English troops fighting in the Low Countries were perhaps the first importers of gin to British shores. In 1585 the Earl of Leicester’s troops took some Dutch Courage—a tot of gin—prior to battle as they allied themselves to The Netherlands in their conflict with Philip II of Spain.

The English were in need of this courage once again before fighting in Holland, this time during the 30 Years War. These troops undoubtedly returned home with some gin. In the 1660’s the famous diarist Samuel Pepys wrote of “strong water made with juniper” used as a treatment for colic; although whether this was for his own ailment or for infants remains unclear!

William of Orange ascended the British throne in 1689, immediately banned French imports, and passed laws encouraging all his new subjects to distil—an edict that was wholeheartedly endorsed ! It is hard to over-estimate the effect this had on the country. In London by 1720 a quarter of all houses were actively distilling lethal concoctions masquerading as gin. The working classes seemed permanently without their faculties, public health suffered, people became simply unemployable, vice reigned and an early death paradoxically came none too soon as illustrated by the satirist Hogarth.

The middle of the 18th century saw laws passed to combat these problems: gin was taxed and made only available for sale in public houses. It transformed the beverage of escapism for the working class to one of moderation for the middle class.

The subsequent invention of the continuous still in the 19th century moved gin into a new league in terms of quality. Prior to this gin bore no resemblance to the gins of today; it was a thick, sweet, full, rich drink with heavy juniper notes. With the advent of the continuous still and the improvement in both the understanding of distillation and the quality of the distillate there was no longer a need for sugar and glycerine to mask the rank spirit.

Gradually, gin became drier, with delicate, complex flavours courtesy of a wide range of exotic botanicals; in short more like the drink we know today. It became known as London Dry Gin simply because most distillers were based in the capital cit y. In fact, there has never been a requirement to be geographically connected to London; the term has always been stylistic.

Gin is made from a high-strength, rectified, neutral spirit and flavouring ingredients known as botanicals. All gins include juniper berries and EU regulations state that this must be the most prominent flavour. Genever can be made only in Holland and Flanders and has its own set of rules and nomenclature.

WHAT CAN BE ON THE LABEL?
Unlike other famous spirits where quality is indicated by industry standard terms such as VSOP, branded quality names such as Paradis or simple age statements, the gin drinker must look for different things on the label.

THE MOST MEANINGFUL ARE:

BRAND NAME: The development of gin was due to several famous distilling families, all of whom were based in London. Their secret recipes for the botanicals remain the foremost indicator of the style and flavour one gets from their products. No two famous brands taste alike, with each preferring a different influence from the next.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN/DISTILLATION: The country of origin will also influence the flavour, with some countries preferring heavier juniper or citrus elements.

STYLE OF GIN: The ubiquitous London Dry Gin, Plymouth, Old Tom and the various types of Dutch Genever will each indicate to the drinker the style of gin one should expect.

STRENGTH OF ALCOHOL: More so than in some other spirits, the strength of gin will also indicate how prominently the botanicals will feature. This is a direct function of the amount of water added during the reduction process. Some would argue that the ideal is between 40–55 % abv as below this a gin is unable to hold its flavours and the complexity and balance are thus adversely affected.

DISTILLED GIN/GIN: The first indicates the botantical flavourings were added through distillation, and the second indicates their addition through compounding.

THE POPULARITY OF GIN
There is no doubt the popularity of modern gin has been driven by its development from the origins of the Gin & Tonic (G&T) and the Dry Martini. It may have suffered at the hands of vodka recently, but there is currently a resurgence of interest in the different gin flavours and their use in cocktails. If made well, the most popular, be it a Martini, Negroni, Gimlet, Bronx, Collins, Sling or Fizz, will still exhibit the nuances and purity of the gin from which it was made.

GIN & TONIC: Whereas neat gin was added to make lime juice more palatable to sailors in an effort to prevent scurvy, the G&T was originally developed as a medicine for the British Empire Army to help fight malaria. The essential ingredient, quinine, was bitter to the taste and the drink made from it—tonic water—was also bitter. Add gin and lime or lemon, and one immediately had a much more agreeable drink— and one which was good for you ! The G&T has never really lost its popularity.

THE MARTINI: Well, which story is true ? Do we start in the 1860’s with a gin and vermouth drink called the Martinez ? In the 1870’s in town called Martinez ? In the 1890’s with the Marguerite Cocktail ? Or with the most likely story which took place in 1911 at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York ; the head barman, Martini di Arma di Taggia, mixed half and half London gin, Noilly Prat vermouth with orange bitters, chilled the drink on ice and strained it into a chilled glass. It became known after him as a Martini.

HOW IS IT MADE?
The starting point to gin is a rectified spirit of 96 % abv made from either grain or molasses. Premium gins are often made from the former as grain gives better quality spirit.

The high-strength alcohol is then reduced with pure water to about 45 % abv, and in the case of distilled gins, botanicals are then added. Botanicals are the very heart of a gin and each producer’s recipe is a closely guarded secret. Depending on the producer, the spirit and the botanicals are either immediately distilled in a copper pot still or macerated first for up to 48- hours.

Up to a point it is fair to say that the more botanicals used the better the gin, although any gin with over 10 botanicals should be judged on its balance, complexity and length of finish rather than subject to mere arithmetical analysis.

Alcoholic distillation works on the basis that alcohol, with a boiling point of 78.3 ˚C, is more volatile than water and thus when an alcoholic wash is heated the alcohol vapourises first.

All the congeners—the elements in alcohol that give a spirit its aromas and flavours—have different boiling points. The botanicals are no exception, their congeners vapourise at different times, creating a haze of congeners for the distiller.

A simplified example would detect more of the citric characters leading the way, followed by juniper with roots bringing up the tail—no pun intended ! Distilling gin is an art—what to capture and what to discard differentiates the various gins.

It is not just the botanicals chosen but also how they react to one another when combined that affects the end result. Roots, for example, are often used not just for their own intrinsic qualities but because they highlight those of a citric nature as well.

Commence collection early and finish early and the result will be a light, delicate, elegant spirit with good citric notes. Start later and finish later and the result will be a richer, fuller style with more earthy characteristics.

Distillation in pot stills is the best method of extracting the essential oils from the botanicals and combining their flavours with the spirit. This method gives a distillate with a heart of approximately 85 % abv.

The production method for gin as opposed to distilled gin is to reduce a 96 % abv rectified spirit to the desired strength and to subsequently add essences of botanicals. These flavours are merely stirred in and can seem somewhat disembodied; this is then diluted with pure water and bottled. Gin does not require ageing.