:: 28 Days Later... ::

I managed to send a few shivers down spines yesterday when I mentioned it was only four weeks to go till Shakers Re-Stirred appears on the local stage. I'm not falling apart with anxiety yet, but am relieved that there's a plan afoot for the cast to record their lines to ease the learning process.

Otherwise there's not much news to relate. Some doctors have been advising against ice-cube enemas (yes, I know...) and everyone now knows about Microsoft's decision to close down its hotbeds of kiddy-baiting paedo-geddon. The prospect of large numbers of saddo accronym freaks being let out on the streets is terrifying:

I'm all set now for an über-hectic weekend, kicking off with a drink with the soon-to-be-departed Blondinka B tonight (so much to fit in the weekend starts on Thursdays these days). Tomorrow heralds birthday cocktails for Frangelico and Saturday promises more rehearsals and a Way we Live reunion chez La Gribouilleuse in the evening. Sunday is reserved for a more gratifying seasonal pursuit: the annual Sloe Gin Production. I shall be heading off to Old Ma Devukha's pied-à-terre for the harvest and bottling of this year's crop of sloes (the recipe is a family secret nicked from an ancient copy of the Good Housekeeping cookbook). After three months - which just happens to be around Christmas - this nectar is filtered and decanted, with some drunk during the festivities and the rest saved for maturing. This year marks a change to the usual pattern: due to prolonged hot spells, the sloes were ripe nearly three weeks before their traditional harvesting time (usually just after the first frost). Worried that they would have shrivelled and died before the end of September, I picked a large number of sloes on my last visit and stuck them in the freezer. It will be interesting to see if this affects the final result adversely or whether it will replicate the effect of a hard frost before picking. If any sloes are still left in the hedgerows, I'll pick them too and see how the batches compare. Come to think about it, sloe gin has become a bit of a family legend - my Aunt's brother's been making it for years, but this will only be my third batch. There's something very satisfying about making something yourself and supping such a delicious end result three months on. If you're interested in making your own or just have access to a large number of blackthorn bushes, the following may come in handy:

• I've only found two different commercial varieties of Sloe Gin on the UK market: Plymouth and Gordon's. Neither compares favourably with the home-made version, although this sort is used extensively in cocktails such as a Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against A Cold Hard Wall With A Kiss. A decent home-made version should be warming and complex and versions vary considerably with age. I won't go into the pretentious world of Goolden-esque wine-speak, but a young one (straight after decanting) is normally more fiery and deeply coloured, whereas one that's been matured for a couple of years will become smoother, more honeyed and a paler chesnut-red.
• Many sites offer recipes and other information about this traditional drink...
  ~ the lowdown from LiqueurWeb. This is similar to the method used to make the Polish cherry liqueur wiszniowka.
  ~ a recipe from Cats Meow 3 including info on freezing!
  ~ detailed information on preparation and aging from JohnR
  ~ simple recipe with photos from Brian Donnan
  ~ Helen Watson's method is similar to mine!
  ~ Even the BBC are getting in on the act now...

Enough of that, methinks. Happy ginning!