How well do you know your gin?

A Brief History and Legal Definition of Gin

• Gin is a distilled alcoholic drink flavored with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients.

• Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe.

• Gin became popular in England after the introduction of jenever, a Dutch and Belgian liquor that was originally a medicine.

• Gin today is produced in different ways from a wide range of herbal ingredients, giving rise to a number of distinct styles and brands.

• Gin is commonly consumed mixed with tonic water in a gin and tonic.

• Gin is also often used as a base spirit to produce flavored, gin-based liqueurs, for example, sloe gin, traditionally produced by the addition of fruit, flavorings, and sugar.

• The name gin is a shortened form of the older English word genever, related to the French word genièvre and the Dutch word jenever.

• Gin drinking in England rose significantly after the government allowed unlicensed gin production, and at the same time imposed a heavy duty on all imported spirits such as French brandy.

• Gin is legally differentiated into four categories in the European Union: juniper-flavored spirit drink, gin, distilled gin, and London gin.

• In the United States of America, "gin" is defined as an alcoholic beverage of no less than 40% ABV (80 proof) that possesses the characteristic flavor of juniper berries.

• Gin can be broadly differentiated into three basic styles reflecting modernization in its distillation and flavoring techniques: pot distilled gin, column distilled gin, and compound gin.

• Gin-based liqueurs have been popularized, reaching a market outside that of traditional gin drinkers, including fruit-flavored and usually colored "Pink gin," rhubarb gin, Spiced gin, violet gin, blood orange gin, and sloe gin.Types of Gin and Its Flavouring

• Pot still gin is produced by distilling fermented grain mash in a pot still and redistilling it with flavouring botanicals.

• Column distilled gin is produced by distilling high proof neutral spirits in a column still and redistilling it with juniper berries and other botanicals.

• Compound gin is made by blending neutral spirits with essences or other natural flavourings.

• Popular botanicals used in gin besides juniper include citrus elements, anise, angelica root and seed, orris root, cardamom, pine needles and cone, licorice root, cinnamon, almond, cubeb, savory, lime peel, grapefruit peel, and more.

• The different combinations and concentrations of these botanicals in the distillation process cause the variations in taste among gin products.

• Chemical research has identified various chemicals that are extracted in the distillation process and contribute to gin's flavouring.

• In 2018, more than half the growth in the UK Gin category was contributed by flavoured gin.

• Classic gin cocktails include the martini, gimlet, negroni, and gin and tonic.

• Notable brands of gin include Hendrick's, Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, and Beefeater.

• Gin is commonly consumed in cocktails, especially in the UK, Spain, and the US.

• Gin is also used in cooking, particularly in recipes for seafood and desserts.