No Sloes.

[FamilyWiggs]

Blackberries were reasonable this year - presume it is because of the later flowering and pollination, once the rain had stopped and our lovely Olympic summer had started.

 

[angrybird]

oh Joce i made Raspberry vodka and raspberry gin it was divine,if you cant get fresh raspberrys why not buy the frozen kind they are just as good.

the vodka soaked raspberrys also taste very good when they are drizzled ontop of home made vanilla icecream (looks for angelic smiley face)

... and ive also tried wimberries they have been plentyful on the mountain side this year

 

[angrybird]

I can recommend Ginger Vodka - Peel a good chunk of root ginger and cut into strips small enough to poke through the top of a bottle of Absolut. Leave for a month, turning occasionally. Gennly mix 9:1 with vermouth in lots of ice and strain into a Martini glass.
Recipe is based on one from this book by Colin Peter Field who ran/runs the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Paris
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cocktails-Paris-Colin-Peter-Field/dp/0743247523

Now I need to find some wild ginger...

oh now that sounds good, have you tried it with dry ginger ale ?

 

[angrybird]

rob ive just found this http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/lemon-gin-recipe-112/
maybe its worth a try

ive just made a lemon drizzle cake is it to early to try it with a tot of gin ? :lol:

 

[robgil]

Lemon Gin sounds very nice indeed. Dont know about the 3 year or more wait though, thats a long time for a bottle to by hanging around the boot of my car, my cars usually dont last 3 years.

Rasberry Vodka is usually a summer drink for us, we do the usual with the Rasberrys and Vodka and castor sugar however we add Ginger Ale and fresh ginger and mint to it. Very yummy for BBQ time and it usually gets people relaxed and chatting, or very drunk and talking drunken rubbish which is usually the case at one of my BBQ's.

I wonder how a BBQ at Christmas would go down with Ms Robgil? A Ho Ho Ho and a plate of burnt meat.

 

[Onetap]

There are some tempting alternative recipes on here;

http://www.arrse.co.uk/cookery/95398-sloe-gin-6.html

Blackberry gin, chocolate gin, damson gin, etc.. Jeddah gin sounds, erm, interesting.

The lack of sloes this year has also been noted.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Does that say arrse cookery?

We had the best crop ever of strawberries this year, until our black labrador puppy arrived that is-- he''s eaten the lot, jumps up for blackberrys as well when we are walking in the field!

 

[agbagb]

Does that say arrse cookery?

We had the best crop ever of strawberries this year, until our black labrador puppy arrived that is-- he''s eaten the lot, jumps up for blackberrys as well when we are walking in the field!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

We adopted an ex working lurcher 8 years ago, he was into blackberries (and cats )

 

[FamilyWiggs]

blackberries (and cats )

In vodka? Seems awful wasteful of a good cat, but I'll give anything a try the once. Do you cut it into thin strips like the ginger and poke it through the neck of the bottle?

I'll feed back on how it goes - with pics of course.

8)

 

[angrybird]

Ive heard of putting a dead cat at the base of a newly planted grapevine but cat infused vodka is taking it to another level :shock:

:idea: ah haa I have just aquired a very naughty stray kitten if he carrys on misbehaving im going to show him the vodka bottle :lol:

 

[Flyfisher]

I'd like to see someone get a cat into a bottle - it can be hard enough getting them into a travel-basket!

 

[LadyArowana]

I'd like to see someone get a cat into a bottle - it can be hard enough getting them into a travel-basket!

You don't put the cat in the bottle, you put a kitten in a bottle and bonsai it :lol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai_Kitten

 

[Matt Green]

We got one quince this year. Barely enough for a tartlet.

 

[AMc]

oh now that sounds good, have you tried it with dry ginger ale ?

Not yet. I have made an alternative martini-like drink with Stones ginger wine in place of vermouth - also lovely.
Or with creme de mure or creme de cassis or Poire William for a variety of autumnal cocktails.

 

[AMc]

We got one quince this year. Barely enough for a tartlet.

Last year we got about 4 Kg of quince of one tiny plant that grows against the house. As we had so much we made quince jam to go with cheese, now we have enough to last a decade or so even giving it away generously.
This year - none.
I'd put it down to my aggressive pruning - last years crop pulled the plant off the wall.

The grape harvest off the remaining vine was a single measly bunch which was bitter as you like.

 

[Penners]

Sloes are certainly in very short supply this year, but there seem to be plenty of blackberries around us (not so far from you!).

My daughter makes what she calls "Hedgerow Gin". It's a catch-all name for a recipe that involves chucking in whatever fruits you can lay your hands on - blackberries, blackcurrants, sloes (when available!), raspberries, chopped up plums... etc.

She and her friends seem to enjoy it, although her stuffy old dad still prefers his G&T.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Sloes are certainly in very short supply this year, but there seem to be plenty of blackberries around us (not so far from you!).

My daughter makes what she calls "Hedgerow Gin". It's a catch-all name for a recipe that involves chucking in whatever fruits you can lay your hands on - blackberries, blackcurrants, sloes (when available!), raspberries, chopped up plums... etc.

She and her friends seem to enjoy it, although her stuffy old dad still prefers his G&T.

How very unadventurous of you Penners!! As for stuffy, no that is not the Penners I know!

 

[Penners]

How very unadventurous of you Penners!!

I may not be adventurous, Joss, but I know what I like and I'm too old to change!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I'd like to see someone get a cat into a bottle - it can be hard enough getting them into a travel-basket!

Well, I'm scratched to blazes now, but I managed it!

I didn't really do this, and hope they are photoshopped... :shock:

 

[agbagb]

:lol: :lol: :lol: It's us into the vodka, the lurcher is into cats,