Gin

Non-aged liquor made by distilling grains such as barley, corn, oats or rye with
Juniper Berries. This prickly evergreen bush grows in the wild in mountain gullies
and woods, as well as in cultivated areas. Styles of gin distilling vary in their
concentrations of juniper and other aromatics. London dry gin is any colorless gin, the
majority of which is made in England and America. Holland’s gin, also known as
genever or jenever gin, is a Dutch product that tastes very different from other gins
because it's made with a large proportion of barley malt, The first Dutch gin was used
as medicine. The name gin is derived from the French name for juniper, genievre.

Gin is a spirit, or strong alcoholic beverage. It is made from the distillation of white grain spirit and juniper
berries (or sloe berries, in the case of sloe gin), which provide its distinctive flavour. The taste of ordinary gin is
very dry (unlike sloe gin), and as such it is rarely drunk neat.

History
Gin originated in the Netherlands in the 17th century - its invention is often credited to the physician Franciscus
Sylvius. From there it spread to England after the Glorious Revolution put a Dutchman on the English throne.
Dutch gin, known as jenever, 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. Hasselt, in Belgium, is famous for its
jenever.

Gin became very popular in England after the government created a market for poor quality grain that was unfit
to be used in brewing beer by allowing unlicensed gin production and at the same time imposing a heavy duty
on all imported spirits. Thousands of gin-shops sprang up all over England. By 1740 the production of gin had
increased to six times that of beer and because of its cheapness it became extremely 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, but gin was blamed for various social and
medical problems, and may have been a factor in the high death rate that caused London's previously increasing
population to remain stable. 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;
terms such as "gin-mills" to describe disreputable bars or calling drunks "gin-soaked". The 1736 Gin Act
imposed high taxes on retailers but led to riots in the streets. The prohibitive duty was gradually reduced and
finally abolished in 1742. The 1751 Gin Act however was more successful. It forced distillers to sell only to
licensed retailers and brought gin-shops under the jurisdiction of local magistrates.

In the 19th century, gin became a more respectable drink, and was often drunk mixed with quinine-based tonic
water in malarial areas of the British Empire. Many other gin-based mixed drinks were invented, including the
martini. Gin, in the form of secretly-produced "bathtub gin", was a common drink in the speakeasies of
Prohibition-era America. It remained popular as the basis of many cocktails after the repeal of Prohibition
 Famous gin brands
 Beefeater - first produced in 1820
 Bombay - distilled with eight botanicals
 Bombay Sapphire - distilled with ten botanicals
 Gordon's
 Plymouth - first distilled in 1793
 Seagram's
 Tanqueray - available in 80 or 94.6 proof (the 94.6 usually branded as Tanqueray "Ten" in some
markets)

Other gin brands and variations

 Anchor Junipero Gin - produced in California by Anchor Steam Brewery
 Bafferts Gin - Triple-distilled with four botanicals in England
 Bellringer Gin - 94.4 proof English gin.
 Bols Gin
 Bombadier Military Gin
 Boodles British Gin - 90.4 proof gin
 Boomsma Jonge Genevere Gin
 Burnett's Crown Select Gin
 Caballito: Panama's finest export gin
 Cadenhead's Old Raj Gin - 110 proof gin containing a small amount of saffron, which imparts a slight
yellowish/greenish tint
 Citadelle - distilled with nineteen botanicals in France
 Cork Dry
 Cascade Mountain Gin - uses hand-picked wild juniper berries, distilled in Oregon
 Demrak Amsterdam - distilled five times with seventeen botanicals
 Dirty Olives
 Gilbey's London Dry Gin
 Gin Llave - Argentina's prime and extra-smooth concoction.
 Greenall's Original Gin
 Hamptons Gin
 Hendrick's Gin - infused with cucumber, coriander, citrus peel and rose petals
 Juniper Green Organic Gin - first gin made from all organic ingredients in England with four botanicals
 Leyden Dry Gin - Distilled three times in small batches, twice in column stills then in a pot still
 Old Raj Gin - See "Cadenhead's Old Raj Gin"
 Quintessential
 Schlichte GinUrbrannt
 South Gin - triple distilled in New Zealand using nine botanicals, two of which are native: manuka berries and
kawa kawa leaves, believed by the indigenous Maori people to offer medicinal properties
 Swordsman
 Tanqueray Malacca - triple distilled in small batches
 Tanqueray No. 10 - distilled with fresh botanicals, not dried
 Distillation of Gin
Most Gin is initially distilled in efficient column stills. The resulting spirit is high-proof, light-bodied, and clean
with a minimal amount of congeners (flavor compounds) and flavoring agents. Genever is distilled in less-efficient
pot stills, which results in a lower-proof, more flavorful spirit.

Low-quality "compound" gins are made by simply mixing the base spirit with juniper and botanical extracts.
Mass-market gins are produced by soaking juniper berries and botanicals in the base spirit and then redistilling the
mixture.

Top-quality gins and genevers are flavored in a unique manner. After one or more distillations the base spirit is
redistilled one last time. During this final distillation the alcohol vapor wafts through a chamber in which the dried
juniper berries and botanicals are suspended. The vapor gently extracts aromatic and flavoring oils and compounds
from the berries and spices as it travels through the chamber on its way to the condenser. The resulting flavored
spirit has a noticeable degree of complexity.

Classifications of Gin
London Dry Gin is the dominant English style of Gin. As a style it lends itself particularly well to mixing. London
Dry Gin is the dominant Gin style in the United Kingdom, former British colonies, the United States, and Spain.

Plymouth Gin is relatively full-bodied (when compared to London Dry Gin). It is clear, slightly fruity, and very
aromatic. Originally the local Gin style of the English Channel port of Plymouth, modern Plymouth Gin is
nowadays made only by one distillery in Plymouth, Coates & Co., which also controls the right to the term
Plymouth Gin.

Old Tom Gin is the last remaining example of the original lightly sweetened gins that were so popular in 18th-
century England. The name comes from what may be the first example of a beverage vending machine. In the
1700s some pubs in England would have a wooden plaque shaped like a black cat (an "Old Tom") mounted on the
outside wall. Thirsty passersby would deposit a penny in the cat’s mouth and place their lips around a small tube
between the cat’s paws. The bartender inside would then pour a shot of Gin through the tube and into the
customer’s waiting mouth. Until fairly recently limited quantities of Old Tom-style Gin were still being made by a
few British distillers, but they were, at best, curiosity items.

Genever or Hollands is the Dutch style of Gin. Genever is distilled from a malted grain mash similar to that used
for whisky. Oude ("old") Genever is the original style. It is straw-hued, relatively sweet and aromatic. Jonge
("young") Genever has a drier palate and lighter body. Some genevers are aged for one to three years in oak casks.
Genevers tend to be lower proof than English gins (72-80 proof or 36-40% ABV is typical). They are usually
served straight up and chilled. The classic accompaniment to a shot of Genever is a dried green herring. Genever is
traditionally sold in a cylindrical stoneware crock. Genever-style gins are produced in Holland, Belgium, and
Germany.

Gin Regions
The United Kingdom produces mostly dry Gin, primarily from column stills. British gins tend to be high proof
(90° or 45% ABV) and citrus-accented from the use of dried lemon and Seville orange peels in the mix of
botanicals. British gins are usually combined into mixed drinks.

Holland and Belgium produce Genever, mostly from pot stills. Genevers are distilled at lower proof levels than
English gins and are generally fuller in body. Many of these gins are aged for one to three years in oak casks.
Some Genever producers now market fruit-flavored genevers, the best known being black currant. Dutch and
Belgian genevers are usually chilled and served neat.

Germany produces a Genever-style Gin called Dornkaat in the North Sea coast region of Frisia. This spirit is
lighter in body and more delicate in flavor than both Dutch Genever and English dry Gin. German Gin is usually
served straight up and cold.

Spain produces a substantial amount of Gin, all of it in the London Dry style from column stills. Most of it is sold
for mixing with cola.

The United States is the world’s largest Gin market. London Dry Gin accounts for the bulk of domestic Gin
production, with most of it being produced in column stills. American Dry gins (often termed "soft" gins) tend to
be lower proof (80° or 40% ABV) and less flavorful than their English counterparts ("hard" gins). This rule applies
even to brands such as Gordon’s and Gilbey’s, which originated in England. America’s best-selling Gin,
Seagram’s Extra Dry, is a rare cask-aged Dry Gin. Three months of aging in charred oak barrels gives the Gin a
pale straw color and a smooth palate.

Sloe gin
Sloe gin is a sweet gin-based liqueur flavored with blackthorn plums (sloe plums), and is not a "real" gin. It is aged
on wood-barrels and has a red color.