Sloe gin was one of the royal favorite tipples at shooting lunches and many of the guests would carry a hip flask filled with it. But then David Quick, one of my fellow chefs, and I started making mulberry gin with the ripe berries from the trees in Home Park. The purple color is amazing. Once the gin was decanted, the leftover berries could then be spooned into a casserole dish and topped with a little crumble mix and baked for a hearty winter pudding or even added to game stew. We had so many berries that I would double the recipe and make the mix in a wine store demijohn.
5 cups ripe mulberries
1ΒΌ cups sugar
1 liter bottle gin
1 empty gin bottle
1. Wash the mulberries in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Prick each of the berries with a wooden toothpick several times to help release the juices. Put half the berries into the empty bottle and add half the sugar. Pour half the gin over the berries and place the cap on.
2. Add the remaining half of the mulberries and sugar to the now half-empty gin bottle. Replace the cap.
3. Shake both bottles several times to dissolve the sugar, and set them up in a cool, dark room for up to three months. Shake the bottles each day for the first week and then once a week after that. Decant the gin through a piece of cheesecloth into clean, sterilized bottles. The gin is ready to drink after one month, but is best after three months, and will keep for several years.
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