Gin – 500 Years And Still Going Strong

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What is gin?

Gin, which can also be described as flavored vodka is a neutral grain spirit re-distilled with botanicals along with a predominant juniper flavor. Juniper berries the fruit after which the spirit is named, is the primary source of gin. Coriander, licorice, angelica root and seed, bitter almonds, orris root, cinnamon, nutmeg, and anise are some other common gin botanicals.

Gin was first invented for an utterly different purpose, as a medicine to help in treating several diseases including stomach problems, gout and kidney disease. In 1650, Franciscus de la Boe, a Dutch doctor produced gin in Holland for medical purposes. In the mid 17^th century gin was most likely to be available in a medical pharmacy than a liquor store. Like other spirits, the distinct flavor of gin quickly gained popularity among the people and it became popular internationally.

Types of gin

Gin is one of the most widely used liquors and is more than 500 years old. It’s available in four different styles and these are London Dry gin, Genever or Dutch gin, Old Tom gin and Compound gin.

London Dry gin– This is most familiar ‘gin’ and is a widely available gin type. London Dry gin is light in body, heavily juniper flavored, very dry and aromatic. During the second and third distillation process, London Dry gin is infused with several other aromatic ingredients to bring the botanical and flowery flavor.

Genever or Dutch gin– History says Genever or Dutch gin is the first style of gin which is made from a base of malt grains rather than the combination of cereal grains. It gives the Genever gin a dark color and flavor similar to whiskey.

Old Tom gin– Another style of gin which is sweeter than Genever and recently it has fallen out of production and favor. Old Tom gin comes in somewhere in between Genever and London Dry gin. The main difference between the Old Tom gin and other styles of gin is that sugar is added in the re-distillation process and it makes Old Tom gin sweeter than others.

Compound gin– This was the most common style of gin in the early days during gin production as it was the first choice of beverage to the labor and people out-of work. Turpentine was one of the essences from which Compound gin derives its flavor. Comparatively cheaper essences are added to neutral grain spirit in Compound gin with no re-distillation.

Production methods

Gins are produced following several methods however, the processes are less or more same. Like vodka, neutral spirit is the base ingredient of gin, the thing that makes vodka different from gin is the addition of juniper and other botanicals during the distillation. However, the inclusion of botanicals varies with the gin styles.

Next step is called maceration where the botanicals are soaked in a neutral spirit in order to extract the flavors and aromas from the botanicals. It results a gin called bathtub gin or infused gin which is the last stage of producing gin to some gin makers while some other makers follow one more step in order to make the gin smoother and cleaner.

In this stage, most of the gin makers refine the macerate in a pot still which creates distilled gin or dry gin. Furthermore, some distillers put the required botanicals in a pot high up in the still and keep it away from any liquid. The extraction of the aromas and flavor is carried out by the evaporated spirit as it blows past the botanicals in the still which is called vapor evaporation.

The product is then sent for quality control checking to make sure it meets the required specification. After distillation, only required amount of sugar, alcohol and water are added.

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