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Gin, whose name comes from the Dutch jenever (juniper), gets its flavor from being distilled with various botanicals; by regulation, the predominant flavor must be from juniper berries. Its medieval origin was a mode of delivering medicine. It is nowadays almost always consumed in cocktails.
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Gin was the first distilled spirit to become genuinely common in England. In the 1700s, when unlicensed gin production was permitted and not taxed, things got a bit crazy: 7500 gin shops in London alone. You were allowed to make gin at home. A common additive was turpentine.
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In 1830, distiller Aeneas Coffey invented the continuous still, allowing huge increases in production of grain alcohol. For gin, the column on the left distilled a grain wash, then redistilled it in the second column, passing it through a basket of botanicals.
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Gin used to be sold in barrels, which imparted flavor and coloring. In 1861, the English government compelled the sale of spirits in bottle, which is when gin became a “white” spirit. The photo is an antique bottle from when gin exported from The Netherlands was still being called Geneva.
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Before vodka hit, gin was the white spirit of choice. In the 1950s, everyone was drinking gin martinis and gin & tonics. People were obsessive about dry martinis, meaning using very little vermouth. Beefeater was the luxury brand.
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Concurrent with the boom in craft distilling is making gin using practically anything: raspberry gin, rhubarb and strawberry gin, violet gin. Gone are the days of clear gin. People get worked up about “gins” that have no juniper. Big deal.