The Story of Gin - Part 1
The Story of Gin - Part 1
Gin is perhaps the most popular spirit when bartenders and mixologists need to make a good cocktail - and for good reason; the clear, pure gin has a wide flavor spectrum and can be both gentle, round and delicious or a hard-hitting rumble bass with lots of alcohol - and everything in between!
The history of gin goes back to the Middle Ages, where, especially in the Netherlands, the drink known as Jenever was made - a strong spirit that had juniper berries added after distillation. Juniper, which also gave its name to the spirit Jenever, was chosen because of its healing properties. Gin came to England after the Thirty Years' War, which ended in 1648. English soldiers came home and told about the Dutch soldiers' courage, 'The Dutch courage', which was due to them having consumed plenty of Jenever before going into battle.
In the late 17th century, Gin experienced an explosion in popularity in England; to finance King William III's penchant for war, the tax on gin was removed - and since the clear, tasty spirit was also cheaper and easier to produce than beer, it wasn't long before about half of England's 15,000 pubs were gin bars and it was estimated that there were about 5,000 gin distilleries.
Artist William Hogarth's engraving 'Gin Lane' showing the harmful effects of Gin on society in the 18th century.
However, consumption of that magnitude also leads to certain problems; in the early 18th century, the (mis)use of Gin was massive - it is estimated that every Englishman, from child to old man, drank one liter of Gin - per week!
Approximately 5,000 minors died from alcohol poisoning during this period, giving gin a bad reputation for many years to come. By 1736 the government had had enough and introduced the law known as the “Gin Act”; it increased the price of gin by a fifth, but it had little effect; the population revolted and the law was largely ignored. In fact, gin production increased during this period, and a staggering 50 million litres of gin were now being distilled - or about 63 litres of gin for each man - and that was just in London.
In 1742, the law was revised in collaboration with the distilleries, who now had to have a license from the state, and a new gin law was implemented, which in its main features still applies today.
However, gin still had a bad reputation, the popular nickname 'Mothers Milk' had become 'Mothers Ruin' by the early 19th century and gin had largely been replaced by beer as the preferred refreshment.
However, gin would rise again and gain renewed popularity - helped along the way by the malaria mosquito - you can read more about that next week...