Anyone who’s tried a glass of Burrell’s Dry Gin or Marie Jeanne’s Pink Gin will tell you that a G&T is good for the soul, but you may not know that gin actually began as a medicinal liquor.
To mark World Gin Day on 12 June, we’re taking a look at the surprising history of gin, from the monks of medieval Europe through to the amazing craft gins of today.
The origin of gin can be traced back to the 13th century, when alchemists and monks across Europe distilled and flavoured alcohol as an aqua vitae. This ‘water of life’ was thought to have wide-ranging health benefits, although it was little more than a concentrated alcohol solution.
One of the most commonly used herbs in medicine was juniper, which Roman and medieval doctors used to cure everything from coughs and colds to pains, strains and cramps. By infusing juniper into their aqua vitae, early distillers thought their drink could bring good health and protect drinkers from a variety of illnesses and diseases.
Of course, it didn’t take long for people to start drinking it purely for enjoyment.
The direct ancestor of the drink we know today is a Dutch and Belgian liquor called jenever which dates back to at least the 16th century.
Originally medicinal, the liquor was made by distilling wine to 50% ABV and infusing it with herbs to mask the unpleasant taste caused by the primitive techniques for distillation.
Because of the drink’s high surface tension, a glass would be filled to the brim, with the drink rising higher than the edge of the glass so you’d take your first sip of the drink without lifting it off the table!
Typically made using juniper, jenever was traditionally served at room temperature, with some sugar and a tiny spoon for stirring. In the mid-17th century, it was sold in pharmacies to treat problems such as kidney stones, lumbago, gallstones and gout. It was also popular among English soldiers during the Eighty Years’ War.
Although it has no connection with the Swiss city of Geneva, ‘jeneva’ was anglicised to ‘geneva’ and English drinkers returning from battle in the Low Countries brought the liquor, and the anglicised name, back with them.
Replicating the spirit at home, English distillers shortened the name to ‘gin’ and, by the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the drink had become a popular (and more affordable) alternative to brandy.
Gin making was given a further boost when the government imposed heavy duties on imported spirits and allowed unlicensed gin production in England. This protected British distillers from international competitors and created a larger market for domestic barley growers, with barley that wasn’t suitable for beer being ideal for gin production.
Between 1695 and 1735, thousands of gin shops opened as the country experienced what is known as the ‘gin craze’ of the early 18th century. In contrast to French brandy, gin was widely seen as a ‘protestant’ drink for rich and poor alike, capitalising on the political and religious conflicts between Britain and France. Amazingly, more than half of the 15,000 alcoholic drinking establishments in London were gin shops and the spirit became a firm favourite.
Slightly sweeter than modern dry gins, the gins of this period were made in pot stills and the quality varied hugely: Gin was famously enjoyed and advocated by Queen Anne and government ministers, but some distillers were also flavouring drinks with turpentine or even sulphuric acid.
Of course, the unlicensed production and unregulated consumption of gin soon got out of control and the spirit was blamed for a variety of social problems, including an increase in London’s death rates.
In 1736, Middlesex magistrates decried gin as “the principle cause of all the vice & debauchery committed among the inferior sort of people” and the artist William Hogarth furthered this reputation with his infamous engraving ‘Beer Street and Gin Lane’ (1751) which depicted drunken men and women, fighting, neglecting children, starving to death and being carried off in wheelbarrows.
The original gin craze was finally brought under control in the early 18th century with a series of Gin Acts which imposed high taxes on retailers and forced distillers to only sell to licenced retailers.
In the early 18th century, the column still was developed, making it possible to create neutral spirits which carried a much less potent taste enabling them to carry more subtle flavours and have improved consistency. This led to the creation of the modern gin styles we know today, including London dry gin which was created in the 19th century.
The design of our own hybrid copper still, Angelica, is a combination of a column still and the traditional pot still, enabling us to produce smooth gins with intense flavour.
Of course, a key part of the history of gin is the combination of gin and tonic. This was a development made by drinkers in tropical British colonies who sought to use gin to mask the flavour of the antimalarial compound, quinine.
When quinine dissolves in carbonated water, it produces tonic water and this is how gin’s most famous mixer was created – although modern tonic water contains only a trace of quinine for flavour.
Over recent years, gin has regained popularity around the world, with amazing innovations being made to create a wide variety of delicious spirits, cocktails and mixers. Hybrid stills, with their traditional copper pot and 18th century columns have seen countless improvements over the years, helping to drive a craft gin revolution…. But, thankfully, the latest ‘gin craze’ is very different to the one which came before.
Happy World Gin Day!
