Has anyone here made this? I have found a couple of recipes: one from Anne
Willan that consists of vodka, sugar and blackcurrants and the other from
Mireille Johnston that involves red wine (a whole bottle) and brandy.
I tend to favour the former as it is simpler and is not dissimilar to my
grandparents' sloe gin method (for which they were well known).

Graham

graham wrote:

Has anyone here made this? I have found a couple of recipes: one from Anne
Willan that consists of vodka, sugar and blackcurrants and the other from
Mireille Johnston that involves red wine (a whole bottle) and brandy.
I tend to favour the former as it is simpler and is not dissimilar to my
grandparents' sloe gin method (for which they were well known).

Graham

Haven't made that particular one, but it sounds good, if I could find currants
here. We've talked some here on preserving in alcohol. I started a thread by
that name I think some months back. Very informative. I've made the pears in
brandy from the BBB which is heaven on earth. I liked the apricot brandy best,
with plain brandy a close second. It got better as it aged, smoother. They have
a recipe for apples in brandy as well. I did make a coffee/vanilla bean liquor
with Everclear from _The Spice Encyclopedia_. Was very interesting, certainly
tasty, but a little sweet for me. And the everclear was a little harsh, even
after aging for 6 months. Plain brandy might have been better there, or vodka.
Edrena

graham wrote

Has anyone here made this? I have found a couple of recipes: one from Anne
Willan that consists of vodka, sugar and blackcurrants and the other from
Mireille Johnston that involves red wine (a whole bottle) and brandy.
I tend to favour the former as it is simpler and is not dissimilar to my
grandparents' sloe gin method (for which they were well known).

I use a recipe adapted from Larousse gastronomique, using eau de vie (1
qt), sugar (24 oz), crushed blackcurrants (generous 2 lbs), a little
cinnamon and cloves, and, crucial for the full flavor, about 10 fresh
leaves of the blackcurrant bush. Of course, you need to filter it after
the steeping phase.

Petra in Hamburg, Germany

graham wrote:

Has anyone here made this? I have found a couple of recipes: one from Anne
Willan that consists of vodka, sugar and blackcurrants and the other from
Mireille Johnston that involves red wine (a whole bottle) and brandy.
I tend to favour the former as it is simpler and is not dissimilar to my
grandparents' sloe gin method (for which they were well known).

We were just watching the Geraldine McEwan version of Agatha Christie's
"Miss Marple" and it seems she's fond of "damson gin." Went on a google
search and found it, usually in concert with sloe gin.

Seems similar to any 'liqueur'--an infusion of whatever, white alcohol,
and sugar.

I'm intending on doing pomegranate liqueur that way quite soon....

B/

"The Joneses" wrote in message
...
graham wrote:

Has anyone here made this? I have found a couple of recipes: one from
Anne
Willan that consists of vodka, sugar and blackcurrants and the other from
Mireille Johnston that involves red wine (a whole bottle) and brandy.
I tend to favour the former as it is simpler and is not dissimilar to my
grandparents' sloe gin method (for which they were well known).

Graham

Haven't made that particular one, but it sounds good, if I could find
currants
here. We've talked some here on preserving in alcohol. I started a thread
by
that name I think some months back. Very informative. I've made the pears
in
brandy from the BBB which is heaven on earth. I liked the apricot brandy
best,
with plain brandy a close second. It got better as it aged, smoother. They
have
a recipe for apples in brandy as well. I did make a coffee/vanilla bean
liquor
with Everclear from _The Spice Encyclopedia_. Was very interesting,
certainly
tasty, but a little sweet for me. And the everclear was a little harsh,
even
after aging for 6 months. Plain brandy might have been better there, or
vodka.
Edrena

I once made cumquat brandy using about half a pound of fruit, a similar
quantity of sugar and a bottle of brandy. After a few days, the sugar had
dissolved and I put the jar away in a cupboard to mature for a few months.
The cumquats came from a friend who didn't spray for fruit-fly so when I
checked the brandy after 6 months, there were all these little white grubs
floating in it!!
Graham

"Petra Hildebrandt" wrote in message
news
graham wrote

Has anyone here made this? I have found a couple of recipes: one from
Anne
Willan that consists of vodka, sugar and blackcurrants and the other from
Mireille Johnston that involves red wine (a whole bottle) and brandy.
I tend to favour the former as it is simpler and is not dissimilar to my
grandparents' sloe gin method (for which they were well known).

I use a recipe adapted from Larousse gastronomique, using eau de vie (1
qt), sugar (24 oz), crushed blackcurrants (generous 2 lbs), a little
cinnamon and cloves, and, crucial for the full flavor, about 10 fresh
leaves of the blackcurrant bush. Of course, you need to filter it after
the steeping phase.

Petra in Hamburg, Germany

Thankyou for that recipe. I like the idea of the leaves but I will leave
out the cinnamon and cloves (I detest both unless in a curry).
Best wishes
Graham (in Calgary, Canada)

"Brian Mailman" wrote in message
...
graham wrote:

Has anyone here made this? I have found a couple of recipes: one from
Anne
Willan that consists of vodka, sugar and blackcurrants and the other from
Mireille Johnston that involves red wine (a whole bottle) and brandy.
I tend to favour the former as it is simpler and is not dissimilar to my
grandparents' sloe gin method (for which they were well known).

We were just watching the Geraldine McEwan version of Agatha Christie's
"Miss Marple" and it seems she's fond of "damson gin." Went on a google
search and found it, usually in concert with sloe gin.

Seems similar to any 'liqueur'--an infusion of whatever, white alcohol,
and sugar.

I'm intending on doing pomegranate liqueur that way quite soon....

See my reply to Edrena, above.


B/

My Grandparents used to send me to pick sloes from the English hedgerows in
late October or November. It was always cold and the sloe branches have
these long thorns so I'd return miserable and bloodied:-( Sloes are about
the size of a raspberry and unbelievably sour. One year I found some that
were larger than average so they took less time to pick. It turned out that
they were another type of wild plum and my grandparents wouldn't use them.
My Uncle did, however, and swore that it was the best liqueur he'd ever
made.
Graham

I've made black currant liqueur. I read that the currants need to be
cooked first for better flavor, so I microwaved them til the skins
burst. After they cooled, I put them in a jar with vodka. After they
steeped for some months, I went back to strain them and discovered
that there was an edge when I tipped the jar. Apparently there's
enough pectin that they'd partly gelled!

Adding the leaves would be interesting. The black currants are edible
and spicy in flavor. Orange is a classic flavor to have with black
currant. I make orange & black currant jam.

Regards, Dianna


On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 18:11:33 +0200, Petra Hildebrandt
wrote:

graham wrote

Has anyone here made this? I have found a couple of recipes: one from Anne
Willan that consists of vodka, sugar and blackcurrants and the other from
Mireille Johnston that involves red wine (a whole bottle) and brandy.
I tend to favour the former as it is simpler and is not dissimilar to my
grandparents' sloe gin method (for which they were well known).

I use a recipe adapted from Larousse gastronomique, using eau de vie (1
qt), sugar (24 oz), crushed blackcurrants (generous 2 lbs), a little
cinnamon and cloves, and, crucial for the full flavor, about 10 fresh
leaves of the blackcurrant bush. Of course, you need to filter it after
the steeping phase.

Petra in Hamburg, Germany

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