I would love to make some sloegin but where would I buy sloes berries from?

Oh i found a thread on this from sept, askign where to pick them from....obviously nwo they are prob out of season...so buying them is the only option.

To be honest I'm not at all sure you can buy them, don't think I've ever seen them in the shops, and they're certainly well out of season now. And just to sound like even more of a party-pooper, if you were planning on sloe gin for Christmas it's much too late to be making it now. It needs to develop for weeks/months. :|

There were hardly any sloes around this year at all - I think the blossom came out in the warm April and then was hammered by wind and frosts. Last year there was a bumper crop though, although we have already finished our homemade stock...

You can get a lovely made version by Plymouth Gin - Gordon's also do one too.

I would love to make some sloegin but where would I buy sloes berries from?

Oh i found a thread on this from sept, askign where to pick them from....obviously nwo they are prob out of season...so buying them is the only option.

I would imagine your chances of buying this year are very slim to none. I've never seen them for sale and from what I've heard it's been a really bad year all over for Sloes so even if anyone did sell them normally, they may not have any this year.

I've personally never seen them for sale ever but this article from last year mentions Waitrose in London and a huge price tag.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/supermarkets/3307925/Sloe-berries-to-go-on-sale-in-supermarkets.html

If I were you I would make sure you are familiar with what the blackthorn bush looks like and go out for lots of walks keeping a keen eye out for some bushes, note your findings so you are ready for next season.

One thing I have found but this may not be the case for everyone is that some bushes produce virtually nothing one year while others have a bumper crop so you will probably want a few different places to collect from next year.

This is the first year in a few I haven't made any Sloe gin because I have some 2006 and 2007 left but I did notice when looking at "my" bushes out of curiosity that there were barely any Sloes this year.

It might not be to late. You're meant to pick sloes for gin after the first frosts of the year as the freezing and thawing softens the internal structure releasing the flavour.

Thankyou people!

I saw some dried sloes in the Speciality Ingredients section in Tesco today, not sure if the effect will be as good