GIN
Definition-
Gin is a spirit which is distilled from cereals and flavoured with juniper berries and other
flavourings. Holland, England, Canada, and the USA are the main gin producing countries.
Gin originated in Holland over 3 centuries ago, when Franciscous de la Boe, professor of
medicine at Holland’s University of Leyden, mixed juniper berry and alcohol to create
medicine for kidney disorders. The word ‘gin’ is an abbreviation derived either from the
French word genièvre or the Dutch junever both meaning juniper berry. British soldiers
took the drink before going into battle in the Netherland which gave them ‘Dutch Courage’.
They developed liking for the taste of the spirit and took the art of making this spirit to
England and soon it became popular. They changed the name to gen and later to gin.
In the 18 th century, gin was a cheap remedy for London’s poor and that time, there was
absolutely no control over the production of gin. By 1729 it was estimated that one in every
four houses in London was distilling gin. By 1743 a population of 6.5 million consumed a
staggering 18 million gallons of the gin. Gin drinking became very common in the early 18 th
century and it was so cheap that one could get ‘drunk for a penny and dead drunk for two
pence’. Some employers gave gin to their employees as part-payment of wages. Drinking
was controlled to some extent by the government taxes and licensing laws for distilling.
The introduction of Coffey Still (Patent still) method in 1831 gave scope for production of
better quality gin. Afterword it became more respectable to drink gin, although it is
considered as ‘Mother’s ruin’ because juniper berry is thought to induce abortion. Today,
gin is national drink of England.
Manufacturing of Gin
The process of making London- dry gin is simple. Firstly a fermented wash of corn or
molasses is distilled to make neutral spirit.
The neutral spirit must be flavoured to give aroma and taste of gin. Every brand of gin is
different because every distillers uses his own secret blend of juniper and other
flavourings. The most common flavourings, called botanicals, apart from juniper berry are
coriander, angelica, orris cassia bark, calamus root, cinnamon, liquorice orange peel, and
lemon peel. Coriander is always used.
The neutral spirit can be flavoured in following of two ways
The Head Mix System
This is traditional way to flavour the gin. In this all the flavourings are at the top of a pot
still. The neutral spirit is placed in the still and redistilled; it passes through the condensers
into the receiving vat.
1 By- Shantanu Jaywant Deshpande
The Cold Mix system
In this system botanicals are put in the spirit. The liquid is then distilled in a pot still to give
it a very powerful flavour. The resulting strongly flavoured spirit is then diluted with pure
neutral spirits until the correct proportion of flavouring and alcohol is obtained.
Styles of Gin
London Dry Gin
London dry gin is made from grain spirit which is distilled from a grain mixture of barley,
corn, and rye in patent still, originally made in London. It is unsweetened, classic gin is now
made elsewhere under license and marketed under brand names such as
Booths
Beefeaters
Burroughs
Gilbey’s
Gordons
Seagrams
Tanqueray
Plymouth Gin
This pungent, aromatic, and unsweetened gin is made in Plymouth by Coates. It is
traditional gin of British Navy. Used in the preparation of Pink Gin.
Dutch Gin
Also called Genever or Hollands, it is made by pot still method in Holland, in the cities of
Amsterdam and Schiedam. The two main styles of Hollands are Oude Genever and jonge
Genever meaning old and young gin. Bols and De Kuyper are the best known producers.
Old Tom Gin
Sweetened gin from Scotland, this was originally used in the preparation of ‘tom Collins’
cocktail. However this gin is not available in the market.
Sloe Gin
This is made by steeping sloes( fruit of the blackthorn) in basic gin and is usually drunk as
for schnapps, neat and ice cold.
2 By- Shantanu Jaywant Deshpande
Brands of Gin
Aristocrat - US
Balfour Street Dry - US
Barton London Extra Dry - US
Booth's London Dry - England
Burnett's London Dry - US
Fleischmann's Extra Dry - US
Glenmore London Dry - US
Gordon's London Dry - US
McCormick Dry - US
New Amsterdam Straight - US
Seagram's Extra Dry - US
Taaka Dry - US
Beefeater - England
Beefeater Wet - England
Bombay Dry - England
Boodles London Dry - England
Broker's London Dry - England
Clearheart Gin - US
Crater Lake Gin - US
Greenall's London Dry - England
Iceberg London Dry - Canada
Quintessential Dry - England
Tanqueray London Dry - England
Tanqueray Rangpur - England
Tower of London – England
Aviation - US
Bafferts - England
Bluecoat American - US
Bombay Sapphire - England
Bulldog - England
Cascade Mountain - United States
Citadelle - France
Damrak - Holland
DH Krahn - US
Hendrick's- Scotland
Juniper Green Organic - England
Junipero- US
Mercury London Dry - England
Martin Miller's London Dry - England
Plymouth Gin - England
Quintessential - England
Right Gin - Sweden
Tanqueray No. Ten - England
Tru2 Organic - US
3 By- Shantanu Jaywant Deshpande
Van Gogh- Holland
Zuidam- Holland
G'Vine - France (grape flower base)
Kensington London Dry - Scotland
Leopold Bros. American Small Batch - US
Magellan - France
Old Raj - England
Right - Sweden
The London Gin No.1 Original Blue Gin - England
Bols - Holland
Boomsma - Holland
Filliers - Belgium
Genevieve - US
Hertekamp - Belgium
Petermans - Belgium
Zuidam - Holland
4 By- Shantanu Jaywant Deshpande
