The Blackthorn, is a large shrub or a small tree of the genus Prunus, botanically Prunus spinosa. Its fruit is called the sloe.
The blackthorn is native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. The common name is derived from its dark bark and skin, and from the thorns or spines that it bears.
Blackthorn (flowers)
It is covered in white flowers in early spring, and is often the first flowering tree in the countryside in its native regions. It bears a fruit called the sloe, which is similar to a small damson or plum, suitable for preserves, but too sharp to eat; in rural England so-called sloe gin is made from them, though this is not a true gin but a liqueur. In Navarra, Spain, patxaran is a popular liqueur made with sloes.
The blackthorn is extensively planted for hedging and for cover for game birds. Some forms are grown for ornament and flower. The foliage is sometimes eaten by the larvae of Lepidoptera including Emperor Moth and Common Emerald.
Pick your sloes from flthorn hedges in October or November when they are most ripe - probably after the first frosts.
Cut or prick the sloes and drop into the half-empty bottle so that they displace the remaining gin to near the top.
Leaving the sloes on the bush until 'after the first frosts' is in my opinion entirely about allowing full ripening, and has nothing to do with any so-called benefits of freezing!
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