Frant Pub To Host Sloe Gin World Championships
The George pub in Frant, East Sussex near Tunbridge Wells is
to host the Sloe Gin World Championships on Wednesday 11th December from
1.00pm.
Artisan sloe gin makers from across the world will gather at
the popular Sussex village pub, to vie for the covet Sloe Ginster World
Champion title for 2013.
Dating back to around 1750, the traditional country pub,
with two bars and restaurant, traditional English food with continental
influences, hand drawn beers, oak beams,
a large enclosed garden and dogs lying by log fires in winter - The
George Inn makes an ideal setting to judge the most traditional of Christmas
liqueurs.
Sloe gin is a red liqueur flavoured with sloe (blackthorn)
drupes, a smaller relative of the plum, normally made with an alcohol content
between 15 and 30 percent by volume.
It is traditionally made by infusing gin with the
bitter-tasting drupes using sugar is to extract the sloe juices are extracted
from the fruit.
"Hand crafted sloe gins are generally superior to
commercially produced branded sloe gin liqueurs are made by flavouring cheaper
neutral grain spirits, producing an inferior flavour akin to a fruit cordial
taste," said pub landlord Greg Elliot.
Sloe gin is made from ripe sloes, which by tradition are
picked after the first frost of winter. Each drupe should be hand pricked with
a thorn taken from the blackthorn bush on which it grew. Connoisseurs says that
the drupes may only be pricked with a metal fork or pin if is made of silver.
Some modern protagonists pick the sloes earlier and freeze
them, claiming that this not only splits the drupes and replace the pricking
stage, but by analogy to ice wine, the freezing changes the flavour of the
drupes.
All proceeds of the event are donated to the MS Society
which supports people with Multiple Sclerosis www.mssociety.org.uk.
Sloe Gin Recipe:
Fill a wide-necked jar half way with pricked drupes and add
4 ounces (110 g) of sugar for each 1 imperial pint (570 ml) of sloes. Fill the
jar with gin, seal and turn several times to mix, then stored in a cool, dark
place. Turn every day for the first two weeks, then weekly, for at least three
months. The gin develops a deep ruby colour. The liqueur is poured off and the
drupes removed. Some sloe ginsters reuse the by infused in white wine or cider,
made into jam, used as a basis for a chutney, or a filling for liqueur pudding
or chocolates. The liqueur is then filtered into clean bottle or and left to
stand for another week. The sweetness can be adjusted to taste at the end of
the process by addition of more sugar. Allowing the drupes sufficient time to
ensure full extraction, the gin develops an almond-like essence and aromatic
flavour from the sloes' stones. In some recipes, the process is accelerated
with the inclusion a few drops of almond essence, cloves and a cinnamon stick
of cinnamon.
The George Inn
36 High Street, Frant, Tunbridge Wells TN3 9DU
T: 01892 730350
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