Christmas already!

[raine]

Hi all, just wondering, if I want to make alcoholic drinks for Christmas prezzies what do you recommend and when do I start?


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[Martin H]

I would start thinking about it somewhere around December 23 in a mad panic.

[Kirk]

Generally as soon as possible, home made wines really need time to mature and if things like sloe gin, where you are flavouring the alcoholic drink, then again the more time they have the better they turn out.

[rhonsal]

I can recommend flavoured vodkas - takes couple of months to mature the fruit in the booze do if you start now you should be just in time!

[skeggijon]

Again vodka - chilli vodka is a favourite in our household.

[Bex]

I'm not a fan of gin but I love sloe gin. I'd be very happy to get a bottle for Christmas.


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[mothhawk]

I have a nice little tipple I call 'Christmas Spirit'. If you make it at the end of October, it's ready for Christmas Day. It makes about 25fl oz and the cranberries give it a lovely colour.

1lb cranberries
2 clementines
1lb granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick (NOT ground cinnamon!)
16fl oz vodka

Whizz the cranberries in a FP to crush evenly, and place in a large jar or bottle. Pare the rind from the clementines thinly so as not to include the white pith, and add to the cranberries together with the squeezed juice.
Add sugar, cinnamon stick, and vodka, screw the lid on the jar and shake well.
Store in a cool place, shake daily for 2 weeks, then occasionally. Leave at least one month, then strain and filter into pretty bottles.

[Alison]

I have a nice little tipple I call 'Christmas Spirit'. If you make it at the end of October, it's ready for Christmas Day. It makes about 25fl oz and the cranberries give it a lovely colour.

1lb cranberries
2 clementines
1lb granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick (NOT ground cinnamon!)
16fl oz vodka

Whizz the cranberries in a FP to crush evenly, and place in a large jar or bottle. Pare the rind from the clementines thinly so as not to include the white pith, and add to the cranberries together with the squeezed juice.
Add sugar, cinnamon stick, and vodka, screw the lid on the jar and shake well.
Store in a cool place, shake daily for 2 weeks, then occasionally. Leave at least one month, then strain and filter into pretty bottles.

Sounds very nice but I'm too tight to buy the infusing ingredients so all my liqueurs are based round the fruits I grow eg rhubarb, raspberries (very good), strawberries (tried once, not that impressed), black currants, blackberries, etc etc. mainly use clear spirits eg gin or vodka but blackberry whiskey is pretty tasty too.

[Glutton4...]

Pick your Sloes now, and bung in the freezer for a couple of weeks. Sloe Gin is Faaaaaab. Also use Damsons, Greengages (any Plum, really), Peaches, Apples, Raspberries... You can make many combinations, but I always use the cheapest Gin, a Vodka, whatever, that I can find.

I adore homemade Sloe Gin. Blackberry Brandy is good but needs longer, and heaps more sugar. Raspberry Vodka is simply the nicest drink in the entire universe - far too nice to share! Try it!

[Glutton4...]

Oooooooooh, nearly forgot the French favourite: 44!

[Bex]

Pick your Sloes now, and bung in the freezer for a couple of weeks. Sloe Gin is Faaaaaab. Also use Damsons, Greengages (any Plum, really), Peaches, Apples, Raspberries... You can make many combinations, but I always use the cheapest Gin, a Vodka, whatever, that I can find.

I adore homemade Sloe Gin. Blackberry Brandy is good but needs longer, and heaps more sugar. Raspberry Vodka is simply the nicest drink in the entire universe - far too nice to share! Try it!

No sloes by me anymore unfortunately which is gutting.

I had a foraging book that an ex got custody of, I really must replace it.

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[scarey55]

Just over 6 weeks for 44 I agree, sloe gin is the best but even better this time next year!

[Alison]

Oooooooooh, nearly forgot the French favourite: 44!

What is 44?

No sloes by me anymore unfortunately which is gutting.

Can't you eat them? Never heard of an allergy to them but then again met somebody the other day who couldn't eat apples so I shouldn't be surprised. There seems to be loads round here this year and found a load of bullaces the other day too so looks like it's a good year for the whole plum family

[Glutton4...]

You'll have to g**gle 44. It's basically fruit and alcohol, and it takes 44 days, I think, to produce. There are various recipes, depending on your area, and the fruits available. Or so I believe.

[scarey55]

Here's the recipe Alison:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1162535
It is really simple to make and it tastes delicious. I'm a bit of quarante quatre evangelist, I love it and it always goes down really well as Christmad presents