Bramble vodka, damson gin and other yummy booze

Today was warm and sunny and perfect for hedgerow harvesting. Here's my haul from my locality. There's blackberries, haws, wild plums and elderberries.

There were also some sloes:

Some of these things are going to be turned into a hedgerow jelly (with the help of some crab apples that aren't in the photos) but the rest will be yummy drinks by Christmas. Here's how to make bramble vodka.
Bramble, for those who don't know, is a country name for blackberry.


Start by washing a big jar that can be sealed. Rinse some blackberries and put them in the jar.

Add enough sugar to cover them well. About like this:

Now chuck in a bottle of cheap vodka. The cheaper the better. You really don't need posh stuff for this recipe.

Now give the jar a good shake until the sugar has all dissolved. Leave it somewhere cool and dark. It will need a good shake once a day for a week, once a week for a month, then whenever you think about it for another couple of months. In three months or so you can decant it into fancy bottles. Just in time for Christmas.

The same method works with gin and sloes, or (as in the photo) gin and damsons.