Everything you want to know about the history of gin
The history of gin is a long and complex one, of which I will only be covering a very small portion. If you are interested in a more in-depth read, I would highly recommend both The Curious Bartender’s Guide to Gin, or The Curious Bartender’s Gin Palace, both written by Tristan Stephenson.
The majority of people are only aware of a single type of gin, the London dry, because of this it is a common misconception that gin originated in England. This is not the case, in reality “gin” originated in Holland but under a different name. Gin was originally known as genever or jenever which is the French word for Juniper. Genever was a common replacement for wine during poor grape harvests, during these difficult harvests wine became scarce and expensive, the majority of which was reserved for aristocratic families who could afford such a luxury. Due to the limited wine production other forms of alcohol began to emerge, namely beer and grain-based distillate. Barley was the grain of choice for the production of genever because it was a very hearty grain with high yields as well as a very high sugar content which was perfect for fermentation and later distillation.
The London dry style of gin didn’t come around until the early 1570’s during the Eighty Years’ War when many residents fled to Holland and the boarders of Germany and others into England. During this time there was a lot of contact between Dutch and English soldiers. This led to many English soldiers developing a taste for genever, also know as “Dutch Courage”, although many people are familiar with the phrase “Dutch Courage” they don’t always know its origins. English soldiers were amazing by the fearlessness of their Dutch counterparts and soon realized it was because the Dutch soldiers were taking swigs from hip flasks before charging into battle. It was soon realized that what they were drinking was genever as it was thought to steady their nerves and give the soldiers false confidence. After the war ended the soldiers returned to England and this is when we saw the development of London dry gin. The term gin simply came from a translation error because the English soldiers could not pronounce genever and therefore shortened it to gin. They also didn’t fully know what botanicals were used in the production of genever which lead to the birth of London dry gin. But more on how the flavour profiles of these gins differ later.
At the turn of the 18th century the gin boom was in full swing. Gin was the drink of choice for many lower-class people because it cost the same as beer but had a much higher alcohol content making it cheaper and easier to get drunk on. Now it is important to note the “gin” that I am referring to here is not the gin we have today, our understanding of fermentation and distillation has come so far from what was understood in the 18th century. Even the types of still used for gin production have changed since then, the gin produced during this time was made from very high proof, low quality neutral spirit that needed to be heavily flavoured with botanicals to mask the unpleasant flavour of the spirit itself. It got to the point where many gin manufactures were using pine tree resin instead of German juniper to reduce the cost of production; and this was one of the better ingredients added to gin. Over the years and as demand for gin continued to increase manufacturers began cutting more and more corners to keep up with sales. To give you an idea as to why gin became so popular it was because it was cheaper than most necessities such as bread, vegetables, and especially meat, it made life for the lower class barrable simply by providing them with an affordable escape to those living in the slums of London. Gin was cheap, assessable, and highly addictive. Unfortunately, it was also quite poisonous in large quantities, when consumed in large quantities over an extended period of time it was known to cause blindness, loss of feeling in hands and feet, death, and in some cases the loss of one’s mind. This is when many derogatory names became associated with gin, these names included a mother’s demise or a mother’s ruin, blue ruin, and the devil’s left hand.
It took a very long time for the government to get involved with the gin craze and it actually wasn’t until 1720 that we saw any real acknowledgement from the government in regard to the detrimental effects of gin in the slums of London. Over the next 30 years we saw six gin acts put into place, the majority of which focused on regulating the production and distribution of gin. The main focus of these acts were on licensing and taxation, these acts were meant to limit those who were allowed to produce gin, fines were set into place for those drinking in the streets and for produces who cut corners during production. These acts also lead to workhouses and prisons being forced to stop serving gin to those living there. As these taxes and regulations began to be enforced many of the small-scale producers where squeezed out of the industry because they could not afford the licensing or to produce under the new regulations. As the small producers started closing down and larger producers started paying more in taxes as well as for ingredients the cost of gin started to rise. Many low-income people were forced to go back to drinking beer and porter because they could no longer afford gin.
However, this was not the end of gin in England, in fact with these more rigorous regulations the quality of gin skyrocketed which helped to rebrand gin as a gentleman’s drink. With this new type of clientele, the price of gin increased, this is when we started seeing gin palaces pop up. These where very extravagant bars where people of all social classes would gather around the bar where there were many gins to choose from. Barrels lined the walls, as did taps and bottles, all prepared to pour a shot of gin to whomever had the money.
There is considerably more history surrounding the evolution of gin, but I feel as though this gives you a good introduction and highlights the general trajectory of gin throughout the ages.
