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Gin – a classic English alcoholic drink made from juniper berries, coriander, angelica, orris root, almonds and other ingredients.
The taste and smell of high-quality gin is certainly accompanied by exceptional notes of juniper berries, and the color is always transparent, without turbidity and sediment.
The strength of the gin must be at least 37,5%.
three gin recipes
Everything you need to know about gin
Origin of the name
Gin is a shortened form of the older English word genever, related to the French word genièvre and the Dutch word jenever. Which ultimately means “juniper”.
Fortress
According to European legislation, the strength of a classic gin should not fall below 37,5 degrees.
As for the upper bar, then the right to make a decision remains with the manufacturer. But, as a rule, it is based around 47 degrees.
Production nuances
Today, gin is a slow distillation of herbal alcohol tinctures, produced in a special vertical still.
It should be noted that there is also a surrogate version of the drink, produced by mixing alcohol with water and ready-made alcohol-herbal essence.
The first gin was made in Holland
Of course, now gin is more associated with England, but the fact is that it was first invented in Holland.
Gin came to England thanks to the soldiers who participated in the Dutch War of Independence in the 17th century. London gin as we know it now came later, about 150 years later.
The roots of the popularity of gin and tonic go back to India
In the 19th century, the British began their expansion into India. But faced with new diseases, in particular malaria, they had to look for ways to treat them.
So a medicinal tonic was invented, which had a very bitter taste. To dilute this bitterness, gin was added to it.
Cocktail Gimlet
The Gimlet cocktail recipe was invented to stop sailors from scurvy. In those days, this was a significant problem, and many sailors were on the verge of death. Everything changed with a mixture of gin and lime juice.
Most gin is drunk outside of England
The global market estimates that approximately 43% of the world’s gin is consumed in the Philippines. The Filipinos even have a special word for drinking gin – “Ginuman”.
You can make your own gin
Now there are many ready-made components for the production of homemade gin. You can easily buy them online. And for the especially intricate, special distillers and more advanced kits are sold for creating your own gin.
But if you plan to enjoy this wonderful drink once a year, then it is better to buy a famous gin in your bar at the nearest liquor store.
The story of gin
The earliest known written reference to jenever is found in the 13th century encyclopedic work Der Naturen Bloeme (Bruges), and the earliest printed recipe for jenever dates from the 16th century work Een Constelijck Distileerboec (Antwerp).
The physician Francis Silvius is erroneously credited with the invention of gin in the mid-17th century, the existence of jenever is confirmed in Philip Massinger’s play The Duke of Milan (1623), when Silvius would have been about nine years old.
It is further stated that the English soldiers who provided support in Antwerp against the Spanish in 1585, during the Eighty Years’ War, were already drinking jenever for its pre-battle calming effect, from which researchers believe the term “Dutch courage” originated. .
By the middle of the 17th century, numerous small Dutch and Flemish distillers popularized the re-distillation of malt spirits or malt wine with juniper, anise, cumin, coriander, etc., which were sold in pharmacies and used to treat problems such as kidney disease, lumbago , diseases of the stomach, gallstones and gout.
The canonical gin appeared in England in various forms by the early 17th century. The drink became much more popular as an alternative to brandy when William III, II and I and Mary II became kings of England, Scotland and Ireland after the revolution.
The use of gin in England increased significantly after the government allowed the production of unlicensed gin, and at the same time imposed a heavy duty on all imported spirits.
Such actions by the authorities led to a flourishing market for poor-quality barley, which was unsuitable for brewing beer, and in 1695-1735 thousands of gin shops sprang up throughout England – a period known as the “Gin Craze”.
Due to the low price of gin compared to other drinks, alcohol began to be regularly consumed by the poor. Of the 15000 drinking establishments in London, not counting coffee houses and chocolate shops, more than half sold gin.
The beer maintained a healthy reputation, as it was often safer to drink brewed ale than impure plain water. Jean, however, was blamed for various social problems and this may have been a factor in the higher death rate that stabilized London’s previously growing population.
The reputation of the two drinks was illustrated by William Hogarth in his engravings “Beer Street” and “Gin Lane” (1751), which the BBC described as “perhaps the most powerful anti-drug poster”.
The Gin Act of 1736 heavily taxed retailers, leading to riots in the streets. Then the tax was gradually reduced, and finally abolished in 1742.
However, the gin law of 1751 was more successful; he forced distillers to sell only to licensed retailers, and brought gin shops under the jurisdiction of local magistrates.
Interestingly, gin in the 18th century was made in pots and was somewhat sweeter than the London gin known today.
In the early 18th century, gin was legally distilled in London residences and often flavored with turpentine for resinous woody notes in addition to juniper.
In 1913, Webster’s Dictionary states without further comment that “plain gin” is flavored with turpentine.
Another common option was distillation with the addition of sulfuric acid. Although the acid itself is not distilled, it adds additional flavor to the resulting gin.
Dutch or Belgian gin, also known as jenever or genever, is derived from the spirit of malt wine, and is a markedly different drink from later styles of gin.
Schiedam, a city in the province of South Holland, is famous for its history of jenever production. The same is true of Hasselt in the Belgian province of Limburg.
The 18th century gave rise to a gin called “Old Tom”, which is a softer and sweeter gin, often containing sugar. “Old Tom” disappeared at the height of its popularity by the turn of the 20th century.
The invention of the distillation column in the 19th century took distillation to a new level of quality, which made it possible to create the style of “London dry gin”.
In the tropical British colonies, gin was used to mask the bitter taste of quinine, which was the only effective antimalarial. Today this mix is known as “gin tonic”.
Sloe gin is traditionally described as a liquor made by steeping blackthorn berries in gin, although modern versions almost always consist of neutral spirits and flavorings.
Another popular gin-based liquor with a long history is Pimm’s No.1 Cup, which is a fruit cup flavored with citrus and spices.
The national jenever museums are located in Hasselt, Belgium and in Schiedam, the Netherlands.
Since 2013, gin has become more and more popular. New brands appear, various cocktail recipes and other gin-based blended spirits are created, such as gin-based liqueurs, colored “pink gin”, rhubarb gin, spiced gin, purple gin, Sicilian orange gin, etc.
Gin Production Methods
Since its inception, several different technologies for gin production have emerged, and this evolution reflects the constant modernization of distillation and flavoring methods.
As a result of the development of technology, genies are divided into three categories:
Distilled through an alembic
It is the earliest type of gin. It is traditionally made by distilling fermented grains (malted wine) of barley or other grains and then redistributing it using flavoring plant materials to extract aromatic compounds.
Fermentation of the grain must produces a neutral spirit (similar to vodka) that is predominantly tasteless.
A double gin can be obtained by re-distilling the first gin with more botanicals. This type of gin is often aged in tanks or wooden barrels and retains a heavier, malty flavor that gives it a distinct whiskey likeness.
Distilled through distillation column
The fermentable base for this alcohol can be obtained from grain, sugar beets, grapes, potatoes, sugar cane, simple sugar, or any other material of agricultural origin.
Then highly concentrated alcohol is distilled with juniper berries and other plant components into a cube.
Most often, the plant substances are placed in a “gin basket” located in the head of the cube, which allows the hot alcoholic vapors to extract the flavoring components from the various ingredients.
This method gives the gin a lighter flavor, making it the “London Dry Gin”.
mixed gin
Obtained by flavoring neutral spirits with essences or other “natural flavors” without re-distillation. The value (aroma, taste, price) of such gin is much lower than distilled gin.
Other ingredients are also added to gin to give the drink a completely unique taste, such as citrus peel, angelica root and seeds, orris root, licorice root, cinnamon, almonds, lime peel, grapefruit peel, longan, saffron, baobab, frankincense, coriander , grains of paradise, nutmeg, cassia bark and others.
what is gin and its types made of
How to drink gin
Gin is usually served as an aperitif. However, a moderate amount of chilled juniper drink can also give a special charm to meat, fish and even vegetarian feasts.
However, given the excessive hardness that 70% of dry gin has, this drink is much more often used in mixes and cocktails.
Serving temperature
Chill your gin to 4-6°C before serving.
What to pour
Gin is served in small glasses with a capacity of 30-50 ml.
What to drink gin besides tonic
Mix alcohol in arbitrary proportions with various juices, mineral water and even cola or black coffee.
In this case, it is best to use juices that have a sweet-sour or bitter taste: cranberry, pineapple and, of course, all kinds of citrus fruits.
The best mixing ratio is 50/50.
Where are the gin cocktail recipes?
Here are all the recipes with photos.
What snacks go well with gin
This question is relevant in the case of pure gin, since neither mixes nor cocktails made with this drink, by definition, need any additional snack.
If we are talking about an aperitif, then the classic appetizer in this case should be considered such unpretentious snacks as olives, lemon slices, as well as pickled onions or pickled quail eggs so beloved by the British with celery salt.
In the case of the main feast, any snacks are suitable, with the exception of desserts.
In general, if you decide to join a previously unknown gin culture, now you know where to start. Most importantly, do not forget about moderation and remember that antibiotics and gin are categorically incompatible.
What Brands of Gin Should You Try?
bombay sapphire
Beefeater
Gordons
Tanqueray
Hendrix
Relevance: 23.04.2019
tags: gin