b'S P I R I T SG I N - A B R I E F H I S T O R YG I NEnglish troops fighting in the Low Countries were perhaps the first importers of gin to British shores. In 1585 the Earl of Leicesters troops took some Dutch Courage (a tot of gin) prior to battle as they allied themselves to The Netherlands in their conflict with Philip II of Spain. The English were in need of this courageThemiddleofthe18thcenturysawgin is a rectified neutral spirit of 96 % abv onceagainbeforefightinginHolland,lawspassedtocombattheseproblems:made from either grain or molasses which this time during the 30 Years War. Thesegin was taxed and made available for saleis botanicalised either through distillation troopsundoubtedlyreturnedhomewithonly in public houses. This transformed theor compounding.some gin. In the 1660s the famous diaristbeverage of escapism for the working class Samuel Pepys wrote of strong water madeto one of moderation for the middle class.Botanicals are the very heart of a gin and Gin with juniper used as a treatment for colic;Thesubsequentinventionoftheeach producers recipe is a closely guarded Gin althoughwhetherthiswasforhisowncontinuous still in the 19th century movedsecret. Distillation in pot or short column ailment or for infants remains unclear.stills is the best method of extracting the the quality of gin into a new league andessentialoilsfrommostbotanicalsand William of Orange ascended the BritishPrior to this gin bore no resemblance to theefficiently combines their flavours with the throne in 1689, immediately banned Frenchgins of today; it was a thick, sweet, full, richspirit.imports, and passed laws encouraging alldrink with heavy juniper notes. hisnewsubjectstodistil.anedictthatTheflavourcanalsobesimplyadded waswholeheartedlyendorsed!ItishardWith the advent of the continuous still theandsometimesboththesemethodsare toover-estimatetheeffectthishadonimprovement in both the understanding ofcombinedtoaddflavoursnotsuitedto the country. In London by 1720 a quarterdistillation and the quality of the distillatedistillation. of all houses were actively distilling lethalthere was no longer a need for sugar and concoctionmasquerading as gin. It wouldglycerine to mask the rank spirit. Up to a point, it is fair to say that a gin appeartheworkingclassesseemedwill be more complex if a greater number permanently without their faculties, publicGradually, gin became drier, with delicate,ofbotanicalsareused.However,any healthsuffered,peoplebecamesimplycomplex flavours courtesy of a wide rangeginshouldbejudgedonitsbalanceand unemployable,vicereignedandanearlyof exotic botanicals; more like the drink welength of finish rather than subject to mere death predictably came none too soon.know today. It became known as Londonarithmetical analysis. DryGinsimplybecausemostdistillers werebasedinthecapitalcity.Infact,Whendistillingamashor washallthe there has never been a requirement to becongeners(theelementsinalcoholthat geographicallyconnectedtoLondon;thegive a spirit its aromas and flavours) have term then referred to a style and now to adifferentboilingpoints,botanicalsare defined production method.noexception,theircongenersvaporise atdifferenttimes,creatingahazeof Allginismadefromahigh-strength,congeners for the distiller. rectified,neutralspiritandflavouring ingredientsknownasbotanicals. AllginsDistilling gin is an art, what to capture and include juniper berries and EU regulationswhat to discard differentiates the various The essential guide Gin Lane by William Hogarth depicts thestatethatjunipermustbethemostgins.Itisnotjustthebotanicalschosen The essential guide prominent flavour. Genever can be madebutalsohowtheyreacttooneanother only in Holland and Flanders and has itswhen combined that affects the end result. own set of rules and nomenclature. league.Roots, for example, are often used not just for their own intrinsic qualities but because evil consumption of gin in 1751 Therearethreetypesofginthatarethey highlight those of a citric nature as legally defined. The starting point of anywell.4 INN EXPRESS - DRINKS PORTFOLIO 2019|20 - GIN'