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Home brewing/foraging.

Danwales
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20251001_185427.webp
An abundance of hedgerow fruits ( damsons, sloes, bullace) has inspired me to make some Sloe whisky, gin and rum this year. I have made sloe gin before but not whisky but was inspired by a country gent on one of my rambles who said its good. I simply added a good bit of sugar to the bottles pricked berries and then dropped them in. I added a little lemon peel to the rum as an experiment. These bottles will now steep until Christmas.

Does anybody else make wine, beer, chutneys etc. I'd like to know any recipes etc.
 
MRC
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Danwales Danwales
20251001_185427.webp
An abundance of hedgerow fruits ( damsons, sloes, bullace) has inspired me to make some Sloe whisky, gin and rum this year. I have made sloe gin before but not whisky but was inspired by a country gent on one of my rambles who said its good. I simply added a good bit of sugar to the bottles pricked berries and then dropped them in. I added a little lemon peel to the rum as an experiment. These bottles will now steep until Christmas.

Does anybody else make wine, beer, chutneys etc. I'd like to know any recipes etc.
I used to be keen on making pickles & chutneys and just had to grab my copy of David and Rose Mabey's book Jams Pickles and Chutneys from the bookshelf intending to recommend it. Ahhhh, buuuuuut, it was published in 1975 and a copy from the usual internet suspects will set you back 50 quid. From my mother I inherited a collection of farmhouse recipe books going back well over 100 years in publication, but I don't think that helps directly. What I can suggest is to haunt charity shops that take books and look for farmhouse or regional cooking.

While I think of it you could check out the German "Rumtopf" or rum pot recipes. If you're not a registered alcholic now you will be after letting one of those do its work. I still have my pot (present from my mum) but on medical advice leave it empty.....
 
Charlemagne1333
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Considering the warm/dry weather old blighty has experienced these past few months, the fruit yield has been exponentially abundant this year. I鈥檝e made wine from my own grapevine in the past, and damsons are abundant in my parts (with a little help from some National Trust properties)

I always make sure the hydrometer gives me about 14% ABV 馃槈
 
ghce
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My last property was a large rural endeavour with extensive hedges of poplar and willow but as always with hedges of these types the pernicious invasion of elderberry had occured and making best of the problem involved making elderberry wine. So much was made that I had dozens of crates of it in reserve and even though I quit that property 12 years ago I only last year finished up the last of it ( still got one bottle as a keepsake ).

Another friend made homemade whiskey, all double distilled and very very potent! I used to get it from him in 10 litre bottles, sometimes bigger. To enhance and vary things around I would drop a KG or so of freshly picked black currents into the container letting them steep for a few months or longer and found this to be a most delicious way to polish off the whiskey.
 
Danwales
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Charlemagne1333 Charlemagne1333
Considering the warm/dry weather old blighty has experienced these past few months, the fruit yield has been exponentially abundant this year. I鈥檝e made wine from my own grapevine in the past, and damsons are abundant in my parts (with a little help from some National Trust properties)

I always make sure the hydrometer gives me about 14% ABV 馃槈
Funnily enough most of my fruit came from around Avebury Stone Circle which is a National Trust site馃憤
 
Charlemagne1333
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Danwales Danwales
Funnily enough most of my fruit came from around Avebury Stone Circle which is a National Trust site馃憤
Driven through Avebury numerous times en route to Dorset. I will endeavour to stop over one day.
 
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