Sloe and steady wins the race.

Now I apologise if this is a little too late for your Christmas tipple, but come January I think we all need a stiff drink to get us through the long, cold nights. This is becoming a rarity, but Sloe gin, if only for the colour, is a rather marvellous drink. Whilst walking two labs, a jack russell and a boyfriend through the wilds of some Devonshire countryside we stumbled upon some Sloes. Or rather, said boyfriend's mother, who has an astute knowledge of garden fare, pointed them out. They look incredibly like blueberries, however, inside is housed a deep red flesh and a small seed. I would recommend some willing volunteers as picking over a kilo of sloes takes some time. Once recruited set out on your merry way into your nearest woodland and enjoy. The following recipe is from a book called Jams, Jellies, and Preserves although I think it may be out of print. Otherwise, there is an alternative recipe from the bastion of the countryside: Country Life. I would also recommend this website for some indulgent house browsing - one can dream...

This is Sue Ashworth's version:
- Makes about 2 litres and keeps for 2 years or more.

1.2 kg sloes, frozen
600g granulated sugar
1.5 litres of gin

(you can add blanched almonds at this stage as well, although I kept it simple)

• Thoroughly wash the sloes and place in the freezer for a few hours
• Take the sloes out of the freezer, lay them out on a tray and run a grater over them to nick the skin slightly. I didn't do this, and believe me, I wish I had!
• Transfer the sloes to sterilized kilner jars (or old jam jars, but kilners will be larger) and distribute the sugar evenly among them
• Pour over the gin and shake up to distribute fruit
• Shake once a day for the next week, until sugar has fully dissolved and leave in a cool dark place to mature for 3 months
• When ready to use, strain with a sieve and discard the sloes (unless you have a hankering for slightly tart, gin soaked berries) and decant into a lovely bottle.

You can drink this with tonic, or as a liqueur and even on its own. I'm going to try it with a little champagne and a raspberry or two - as Ms Ashworth suggests.

(photos of the gin's progress to follow...)