Sloe Gin again! - What sort of gin ?

[Hilary B]

Old thread!
I have made sloe gin with the cheapest gin going, every year for at least the past 6. I don't faff-about pricking sloes, I add dry sugar to the jars of sloes, shake violently to let the sugar abrade the skins, then leave a short while (48 hours in a warm place) before topping up the jars with gin.
I then stir daily until the sugar is well dissolved, and then forget about it until close to Christmas.
The finished drink isn't always perfectly 'clear', but it tastes pretty good!

[Two_Sheds]

Has anyone experimented to see if the quality of the gin is important ?

I use Tesco basic usually, I did once use Aldi "spirit" which was only 20% but still worked

cheap is good! dont forget to prick the sloes

I don't bother pricking, I just freeze them & then shake vigorously in the bottle

[rustylady]

Sloes picked today, and gin purchased a couple of days ago. Here we go again

[chris]

Had my damsons in for a couple of weeks now (froze first, as was short of time.. most of the flesh ruptured so saved me pricking them ). Still haven't seen any sloes around here!

[Shadylane]

Got sloes, damson and bullace gin/vodka brewing as we speak and loads more in the freezer. I do prick but also tried squashing some lightly with a potato masher. I always buy cheapest. Went into town t'other day to try Lidl and Ugo. Was a bit annoyed to find they are no cheaper than asda and mozzas. No Aldi close by (yet) either.