Quarry Wood, Hinstock

This article is about the beverage. For other uses, see Gin (disambiguation).

Gin is a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. Distilled gin is made by redistilling white grain spirit which has been flavoured with juniper berries. Compound gin is made by flavouring neutral grain spirit with juniper berries without redistilling and can be considered a flavoured vodka.

The most common style of gin, typically used for mixed drinks, is London dry gin. London dry gin is made by taking a neutral grain spirit (usually produced in a column still) and redistilling after the botanicals are added. In addition to juniper, it is usually made with a small amount of citrus botanicals like lemon and bitter orange peel. Other botanicals that may be used include anise, angelica root and seed, orris root, licorice root, cinnamon, coriander, and cassia bark.

Distilled gin evolved from the Dutch spirits jonge- and oude- Jenever or Genever (young and old Dutch gin), Plymouth gin, and Old Tom gin. Sloe gin is a common ready-sweetened form of gin that is traditionally made by infusing sloes (the fruit of the blackthorn) in gin. Similar infusions are possible with other fruits, such as damsons (See Damson gin).

A well-made gin will be relatively dry compared to other spirits. Gin is often mixed in cocktails with sweeter ingredients like tonic water or vermouth to balance this dryness.

History

Gin originated in the Netherlands in the 17th century. It is a common misconception that the word gin derives from the Swiss city, Geneva. In fact, the word gin derives from the French word for juniper - genévrier, which of course is the fruit which makes the drink. Its invention is often credited to the physician Franciscus Sylvius. It was sold in pharmacies and used to treat such medical problems as kidney ailments, lumbago, stomach ailments, gallstones, and gout. It spread to England after the Glorious Revolution put William of Orange on the British throne. Dutch gin, also known as jenever or genever, is a distinctly different drink from English-style gin; it is distilled with barley and sometimes aged in wood, giving it a slight resemblance to whisky. Schiedam, in South Holland, is famous for its jenever. Jenever is produced in a pot still and is typically lower in alcohol and more strongly flavoured than London gin.

Hogarth's Gin Lane

Gin became popular in England after the government allowed unlicensed gin production and at the same time imposed a heavy duty on all imported spirits. This created a market for poor-quality grain that was unfit for brewing beer, and thousands of gin-shops sprang up throughout England. By 1740 the production of gin had increased to six times that of beer, and because of its cheapness it became popular with the poor. Of the 15,000 drinking establishments in London, over half were gin-shops. Beer maintained a healthy reputation as it was often safer to drink the brewed ale than unclean plain water. Gin, though, was blamed for various social and medical problems, and it may have been a factor in the higher death rates which stabilized London's previously growing population. The reputation of the two drinks was illustrated by William Hogarth in his engravings Beer Street and Gin Lane (1751). This negative reputation survives today in the English language, in terms like "gin-mills" to describe disreputable bars or "gin-soaked" to refer to drunks, and in the phrase "Mother's Ruin," a common British name for gin.

The Gin Act 1736 imposed high taxes on retailers and led to riots in the streets. The prohibitive duty was gradually reduced and finally abolished in 1742. The Gin Act 1751 was more successful, however. It forced distillers to sell only to licensed retailers and brought gin-shops under the jurisdiction of local magistrates. Gin in the 18th century was produced in pot stills, and was somewhat sweeter than the London gin known today.

In London in the early eighteenth century, gin sold on the black market was prepared in illicit stills (of which there were 1500 in 1726) and was often adulterated with turpentine and sulfuric acid. [1] As late as 1913 Webster's Dictionary states without further comment that 'Common gin is usually flavored with turpentine.' [2]

The column still was invented in 1832, and the "London dry" style was developed later in the 19th century. In tropical British colonies, gin was used to mask the bitter flavour of quinine, a protection against malaria, which was dissolved in carbonated water to form tonic water. This was the origin of today's popular gin and tonic combination, even though it is not necessary for the majority of today's consumers of the drink. Quinine is still prescribed for malaria in many developing countries where more recent treatments are prohibitively expensive.

Gin is a popular base spirit for many mixed drinks, including the martini. Secretly produced "bathtub gin" was commonly available in the speakeasies and "blind pigs" of Prohibition-era America due to the relative simplicity of the production method. Gin remained popular as the basis of many cocktails after the repeal of Prohibition.

The National Gin Museum is in Hasselt, Belgium.

Cocktails with gin

20th Century Easy Street - Gin and Sprite Apoica Cráter - gin and coke Gimlet - gin and lime juice Gin and Tonic - gin and tonic water Gin Rickey - gin, lime juice and carbonated water Gin Fizz Gin bucket Gin Milk Punch - gin and Milk Long Island Iced Tea

Maiden's Prayer Martini - gin and vermouth Negroni Old Etonian Orange Blossom - Plymouth gin and orange juice Pimm's N°1. Pink Gin Punkdutch

Ramos gin fizz Salty Dog Satan's Whiskers Singapore Sling Snoop Dogg, gin and juice (orange) Tin Roof Tom Collins Tranny Dogg, gin with cranberry juice and pineapple juice London Mule, the Gin version of a Moscow Mule Uncle Makee, gin and any cola with lime White Lady

Gin is often combined with a number of other mixers.

Brands of gin

Notable brands

Junípero Beefeater - first produced in 1820 BOLS Damrak Amsterdam - Dutch jenever Blue Gin - a vintage 2006 gin distilled with juniper and celery Bombay Sapphire - distilled with ten botanicals Boodles British Gin Booth's - first produced in 1790 by Sir Felix Booth Bulldog Gin - infused with Poppy and Dragon Eye Ginebra San Miguel - produced in the Philippines Gordon's - "by appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain" G'vine - based on an Ugni Blanc base spirit and infused with green grape flowers Hendrick's Gin - infused with cucumber, coriander, citrus peel and rose petals.

Jensen's Bermondsey Gin - London distilled dry gin Martin Miller's Gin - London dry gin New Amsterdam - From E. & J. Gallo Winery, a Dutch (Jenever) style gin Plymouth - first distilled in 1793 Seagram's Gin South Gin - from New Zealand using New Zealand-native manuka berries and kawa kawa leaves Steinhäger Silver Dry Gin - a Finnish Gin Tanqueray Uganda Waragi - triple distilled Ugandan Waragi Gin Whitley Neill Gin - Small batch Super-premium gin distilled with Baobab fruit and Cape Gooseberries

Historical brands

• Fleischmann's Gin - Marketed as the original American gin, first distilled in 1870

See also

• List of cocktails

References

• Deegan, Grant (1999). "From the bathtub to the boardroom: gin and its history". MY2K: Martini 2000. 1 (1). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Dillon, Patrick (2002). The Much-lamented Death of Madam Geneva: The Eighteenth-century Gin Craze. London: Review. ISBN 0-7472-3545-7.

External links

• A thorough article about the history and types of gin
• Recipes with Gin
• Gin news page - Alcohol and Drugs History Society
• Gin in Victorian London