Mr Wolf & Ink and I are both big gin fans. We have made a few flavoured gins in the past when we had some spare fruit for the taking and it usually goes down a dream with our friends – so we though what better for a homemade favour than some little bottles of gin.
It is surprisingly simple to make (and doesn’t actually involve distilling your own gin) just flavouring it. I thought I would share our recipe with you so you could have a go too. Mr Wolf & Ink’s parents have an amazing garden with loads of fruit trees and plants where we pick our fruit.
Ingredients :
Sloes, Damsons, Blackberries, Raspberries, Plums – anything you want to try really.
Caster Sugar
Gin (we buy a large cheap bottle)
Large Jars for flavouring
Bottles to serve (we used mini cork topped bottles)
Method:
- Freeze your fruit – just overnight will do so that the skins are broken, you can give them a bash with a rolling pin if they need a little help.
- Place fruit into your large jar – fill it 1/3rd full. I haven’t given precise quantities above (since it is easier to go on ratios.
- Pour in your caster sugar – fill approx 1/3rd of fruit height (so apx 1/9th of the jar)
- Pour in the gin.
- Leave! The gin has to flavour over a minimum of 3 months – turn the bottle occasionally to mix up the contents
- Bottle – pour the fruit gin out into bottles for serving. You could even make jam with the left over fruit.
Images above show the first day and the gin after 1 week once the sugar has dissolved and the fruit have begun to share their lovely juices!
Note : If you don’t like gin it works just as well with vodka.
