Gin: A Short History

Gin is a drink deeply rooted in British culture. From ‘Dutch Courage’ to ‘Gin Soaked’ our language is full of expressions which reflect our gin drinking heritage. Consumed straight or as part of a mixed drink such as gin and tonic, martini or Pimms, gin has been a part of British drinking culture for over 400 years. First consumed in Britain after importation from the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, Britain was gripped by the Gin Craze in the early eighteenth century, when the drink was dubbed ‘mothers ruin’. In the nineteenth century gin became more respectable as advances in distilling led to a drink of higher quality and improved flavour, which was consumed in lavish gin palaces - highly decorative public houses of the Victorian and Edwardian era. In recent years a twenty-first century renaissance in gin drinking and craft gin production has led to the drink once again rising high in our national conscience. This book explores the processes involved in manufacturing gin, the history of its production and consumption as well as modern methods of distilling and drinking the spirit.