Sloe gin

Decanter games continue, following my post of 27th January.

The sugared blackberry whisky was drinkable, and has been drunk, but was not that hot. Tasted of blackberry OK, but the foretaste was rather sweet and the aftertaste, presumably from the pips, was rather bitter. Don't think I shall bother with this one again.

But then moved onto a decanted bottle number 1 of sloe gin which was good, with a very attractive colour, a sort of translucent red, and entirely acceptable taste.

Then yesterday decanted bottle number 2 of sloe gin, which was rather sweet and not so good. The label stuck onto the bottle says that it was made with Gordon's Gin and with 100g of sugar to the litre bottle of sloes. Originally bottled on 31st August 2011 and decanted into a fresh bottle on 17th January 2012. So maybe a little too much sugar.

But maybe also part of the answer is that this hedgerow wine game is for specialists. As a dilettante, one is not going to get the sort of reliable product that the palette craves. The sort of reliability that McDonald's do so well. So will I be picking sloes down Horton Lane this autumn? I am saving up the jars, bottles and flagons just in case. The shelf at the back of the garage - made from a scaffold board as it happens - will be able to take the strain for a few months.