After straining out the sloes from making sloe gin (or vodka) it always seems like something should be done with the plump, alcohol infused plums to get just a little bit more use out of them. I don’t feel this in the same way with other infusions, maybe it’s because of the painstaking efforts that go into collecting sloes, or the mystical nature of blackthorn shrubs. Whichever it is, I always now save the ‘boozy’ sloes and either destone and coat in chocolate, or transform them into Sloe Port.
Although not technically a port, which is a specific fortified wine made in Portugal, this drink is still a fortified wine and contains sloes, sugar, red wine and brandy. The process is simple and the resulting drink is a fantastic dessert wine or winter warmer to be enjoyed in smaller quantities than regular wine.
Wine – As the wine makes up a large part of the flavour here, it is best not to skimp on quality. A decent Malbec, Merlot or Claret works well.
Sugar – Caster or granulated sugar are best for this recipe, although a brown sugar can add something to the body of the wine.
Brandy – As with the wine, the brandy should be of a drinkable quality.
Transfer the gin-soaked sloes into your jar, add sugar and wine then close the jar up and give it a couple of gentle inversions to mix everything together.
For the first three weeks shake every day until the sugar has dissolved.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add the brandy and give it a good few gentle inversions to blend everything together. Now leave the jar somewhere dark and cool where it can sit for a good 3 months.
When you are ready to bottle the Sloe Port, make sure that you have both time and an undisturbed space in which to do it. The first filtration is relatively quick, use either a jelly straining bag or sieve lined with a tightly woven cloth to remove the fruits and larger sediments. You can then move on to using a coffee filter (the pour over paper type) to remove the finer sediments, this isn’t strictly necessary – but I would pass it through a cloth/sieve combination for a second time if I wasn’t using coffee filters.
Finally bottle into clean bottles and label. Sadly the fruits aren’t good for much after this second going – ours often end up as compost (well diluted amongst other organic matter)
If you would like to learn about other autumnal fruits, how to find them and what to do with them, we have foraging courses in North Wales every year in the autumn.
