Shall we beGin?

[yak face]

Here’s a little side hobby I’ve been pursuing for a couple of years now , making and drinking (sensibly of course) flavoured gins and liqueurs. It all started when Sam my son said there were a lot of blackberries on the spare land over the fence at the bottom of his garden. We we’re both already big fans of gin so the cogs started whirring and a quick google later we had the recipe for blackberry gin. The first one we did was a revelation ,absolutely delicious either neat ( very like a good port) or with tonic as a long fruity drink. We then graduated to sloe gin , then the summer after ,rhubarb and vanilla , rhubarb and raspberry , raspberry and vanilla and blackberry liqueur ( creme de mure) . We added another flavour last year when we decided to see if we could get enough bilberries to make some gin . These beautiful tiny berries are mainly found on moorland in the north and west of the uk so the moors above Sheffield are a perfect hunting ground. I made two bilberry scrabblers using cheap sandwich boxes and hair combs ( see pics) to help harvest them quicker and early on a sunny August morn we gathered enough for two lots of gin. It’s about that time of year again so we’ll be out soon getting this years harvest in. Here’s some pics

 

[Mickc1440]

Very nice Tony, I've become a gin convert over the last 12 months thanks to the Mrs., she even has a gin bar in the kitchen.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Interesting and timely stuff Tony, my wife recently thought about taking up gin making as a hobby. She's already very proficient at drinking it so she's halfway there!

I will do my best to encourage her to go ahead of course as I'm partial to a drop myself and I'm sure I will enjoy the research.

 

[spanner570]

Stuff gardening - Now this is a hobby worth 'avin' a bash at. Harris here I come......

 

[Archetype]

Now here’s a subject I know something about!

I’m a scotch man myself, however SWMBO is a gin fan.
After recently visiting the Bombay Sapphire distillery she has decided to muck about with her own, so has been harvesting rhubarb from the plot and flavouring gin, with excellent results!
I even get to try some when she remembers to bring it home from visiting friends!

 

[yak face]

Cheers chaps , the fruit ones only take four weeks ,the sloe takes at least three months but both are really easy once you’ve got the basic equipment (2 lt Kilner jar , muslin , funnel and decent bottles), if anyone want to know anything more just ask away or pm me . Cheers tony

 

[Archetype]

Your concoctions sound delicious by the way, very impressive Tony!

Out of curiosity, are the bilberries a fruit of their own variety or is it a local name for wild blueberries?
I encountered a similar fruit in Dorset recently with a weird name that I forgot!

 

[AlanG]

My wife is a gin fan and i have wild raspberries growing just over my fence and i planted some tayberry, gooseberry and blackcurrant last year (which are fruiting as we speak). SWMBO has been wanting me to 'experiment' with these and gin

 

[yak face]

Your concoctions sound delicious by the way, very impressive Tony!

Out of curiosity, are the bilberries a fruit of their own variety or is it a local name for wild blueberries?
I encountered a similar fruit in Dorset recently with a weird name that I forgot!

Bilberries are similar looking to the blueberry you can buy in shops (albeit much smaller) but are a totally different thing , having red flesh and juice and a different ( most say better ) taste . They go by a lot of local names but the common accepted one in books and Wikipedia is bilberry , which is what it’s always been called round these parts. I’ve just had a google and it says they can be found on some higher moorland in Dorset ( puddletown forest and thorncombe wood) so if you fancy having a go get yourself up there in the next week or two ! They also make delicious pies and jam. Cheers tony

 

[yak face]

My wife is a gin fan and i have wild raspberries growing just over my fence and i planted some tayberry, gooseberry and blackcurrant last year (which are fruiting as we speak). SWMBO has been wanting me to 'experiment' with these and gin

Go for it Al , it’s easy and swmbo will love it ! Don’t forget the liqueur is quite easy too and this only takes three days , the blackberry and raspberry one is like Chambord, perfect for sploshing in Prosecco or pouring over ice cream or puddings,

 

[Tim Marlow]

Couple of questions Tony......
Do you macerate the fruit or do you steep it whole?
What “base” gin do you use?
What other additives do you use (sugar, spices etc)
Cheers
Tim

 

[Deleted member 4539]

Seems a nice relaxing hobby Tony .

 

[yak face]

Couple of questions Tony......
Do you macerate the fruit or do you steep it whole?
What “base” gin do you use?
What other additives do you use (sugar, spices etc)
Cheers
Tim

For the flavoured gins the fruit is whole ,just dropped in a jar with the sugar and left for a day or two before adding the gin and leaving for 4 weeks. For the blackberry liqueur you mash it with a potato masher with a bottle of red wine in a big bowl and leave it to steep for a day before adding sugar and boiling , then adding a glass of gin and bottling when cool .For the gin I tend to use either Greenalls or Bombay white , both around £16 for the litre bottle at asda , reasoning that the better the quality of the ingredients the better the quality of the finished product. As for adding anything other than fruit gin and sugar , the only other things ive included are a split vanilla pod for the raspberry and vanilla ( raspberry ripple taste ! ) and the rhubarb and vanilla ( rhubarb and custard !!) cheers tony

 

[Tim Marlow]

Thanks Tony, so you “jam” the fruit then add the gin.....sounds like I may have a new hobby coming up ......

 

[Richard48]

Sounds amazing.Am rather partial to a good gin.Be tempted myself to make some hooch.
Good stuff.
Richard.

 

[Ian M]

You should have a go at walnut schnapps. Its a thing over here. Make it much the same way as your gin. Just with a plain schnapps. You can use Vodka. Take the walnuts from the tree (which might be the hardest part to find) befor they are ripe and put them in the jar whole (husk as well). Ready by Christmas.
https://haveselskabet.dk/slags-valnoddesnaps Google translate does a good job of an English version.!

 

[stillp]

Bilberries are known as whinberries in the Welsh valleys. Personally I think that adding either whinberries or sloes to gin is a waste, since either will make fantastic wine. Not as alcoholic as gin, so you can drink more of it!
Pete

 

[colin m]

Why am I not surprised so many of us have a vested interest in anything vaguely alcoholic. Good work chaps.
I once tried a spot of home brew. I needed a warm spot for the fermentation, so put the barrel behind a chair in the lounge, near a radiator. The stain on the carpet still exists to this day, as does the ban on further brewing.

 

[john]

Many years ago me and a mate once did a bit of home brewing, at any one time we would have 10 bins and about 15 barrels on the go, weekends was a bit mad, we also started doing alcopops and spirits, it was a good summer, so I’m told

 

[yak face]

Well weve had plenty of rain and a bit of sun to plump up the bilberries. Nows about the time they should be ready for picking so ive cleaned the dust off my scrabblers and myself and Sam are going early tomorrow morning to get some. The weather forecast is sunny and settled , i just hope the flies and midges arent early risers too!