Sloe Sherry recipe
Comments(38)
This sherry recipe works equally well for the sloes, bullaces and damsons that are left over from your sloe gin. Our old pal Gilbert always makes this on Boxing Day, having polished of a few bottles at their renowned Christmas Eve Drinks Party and toasted the Queen with sloe gin on Christmas day. He claims that it is to salve the disappointment of his Christmas stocking. Everyone knows that anything as small as a stocking would never grace the foot of Gilbert and Marjorie’s bed.
Having finished the final batch of our 2005 sloe and damson gin I decided to make this wicked grog. Once upon a time I made sloe sherry every year and it’s lethal stuff. I used to use the cheapest sherry until Gilbert tipped that a reasonably priced medium sherry makes a much better tipple.
So when you finish your sloe or damson gin, don’t chuck out the fruit as there are several recipes for gin soaked sloes, damsons and bullaces. Damsons make a great alcoholic pudding, either baked in a suet pudding, in a sponge or in a pie. They also can be stoned and dipped into melted chocolate to make alcoholic sweets.
Sloes and bullaces are too bitter to be used in cooking but are ideal to have a second alcoholic outing as the base of sloe sherry. (Update January 4th 2007 this is a marvellous grog, we added it to our roast chicken recipe, instead of port, with a great success).
Recipe for Sloe or Bullace Sherry
Ingredients:
- Gin/vodka soaked sloes or bullaces
- Large (1.5 litre) Le Parfait jar
- 1 litre bottle of medium sherry (not too cheap)
- 1 tbs of white granulated sugar, after two weeks (optional)
Method:
- Half fill the sterilised jar with the sloes/bullaces from your sloe gin.
- Top up with sherry.
- Fit a new rubber ring and seal. Label the jar.
- Keep turning the jar each day for a week. Store the jar in a dark, dry area for 3-6 weeks.
- Sample the grog after two weeks, just to see how it’s progressing. A tablespoon of sugar can be added at this stage, according to taste.
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hi thanks for the sloe sherry recipe will email you with results comment around christmas time regards larry w
Hi Larry,
This is a wicked concoction! Hope that it works well for you. Looking forward to hearing your verdict.
can you also use cream sherry instead of medium?
P.S I love this site only just found it.
Hi Jackie,
Glad that you are enjoying the site. Of course you can use cream sherry instead of medium. It will produce a sweeter sloe sherry.
Thank you for the sloe sherry recipe have just started our sloe gin so looking forward to reusing the sloes and enjoying both tipples.
Will let you know our verdicts.
Hi Jackie,
It would be great to have your verdict(s), when they time comes.
Just made 6lts of Sloe Gin, so was very interested to find your recipe, as I’ve pricked an awful lot of sloes in the last week.
It will be good to reuse all that effort with another product.
ps Its been a brilliant year for Sloes around the Chilterns. Is that general in the UK.
Hi Paul,
The sloe sherry is lethal stuff!
I think that the sloe harvest is patchy in the UK this year.
Can you please tell me how long I can store sloe berries that will be dipped in chocolate? I have just bottled my first lot of sloe gin and would love to make them into sweets.
Hi Suzanne,
If the sloe berries are the left over from your sloe gin they will keep for a good few weeks (in a carton with lid in the fridge).
What does one do with the sloes after the sherry?
Brandy?
Hi Martin,
I have no idea!
Your comment made us roar with laughter. Thanks
I saw a program that said after drinking all the sloe gin add sloes to cider. If you have tried this do i need to add anything to it.
I have it on good authority that if you destone ( now there’s a word) the sloes they make very good sweets when mixed with melted chocolate.
Hi David
I haven’t tried this myself (adding gin soaked sloes to cider) but don’t think that you have to add anything else.
There are quite a few comments about ‘slider’ on my other sloe gin and vodka posts. Type in ‘sloe’ to the search box at the top of the page to access the list of the posts.
Hi Dave
That sounds delicious. Thanks for the tip. Happy New Year, hic
Hi
Just decanted my last 5 litres of sloe gin from 2006, and so pleased to have found another use for the sloes, rather a lot of them though, any suggestions to use as well as the sloe sherry, not sure about the brandy.
Thanks
Linda
Hi Linda
There are lots of ideas contained in the comments of our first sloe gine post http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=37
Such as ading them to cider, for starters!
Thanks, found the details for cider, may try this after the Sloe Sherry, did read a few more comments re the sloe gin, I leave my Sloe Gin over a year before straining, and this time about 18 months,all looks and taste fine, but of course it will continue to improve. May look at your recepies before the next sloe gin in the autumn.
First time i’ve found the site, lots of useful information you dont find in the ususl books, Now stored to my favorites for future use.
Thanks again
Linda
Hi Linda
The sloe cider can be a bit lively so don’t used glass bottles!
Glad that you are enjoying the site!
i have done this recipe it tastes just like sloe gin its great but it doesnt work if you try using the sloes for a third time ive tried it wasnt very good my dog dog got to them in the rubbish bin he ate them and was drunk and the came out whole the other end ot good
Hi Buckaoa
Glad that you dog had fun and survived.
The reused sloes make great sloe sherry but you are right. Sloes just shine twice.
this has been a fantastic (2009) year for sloes. We were on North Yorkshire
oors and went down a lane that looked purple it was so bursting with sloes. Must have been a wonderful site when it was in blossom. Thanks to your website we have now got lots of ideAS ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH ALL the sloes we picked and all the damsons we have been given. Oh and plums too. What ayear. momaha
I love the Sloe Sherry idea, thanks – how long does one soak the sloes in is Gin/Vodka for? A day, couple of weeks or a year? Thanks. OH
Hi Ollie
The sloes are soaked for 6 months. Three months if you want a sharper brew.
I love this site – will definitely be trying sloe sherry. For another idea on how to use the left over sloes, try this site – it is delicious!
http://www.genre.fsnet.co.uk/kitchen/sloejack/index.html
Like the idea of re-using the damsons, I’m going to try using my brandy infused damsons with sherry. This summer I tried infusing the damsons with tequila, added same sugar as the damson brandy recipe. Wonderful!
Me n the Mrs couldn’t wait any longer we opened the sloe gin and had a couple of tots it was lovely ..i might have some more tonight now we are snowed in
sloe sherry is excellent, the tartness of the used sloes offset the rich taste of the sherry. Question, why not use sherry from the outset? I find vodka and gin too strong
I’m fairly new to Sloe and Damson Gin making – my third year – and believe I need to wait for the first frost for sloes : but with this year’s bizarre weather pattern here I am in October still waiting for a frost even in the Pennines. Should I just go ahead and make it and what difference would it make?
id pick them off the bushes before they rot if you wait for the frost there will be none left worth using
Put the sloes in the freezer then you dont have to prick them
This years sloes are unbeleivable, I don’t know if I’ve done the right thing or not because I can’t find a recipe! I’m on a budget, so gin was a no go in my cupboard I had 3 bottles of bristol cream sherry so I’ve put 3lbs of sloes, 1lb of sugar and 3 bottles of sherry in a demijon, cling film on top,and now hope for the best…..if anybody can advise me please do!
Hi Luci
The cling film isn’t great as a stopper. If you can’t find a cork of the right size tape a large 5cm wad of cotton wool over the cling film (this can breathe like a cork) or basic loo paper (similar properties but don’t use the deluxe versions with added aloe vera ect) – a great big wad of at least 10 sheets doubled over. Secure with string. And make sure that whatever you use covers the opening and reaches below the top lip by at least 2 centimeters. Then you’ll be fine!
A couple of month’s ago I found the last remaining bottle of Sloe Gin that I made 16 years ago.It was absolutely gorgeous. It set me off to make some more, which I have just bottled,but unfortunately I’ll not be arond in 16 years to see how it turns out.However, I was pleased to see an extension of the use for the sloes. I only had Fino available but after a week I see that there is very little colour.Can I expect any? Should I add additional sugar because I used Fino?How long before I strain and Bottle?
just like to say thanks for all your great advice i just started my sloe gin experience made some at the end of september and tried some this weekend with some friends and we ended up polishing off two bottles so will be trying the used berrys with sherry but could i use gin again and just leave it a bit longer ? thanks again
Thank you for the Ecard, happy new year
I have just strained 2 of my bottles of sloe vodka and vanilla,but after trying it I found it quite sharp so half of it has gone back in with the sloes and a load more sugar and half of it has had sherry and a bit of sugar added, the remaining bottle will be kept as it is because my husband likes the sharp one, so out of 2 bottles we will now have 3 different varities. I will then use the left over sloes to make apple and sloe jelly(with a kick!)