Loved by many, hated by many and commonly known as a mothers ruin, Gin has an odd history but for some reason it just lingers in our minds like a good cocktail does on the tongue. A drink made with Junipers to flavour at its base, but so versatile that you can make so many different variants that you would be hard pressed to try them all. We are a world who loves our alcohol but what is it with this one spirit that has us so fixated.
Gin clearly runs in our veins, especially in England, mostly during the 1700’s. We loved it so much that when a tax was introduced after giving the country an open license thirty years earlier to make it, there was rioting in the streets. Like many drinks we can thank Monks for its creation, Gin was like many spirits a medicine, created across Europe.
I remember as a child in the 80’s that Gin & Tonic was the height of sophistication on a Saturday night down the pub. Remember that the English were not very good with drinks around that time, the 20’s cocktails had died out in normal life. Many family holidays involved gin soaked mothers, with their slice of lemon and ice. The Indian tonic water seen as an exotic mix with the imported and local gin.
Before this time of my childhood Gin was everywhere in the USA and also had been the staple of cocktails for many years. The most famous of them all being the Martini, which to be truly honest is a glass of gin, with subtle added notes to create the taste you will come to love if you like your gin strong and at the forefront of your drink.
From Martinis’ to the vast array of flavoured gins, small gin makers and large producers I think gin will never go away. There is so much love for this simple drink, like an extra dry romance that you just can’t get enough of.
