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does anyone have a good recipe, I've tasted a really nice one and would like to have a go at making some this year. does it actually have brandy in the recipe?

Found this (http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bi ... &S=&P=3151). Don't know if it's any good though. Sounds tricksy to me. I just get my mate to bring me back a couple of bottles when he goes over to Croatia with his wife and kids to see the family. Of course, I have damsons. Maybe I should give it a try.

Lynne

Extremely tricksy - and totally illegal in the UK. Slivovitz is a spirit made from a rough plum wine, so the closest legal equivalent is probably to make a kind of sloe gin but substituting plums for sloes and vodka (or maybe even cheap brandy??) for gin.

thanks for the replies, I'm not going to distill anything though no.

I'm sure the one I tasted was from infusing plums in some kind of spirit but didn't taste like gin or vodka, although I guess if something tastes strong enough you don't taste vodka.

It was also quite clear not like brandy.
I've found various recipies online and they all seem to use a different spirit, but if anyone has tried and tested it with any then I would be most interested to hear..

I make a sort of 'plum brandy' using what's called 'white liquor', which is flavourless 35% alcohol. The plums I use are the hard green variety common here. I'm sure you could use whatever plums you have available there, and use vodka or gin. I once tried making it with cheap brandy and it wasn't very good, not because the brandy was cheap I think, but because the flavours probably don't match. Brown sugar is good with the white liquor, the darker the better. Whether you'll end up with what you tried is hard to say.

Pictures here


My sister in the UK makes sloe gin and it doesn't taste or smell of gin at all. In fact, it has a distinct vanilla aroma (no vanilla used), and a cherry brandy-like taste. So with gin and plumbs, you may find you get close to what you're aiming for.

Good luck.

Plum Brandy i've not tried.

I made plum vodka last year:

*don't know where this recipe came from...so if its yours, shout!*

Servings: Makes 1 bottle of vodka
Level of difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 15 minutes, plus 3 months maturing

Ingredients
1 bottle of vodka
450g Plums, halved and stoned
225g Sugar

Method
1. Place the vodka, plums and sugar in a large saucepan.

2. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

3. Transfer the vodka plum mixture into two bottles and store in a dark, cool place for 3 months.

4. Strain the plum vodka through muslin and bottle in 2 clean bottles.


Very yummy it is too!

Rod in Japan wrote:I make a sort of 'plum brandy' using what's called 'white liquor', which is flavourless 35% alcohol.

Do you know if this is available in the UK? We want to make a kind of Creme Framboise with all the raspberries this year but I can't find any clear, flavourless spirit base for it. Vodka was going to be our fall-back, hoping that the raspberries were strong enough to mask the taste.

I've never seen it in the UK, but then I haven't ever looked for it. It may be available in specialist catering oriented shops...

I made plum brandy last year by doing it the slow gin method.

Sugar, plums & brandy- mix it up and leave for 3 months

I did 1lb sugar, 1lb plums, 1 pint brandy plus a cinamon stick- that was really quite sweet.
If you like it less sweet I tried 3/4lb sugar and the 'ale drinkers' liked it better

Nice for the autumn before the slow gin is ready...

Peggy Sue wrote:I made plum brandy last year by doing it the slow gin method.

Sugar, plums & brandy- mix it up and leave for 3 months

I did 1lb sugar, 1lb plums, 1 pint brandy plus a cinamon stick- that was really quite sweet.
If you like it less sweet I tried 3/4lb sugar and the 'ale drinkers' liked it better

Nice for the autumn before the slow gin is ready...

I tried making this- the less sweet version. It tastes really good and luxurious, I would recommend this to anyone. I put some in small bottles for gifts at christmas too, very well recieved it was.

ALthough I only left it for two months and warmed it slightly to dissolve a bit of remaining sugar. I tried eating one of the plums and it just tasted of alcohol.

My plum brandy is actually made with whisky! Downloaded the recipe (can't remember where from) when we had a glut of plums one year - it's so good and requires very little effort. It's very sweet - we drink it thimble-size aperitif glasses.

4lb plums
5lb Sugar
1 Bottle whisky

Rinse the plums (do not scrub away the white bloom) and cut out the pits. Place in a
large crock or one or more large jars. Pour in as much of the sugar as the container
can hold. Cover loosely (I believe the traditional cover is several layers of
cheesecloth - we used a tea towel and a piece of string) and let it
ferment at room temperature for six weeks. As the mixture liquefies keep adding sugar
until it is used up.

Strain the liquid (reserving the pulp) and mix it with the whisky and bottle it up.
My grandmother always used a cheap whisky and allowed the mixture to age in the bottle
for many months. However, using a good whisky makes it drinkable right away--especially
important for the first batch. It keeps indefinitely--if you make enough.

Yield: about 4 or 5 quarts--depends on plums and fermentation.

If you put the fruit in sugar only initially it draws out far more juice than if you add the liquor straight away - same goes for any of these recipes.

I might try that one too at some point, or at least the same method of leaving the sugar with the plums for a while, even if I still use brandy, but I can imagine it working well with whiskey too.

I made slow whiskey using value whiskey, it's great, apparently it gets smoother and smoother over 18months but I'm not sure it will last that long...

Oh yeh and I had some more of the plum brandy I'd tasted originally that inspired me to make some, and mine was loads better :-)

I made raspberry gin last year and it doesn't keep the gin taste at all. In fact it's delicious and I can see it working just as well with plums and/or damsons. Just make sure you put plenty of sugar in the mix. I'm not sure if you would need to take the fruit out after a certain time though. We leave things like sloes and raspberries in but blackberries need to come out after a few weeks or else they leave a woody flavour behind.

Damson gin is sublime. fill a large jar with damsons 1/4 fill with white sugar then fill with gin. cap. shake sometimes leave as long as you can then strain.