Tis the season for a tipple................

.....and at E,W&W command central that currently means this stuff.......

Well actually it will mean this stuff in about a year as I've just decanted it and want to let it develop. This is my home made sloe gin or as I've named it "Red Kryptonite" (because I'm a huge geek) and it's another of those things I thought I'd told you about but apparently didn't. Non-european readers: Sloes are a hedgerow fruit from the Prunus genus (ie same as plums, cherries, peaches and so on) that are small and bitter raw but which when pricked and combined with gin and sugar in the right quantities create a rather delectable liqueur type thing over the course of a few months). If you don't have sloes (or the similar damsons or bullaces around then there is probably a local equivalent you could switch too). I've got a couple of bottles of this stuff and a couple of bottles of sloe whisky set aside for next year's festivities (and a little friendly competition). I've also just filtered a couple of bottles of blackberry vinegar so a) the house smells amazing, b) the hedgerow was kind to me this year; and c) I'm feeling like quite the domestic guru. Time for a latte break.