Martin Brown wrote:

I take it you are well aware that sloe bushes are rather spiny and a bit
rampant. It is used as a stock proof hedge where I live in North
Yorkshire and is hardy to at least -10C in our soggy wet winters.

And a jab from one of those spines often turns septic.

The
sloes are only worth harvesting after they have been frosted. Sloe gin
is good and aromatic but looks like pink paraffin in the early stages.

You can get over that by wrapping a bag of them in bubblewrap and/or a
towel, etc, and put them in a freezer. This slows down the cooling, then
the ice crystals which form do so slowly and puncture the cell walls.

--
Rusty