Sloe Gin

[Ian]

This isn't completely gardening related, but perhaps you have sloes growing nearby... in which case I can highly recommend making some slow gin!

It's really easy to do, and very tasty:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sloegin_7722

We had some when visiting family a little while ago - it disappeared very quickly .

 

[R.R.]

My parents used to pick the sloes (I had to look "sloes" up, we call them "aranyons" ) at the end of the summer and then make patxaran, a sloe liqueur that is typical from Navarra, the Vasque Country, and the Catalonian part of the Pyrenees. I like it, and it's good for stomach issues. I bet it's similar to the sloe gin.

 

[Pat]

I am not familiar with Sloes, I also looked it up and got "Blackthorn" which I am not aware of either. Does this plant grow in many areas of the US? I would like to try to make some "Sloe Gin" just for the fun of it.

 

[Ian]

I'm not sure to be honest Pat, but perhaps you'll have look searching for aranyons that @R.R. mentioned above?

I did some searching and found this graph which shows sloes and plum regions, so you may be in luck after all:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/2005plums_and_sloes.PNG

 

[R.R.]

"Aranyons" is a Catalan word, so don't look it up here in the States because I doubt you're gonna find anything in English. I looked up a website called Foraging Texas and I didn't find it listed there. It must not be common in Texas.