Real Food Encyclopedia | Gin

Summertime and gin go hand in hand. If you’re the cocktail drinking type, nothing is better on a warm day in the sunshine than a gin and tonic on ice with a slice of lime. However, gin wasn’t always so respectable. It was the favored drink of the poor, sailors and the down and out. But the drink has come a long way. Gin is now getting a second look from craft distillers both in the United States and abroad.

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What to look for when buying gin

Gin is known for its characteristic juniper flavor, which, depending on who you ask, is either heavenly or reminiscent of that two-day hangover you had in college. But saying that gin only tastes of juniper sort of misses the mark. Flavors can range from heavy on the juniper, as in classic London gins, to notes of coriander, citrus and other botanicals in what have been dubbed “New Western” or modern gins. Major gin aromatics include juniper, coriander, angelica root, orris root, citrus, cardamom, cassia, grains of paradise and cubeb (aka Indonesian peppercorn).

When one looks at varieties of gin on the market, they fall into to two broader categories — distilled and compound. Here’s how they break down:

Distilled gin

Most gins on the market are distilled gins, which are infused with flavor by running steam through a tray of herbs and spices. They are often re-distilled three or four times before reaching the bottle. Distilled gins are further broken down by style:

• London gin: Also known as London dry gin. This is legally defined as a gin distilled to at least 70 percent ABV, using only water and natural flavors. A small amount of sugar may be added after distillation. London gin is known for its dry, classic juniper flavor and can be made anywhere, not just in London.
• Plymouth gin: This variety is a regionally protected gin and can only be distilled in Plymouth, England. It’s similar to London gin but generally earthier in flavor owing to its use of root aromatics. Back in the days of the British Empire, Plymouth was the spirit of choice for sailors, who would get rations of 100 proof (50 percent ABV) “naval strength” gin.
• Old Tom: Back in the 18th century, if you were drinking gin, you were drinking Old Tom. This historic spirit sits somewhere between jenever (see below) and London gin. Old Tom is a sweeter, darker spirit that was nearly lost to time, eclipsed by London gins, but has been recently resurrected from old recipes.
• New Western: Also known as New American owing to its origination with craft distillers in the U.S. In the 1980s and 1990s, the gin market was in a slump: The spirit of choice was vodka, and gin’s heavy juniper flavor had fallen out of favor. Enter a new style of gins, all designed to tone down the juniper in favor of a new blend of botanicals, from almond, lemon peel and licorice (think England’s Bombay Sapphire) to rose, coriander and cucumber (as in Scotland’s Hendrick’s gin). The craft-distilling renaissance has recently pushed gin further outside tradition by using native or local ingredients.
• Jenever: Also known as Dutch or Holland gin. You could say that jenever, Dutch for “juniper,” is the granddaddy of gin. The taste ranges from malty to more like a juniper flavored vodka depending on whether it was made “oud” (old) or “jong” (young) style. Unlike gin, jenever is mostly consumed neat, and is often served in a small tulip-shaped glass filled to the brim. Per Dutch custom, you must take the first sip without using your hands, leaning over the glass to do so. Jenever is only distilled in the Netherlands, Belgium and in parts of Germany and France.

Compound gin

Like distilled gin, compound gin starts off as a neutral spirit distilled from a fermented mash of grains. But instead of re-distilling, the spirit is infused by steeping with aromatics and botanicals. Traditionally, especially in the 18th century, compound gins were a low-rent drink of choice. There are also a few compound styles you’ll hear about:

• Sloe gin: Not a true gin, sloe gin derives its name from the sloe, a tiny cousin of the plum that grows wild in hedges in England and elsewhere. On their own, the berries are bitter, but soak them in high-proof gin with a bit of sugar and you have a classic liqueur that’s worthy of a second look. Try the sloe gin fizz, a concoction of lemon juice, superfine sugar, club soda and, of course, sloe gin. Make sure to avoid brands that use corn syrup or food coloring.
• Bathtub gin: Inspired by the makeshift liquor operations of the Prohibition era, this term can refer to any homemade, low-quality spirit. To mask the flavor of inferior grain alcohol, the only thing available at the time, bootleggers infused it with juniper berries and aromatics — in whatever vessel they could.

Sustainability of gin

Gin is primarily made with things — grain and water. Depending on where you’re buying, the grain of choice is corn, barley or wheat. Corn can be a problematic ingredient: It has a high water footprint, and most grown in the U.S. is genetically modified. If you’re looking for a GMO-free gin, look for a craft distiller using organic wheat, like Wisconsin’s Death’s Door Gin, or barley. When buying a Dutch or English gin, the E.U.’s strict laws around sources and labeling are on your side. But in terms of food miles, nothing beats something that was made and distilled locally from high-quality ingredients.

Geography

As the story goes, gin was invented in the 17th century by Franciscus Sylvius, a Dutch physician and scientist. He stumbled onto it while seeking a clever solution to an age-old problem: How do you get people to take their medicine? Juniper, a known diuretic, is a bit unpleasant on its own. With booze and a little sugar, it goes down easy.

Later, during the Thirty Years War, English soldiers noticed their Dutch counterparts knocking back glugs of jenever before battle, the source of the phrase “Dutch courage.” The English developed a taste for jenever themselves, bringing the spirit home and tinkering with it to create a distinctly British beverage.

Gin wasn’t all fancy lawn parties and splashes of tonic water. Its reputation hit a rough patch during the first half of 18th century, when deregulation of the distilleries in England led to just about anyone making homemade swill and selling it. As you can imagine, there was no quality control, and gin became so cheap that it was the drink of choice among the poor. Gin was now “mother’s ruin,” the stuff of moral and class outrage. Etchings from the time warned of men and women rolling in the streets, infants left abandoned. Look no further than William Hogarth’s “Gin Lane” to see what respectable society thought of the “demon drink.”

The Gin Acts of the mid 18th century, followed by the invention of the column still in the 19th century, did much to curb the deleterious effects of gin. With improved quality, gin cemented itself as one of England’s most popular beverages. In modern times, gin has sometimes taken a back seat to vodka and whiskey, but the classic cocktail revival means that people are enjoying this historic spirit once again.

Drinking gin

Storing

Gin can be stored on the counter or in the cupboard; keep your bottles away from direct light and high or fluctuating temperatures.

Cooking and cocktails

Gin is meant to be mixed and is a primary ingredient in many classic cocktails. It goes nicely with citrus, especially with a splash of bitter tonic water — spring for the good stuff, nothing with corn syrup — and a slice of lemon or lime. But there are plenty of other options: The gimlet is 4:1 ratio of gin to sweetened lime juice; mix your gin with lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white and you have yourself a Clover Club. Egg whites and lemon are also crucial ingredients in the gin fizz. The negroni isa bittersweet mix of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. And you can’t get any more classic than a martini with gin and dry vermouth (though the exact proportions are highly personal and highly contested). Cheers!

The botanicals in gin don’t always lend themselves toward savory foods, but intrepid bakers will find it can play a role in desserts — like a quintessentially British gin and tonic jelly or even a batch of gin and tonic ice cream.

Top photo by Javier Somoza/Adobe Stock.