Long Overdue Update: Mulberry Gin
Hi, Marion here again, and I have finally been able to turn my attention back to blogging!
DEGS has had a very busy summer and autumn, SO busy, that despite taking pictures in numerous clients’ gardens, I just have not found the time to post them, nor update the DEGS Facebook page or this blog. One minute we were working in gardens and the next minute it was Christmas and New Year. And now, well into 2024, Dave and I have finally been able to catch our breath, enabling me to do some blogging and Dave to do something he loves: spend some time in our garden - more on this in my next blog.
Firstly, I want to tell you about the mulberry gin that we made last summer. As I mentioned before, I am slightly obsessed with these little morsels of deliciousness and each day through July and August while the tree in our garden was fruiting, I was picking them, eating them, making coulis, eating some more, making muffins, eating some more….. you get the picture!
Anyway, as I mentioned in my last blog, Dave wanted us to make mulberry gin, so one hot August day we set about picking a bumper crop. Dave was on the Henchman steps, reaching high up into the branches selecting the plumpest, darkest, juiciest fruit, while I waited down below, holding up a large bowl for him to drop the fruit into. It filled quickly and we hurried into the house with our bounty, ready to do the next bit.
After giving the mulberries a salt bath followed by a thorough cold water rinse, we decided to modify the recipe, which called for a large amount of sugar to be added to the berries and gin. We didn’t want the result to be a sickly sweet beverage, so we decided to make two lots, one without sugar, and one with just a small amount of sugar, so we could see which we liked best. We divided the mulberries between two sterilised Kilner jars, and added half-a-litre of decent quality gin to each jar. Immediately the rich colour began to seep out of the berries and into the gin, turning the liquid a gorgeous, deep red. Next, we added about 50g of sugar to one of the jars, and left the other as it was with just the gin and the berries. We sealed both jars and left the berries to infuse the gin with their flavour and more colour.
On one of our last visits to Surrey, we were having a chat with one of our then regulars and telling them about the gin that we’d made, saying it should be ready to drink by Christmas. Our client asked, “Are you going to sample it every now and then?” To which Dave replied, “Hmmmm that could be dangerous.” “Well…,” was their response, “….You’ve got to live dangerously sometimes!” Despite being tempted, we didn’t sample the gin, but checked on it regularly, loving seeing how the colour intensified over the weeks.
Fast-forward to December last year; a couple of weeks before Christmas we decided it was time to sample our mulberry gin. The liquid in both jars was a beautiful, deep ruby colour. Firstly we tried the unsweetened one, over lots of ice in a gin glass, topped with aromatic tonic. Mmmmmm, it was nice, but I’d thought it would have a little natural sweetness to it, and it didn’t really; it tasted similar to Campari. Next, the sweetened gin was sampled. We both agreed that the small amount of sugar gave it the edge over the unsweetened one. The recipe had suggested straining it, but we left the berries in. They were absolutely delicious, with a lovely, rounded flavour and they looked so pretty, bobbing around in the glass, amongst the ice. Sadly, there is no gin left, but we thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted.
This summer Dave and I intend to make mulberry gin again; I’ll try my hardest not to eat so many, so we can have more gin for next Christmas.
That’s all on the mulberry gin; I’ll be back very soon with a blog covering some of our work through last summer!
