fruit into a demijohn. Add damsons, gin & sugar to a sealable bottle.

Shake bottle daily for the first two weeks, and then every week for the remaining period. Keep for a minimum of 3 months. This should produce a deeply coloured rich & fruity liquor. For a richer slightly sharper taste leave for 4 months. The extra month will allow the flavour of the damson stones to further influence the final result. After 3 or 4 months, strain the liquor through the coffee filter or muslin cloth to remove any damson residue. Re-bottle and store in a cool dry place until required. DonÕt discard the used fruit! Served with cream or ice-cream it makes an luxurious desert perfectly suited to those who enjoy the drink. A word of caution, the used fruit is equal in strength to the damson gin! The used fruit freezes well for later use.

I make sloe gin most years and you make damson gin the same way. Here's how. needle each damson with a fork, I tried without doing this one year and the flavour doesn't come out as well. I've been told that if you freeze the damsons first for 24 hours you get more juice and you don't need to needle them. Put the damsons into an empty bottle or jar until it's a quarter full. It doesn't matter what size! As long as it's a quarter full, I usually use a 2 litre kilner jar Add sugar until the bottle is half full, including the damsons. Don't shake or stir, just pour the sugar gently on top of the damsons. Now pour gin in the bottle, what kind of gin you ask? Any gin, I use the really cheap stuff from Aldi. As the sugar dissolves add more gin, after 24 hours just top it up with a bit more gin if needed.

Leave until Xmas...Hooray! But what about the damsons in the bottle ? Unlike sloes damsons taste nice after they've been in the gin. Strain off the damsons from the gin, The gin might go cloudy but it will settle again. Try the damsons with ice cream-yummy! Or with custard. The damson gin will have a bit of sediment inthe bottom, stop worrying about it! It's harmless. If you want to ,you can gently pour off and bottle the clear stuff. Filter the rest using coffee filter papers.

Sloe Gin

For each one Litre Bottle of Gin .... Add 200 grammes of Sugar, Fill the bottle one third full with Sloes which have been prepared by washing, cleaning, and needleing a few times with a fork (for some reason I have been told only a silver fork will do!), Then top up with Gin.

After that turn the bottle weekly, and when it becomes a red colour after about 3 months it is ready for drinking!

Last year, the best Damson Gin was made with one third of a bottle of Damsons, with one third of Gin and one third of Sherry. Bottle and make as for Sloe Gin above, but you only need a small amount of sugar.

Owain