We need to talk about gin (1)
Why do we need to talk about gin? 1) because it's a delicious and popular aperitif drink, and 2) because its growing popularity has led to certain practices I think need challenging. I'll look at the challenges next week, but first, a bit of history. Gin’s been around for the best part of 500 years. Dutch apothecaries were adding juniper berries to tonic drinks in the 16 th century, to mask the harshness of the malt wine base. A century later, they had switched to distillation to refine the base a little, but continued to add juniper. Because Jenever is distilled from malted grains, its taste has much in common with that of whiskey, but with the added bitterness of the juniper. English sailors and soldiers, returning from campaigns abroad, had been bringing back Jenever for a hundred years when William III, a Dutchman, came to occupy (with his wife Mary II) the throne of England, Ireland & Scotland. William pursued a trade war with France, i...