Talk:Sloe gin

message: I do not understand the equivalency implied between "4oz" and the "200g" in parentheses. Is the ounce measure meant to be a volume? If it is a mass, then the two seem to be unequal. What is the correct measure of sugar?
It is a typo - thanks for noticing - it should (and now does ) read 100g although  it is all a matter of taste and either amount would probably make a drinkable Sloe gin ! Velela 21:32, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Units

message: Is sloe gin a mainly British thing - then it should be categorised as such - or is there anywhere else where it's made?--JBellis 19:58, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: There are "sloe gins" from other countries, particularly from Germany. However, the German term for sloe gin is Schlehenlikör, literally sloe liqueur, since German sloe gin can be made of gin, vodka or white rum, but most commercial brands of German sloe gin are made of neutral grain spirits, like most brands of British sloe gin. Schlehenfeuer is an unusually strong German sloe gin. Technically, a Schlehenlikör made of vodka or rum isn't a sloe "gin", but the same can apply to sloe gin made of neutral grain spirits and in the English speaking world, Schlehenlikör is always considered "German sloe gin. 86.56.0.159 17:49, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

text: Hundreds of millions buy their spirits in metric measures and hundreds of millions more in American pints. No-one buys them in British pints. In the UK both gin and sugar are sold in metric measures and have been for about thirty years. The pint is reserved purely for serving beer in pubs and milk deliveries: spirits and wine are served in metric measures by law, and milk in shops is sold in litres. Metric measures are used for everything in the UK from petrol to paint to cola. UK shops offer 0.7 (occasionally 1.0) litre bottles of gin. What is the point of telling people to use 570 ml? Even before metrication in the UK, gin was actually sold in bottles of 26.67 fl oz, and fractions therof.Sjwells53 (talk) 20:54, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually, I misread it. The article proposes to measure the sloes, not the gin, in pints. The size of the jar and thus the ratio of gin to sloes and sugar, is left entirely to chance. That really is odd. Jars can be of almost any capacity. Given the quantities mentioned here, the jars in my cupboard might require anything from 250ml to 3 litres to fill them up, with very variable results. Presumably the article is suffering from repeated and inconsistent editing. I actually use something like 500g of sloes and 100g sugar to 700ml gin. Like most recipes, it's really a question of ratios, not quantities, so there is no real need to use units at all. I'd hesitate to change it, though, as I'm pretty sure someone will insist on a different ratio being better. Sjwells53 (talk) 21:19, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  British? 

message: my mum makes it without sugar, and it's great - so I would question the need for sugar mentioned here.  raining girl 00:52, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: sugar?

message: I have been told that an alternative to pricking each and every sloe is to freeze the berries, a process which splits the skins, saves a tedious task and prevents clothes getting covered in little purple dots.
It is very inefficient in my experience. It might work best if you have very fat sloes, but the best sloe gin tends to be from berries left longer on the bush and that have just started to shrivel. This concentrates flavour and reduces diluting juice. With these sloes, freezing has no effect at all (except to make them colder !). Velela 15:09, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Freezing does affect sloes, no matter what the size. Even if they don't split, the tissues internally are broken down and this probably helps the process of extracting juice. If you neither freeze nor puncture the fruit, a strong solution of sugar will still extract both colour and flavour by osmosis. In normal domestic situations, however, puncturing with a sharp stainless steel skewer or paring knife point should process 500g of sloes in a few minutes, so it's pointless trying to avoid the job. Sjwells53 (talk) 21:06, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Pricking?

message: The directions for making this are self-contradictory:
"fill the jar with gin... as well as the almond essence"
Then:
"Made in this way... avoiding the need to add almond essence"
Which is it?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.178.238.106 (talk) 19:23, 17 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Contradictory instructions 

message: I think we need a photo of a bottle (and glass, if possible) of commercially produced sloe gin. Badagnani (talk) 21:19, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Photo

message: There are references in the article to the percentage of alcohol by volume, followed by the same information in "proof." It appears that the US formula for proof is used, rather than the formula used in the UK. Since sloe gin is much more of a British drink than an American drink, there's no reason to use the US formula for proof. In addition, the "degree" sign (small superscript circle) is place after the proof reference, which is incorrect usage for US proof (US usage is "76 proof," not "76 degrees proof"). Also, proof varies from place to place in its definition, and which kind of proof is not specified. 
Percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) is much more widely understood and standardized. There is no need to add a value in "proof," which is ambiguous, to the already clear ABV numbers. There is no reason for the proof values to be included, so I am deleting them.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.68.134.1 (talk) 19:16, 11 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Proof" 

message: I'm sure I've read that the almond flavour of well made sloe gin comes from a cyanide-based compound in the sloe kernels (very small amount, non-lethal, etc). I can't find a source for this - does anyone have one, or am I just making this up? GyroMagician (talk) 09:25, 25 July 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Almond flavour 

message: Initially only three ingredients are mentioned (sloes, gin and sugar) but later in the article is says that the "berries and spices [can be] discarded". What spices? 83.104.249.240 (talk) 11:02, 19 December 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: I guess you didn't reach the fourth paragraph in that section? Anyway, I took out the spices for simplicity. Personally, I think the 'pure' version tastes better anyway ;-) GyroMagician (talk) 15:04, 19 December 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Contradiction in the Manufacture section 

message: While drupe appears to be the correct botanical name for the fruit of the Blackthorn, I have never heard them called this before. I have always called the fruit 'sloes' - which is also the name given on the Blackthorn page. Is the word drupe commonly used, or should we revert back to sloe? GyroMagician (talk) 15:47, 9 March 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: Drupes is the botanical names for a particular type of fruit of which sloe is an example. Mentioning drupe once in the article is more than sufficient. The rest of the mentions I have converted back to "sloe" - the common English name.  Velella  Velella Talk   17:57, 9 March 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: It reads better now. You also took out the following: "although there is much confusion as to whether this (freezing) is intended to split the drupes and replace the pricking stage, or if, by analogy to ice wine, freezing changes the flavour of the drupes." It could do with a citation, but I think it's still worth including. Thoughts? GyroMagician (talk) 18:25, 9 March 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes - I looked but could find no citation so I assumed it was POV. Having personally made many batches of sloe gin, both with and without freezing the sloes, I can taste absolutely no difference - but that is also POV!  If you can find a reputable source, please feel free to re-introduce it  Velella  Velella Talk   19:39, 9 March 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Drupes 

message: Sounds like we need a fuller discussion on this topic.  Noting for starters that there is already a subsection called "Related liqueurs".  I would be amenable to moving the relevant additions to this section.  However, the comparison to cherry brandy is borderline specious.  Cherry brandy (and other fruit brandies) are made from distilling the fruit juice.  Sloe gin and the cited U.S. versions are more closely related in that they involve soaking the fruits in gin, i.e., the juice from the sloe berries (and aronia and beach plums) is not distilled.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.252.4.21 (talk) 22:13, 10 July 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  U.S. Manufacturers/Comparable Liqueurs