An ancient 'superfood' sent from heaven
Though fleshy and aromatic like a fruit, the juniper berry actually isn't a berry at all. It is, in fact, a seed cone used to spread the seeds of the juniper tree, making it more akin to a pinecone than a blueberry.
Elixirs and tinctures made with juniper berries, gin's main ingredient, can be found in historical records tracing as far back as 11th-century Italy, where monks made medicinal spirits. Gin as we know it today, however, has its origins in Northern Europe.
During the Black Death of the 14th century, juniper berries were widely used by plague doctors, who would stuff their beaked masks with juniper berries in hopes that it would filter out the awful disease that was then thought to spread through the air as a miasma.
Jenever was a hugely popular commodity in Dutch pharmacies and apothecaries. Most historians agree that the drink became popular with soldiers and merchants from the British Isles, who then introduced it to their homeland where it is so wildly popular today.
The history of gin spans almost the entire globe, and indeed it's enjoyed in every corner of the world up to this day. Its unique and versatile flavor makes it stand out amongst other spirits, and it can be enjoyed any number of ways. From the Netherlands to London, from Prohibition-era America to the Philippines, gin has always been a favorite of bartenders and barflies alike.
So, are you up for learning everything there is to know about this special spirit? Then click on to read through these gin facts!
The juniper berry is at the heart of all gin production, and always has been. Juniper trees can be found all over Europe, from Greece to the Netherlands.
The Dutch scientist Franciscus Slyvius is commonly credited as the inventor of jenever, but more recent evidence has proven this to be false. Mention of the drink was found in the script of a play from 1623, at which time Sylvius would have been only nine years old. The true origins of gin are still debated to this day.
Despite the massive global consumption of gin, juniper berries are virtually never grown and cultivated for the express purpose of gin production. To this day, juniper berries are picked wild.
Given its popularity and versatility, it comes as no surprise to find that gin is the most common spirit used in cocktails in the entire world. As a base spirit that is so complementary to so many other flavors, the cocktail possibilities are virtually endless.
Unlike whiskey, scotch, or champagne, the rules regarding what can be called gin and what can't are pretty lax. As long as a spirit has a "predominant juniper flavor," it can be considered gin.
Gin, like many other spirits, is made through a process of distillation. The gin still is a relatively simple machine, and gin production wasn't restricted to factories. By the mid-18th century, over 1,500 gin stills could be found across London.
Long before the Bloody Mary became the queen of the breakfast cocktails, a mixture of gin and tomato juice was a hugely popular hangover cure that countless Americans in the early 20th century swore by.
Despite its versatility, most people don't consider gin a drink to be enjoyed without any accompaniment. Some enthusiasts argue, however, that a good, high-quality gin should be enjoyed without tonic or any other mixer.
Cocktail experts warn drinkers not to emulate James Bond when he orders his martinis "shaken, not stirred." The only thing shaking a martini will do, according to experts, is dilute the already perfectly-balanced flavors of the classic drink.
As gin quickly shifted in popularity from drugstores to drunks during the 18th century, it started to garner a bad reputation in Great Britain. Gin bars were some of the first places where women could be found drinking alongside men, leading critics to call gin "mother's ruin," insinuating that women seen drinking gin were neglecting their children at home.
While England might be the country most commonly associated with gin, they are beat out when it comes to the heaviest gin drinkers per capita. That honor goes to the Southeast Asian nation of the Philippines.
Gin and tonic, one of the most popular mixed drinks in the world, is said to have originated in British-occupied India, where cinchona bark was commonly cultivated to extract quinine, the ingredient in tonic water that gives it its distinct flavor. Quinine was of great importance in certain British colonies, where it was used to fight off malaria and other ailments.
Martinis were popularized in the United States during Prohibition, when bootleg gin was one of the most common spirits available. The strong and sometimes hard-to-handle taste of gin was masked by vermouth.
A forgotten favorite of wintertime cocktails is the hot gin twist. It was so popular in cold, wintery London during the 19th century that a 147-line poem was printed in local papers praising the drink.
Bathtub gin became popular in the United States after all alcohol was criminalized in 1920. Also known as bootleg gin, bathtub gin was crudely made by mixing pure grain alcohols with flavorings and aromatics such as juniper juice. The large, metal bathtubs that were common at the time made perfect containers for this process.
It may seem like a strange pairing, but the flavors of curry and gin complement each other extremely well. Gin is frequently incorporated into curry sauces on the Indian subcontinent, and some adventurous bartenders even flavor their cocktails with curry powder.
Pink gin has been making a comeback in bars in recent years, but it was first concocted in the 19th century, reportedly by two British sailors in 1826. Pink gin incorporates angostura bitters, derived from a tree bark found in the Caribbean, which gives this type of gin its pink coloring.
The rum rations doled out to British sailors are now an iconic part of the story of old life out at sea, but British sailors belonging to the Royal Navy were given gin rations instead.
The gin drunk on navy ships was also notorious for being much stronger than the gin enjoyed by landlubbers. To this day, "navy gin" refers to gin that is more than 57.15% alcohol.
Being such a pure spirit, gin has a theoretically eternal shelf life. The worst that can happen, according to experts, is a slight loss of flavor and strength. Besides that, you've got nothing to worry about when dusting off that old bottle of gin in the back of your cupboard.
Sources: (Sipsmith Gin) (Village Liquors) (Liquor.com)
See also: Wild whiskey facts you never knew
Sloe gin isn't actually a spirit like regular gin, but is considered a liqueur. Sloe gin is made with sloes, a fruit that is similar in appearance to a blueberry but is more reminiscent of plums in taste, giving it a syrupy texture and and a sweet taste.
The real gin fanatics have a very deliberate system in place for tasting gins in order to most thoroughly explore their flavors. Connoisseurs recommend drinking gin at room temperature with equal parts water in order to get the full gin experience.
In the years following 1736, commoners rioted in the streets against the new taxes that seemed to affect only them, and continued to drink, produce, and sell gin illegally. After years of public unrest, the Gin Act of 1736 was repealed in 1743.
In an attempt to curb the seemingly out-of-control gin consumption of Great Britain, Parliament passed the Gin Act of 1736, which placed taxes on the buying and selling of the spirit. A license for the production of gin was now legally required for the first time, although it is believed that only two of these licenses were ever actually procured.
By the 17th century, a drink known as jenever was being produced by numerous distillers and apothecaries across Holland, made with juniper berries and barley. Back then, the tincture wasn't meant for recreational use, but rather was used to treat ailments such as kidney pains, gallstones, and gout.
Genius gin facts to quench your thirst
Fun factoids about one of the world's most popular spirits
FOOD Alcohol
The history of gin spans almost the entire globe, and indeed it's enjoyed in every corner of the world up to this day. Its unique and versatile flavor makes it stand out amongst other spirits, and it can be enjoyed any number of ways. From the Netherlands to London, from Prohibition-era America to the Philippines, gin has always been a favorite of bartenders and barflies alike.
So, are you up for learning everything there is to know about this special spirit? Then click on to read through these gin facts!