gin

Gin is a spirit made from the distillation of white grain spirit and juniper berries, which provide its distinctive flavor. The taste of ordinary gin is very dry, and as such it is frequently mixed with other beverages. It should not be confused with sloe gin, a sweet liqueur traditionally made from sloes (the fruit of the blackthorn) infused in gin.
The most common style of gin, typically used for mixed drinks, is "London dry gin", which refers not to brand, marque, or origin, but to a distillation process. London dry gin is a high-proof spirit, usually produced in a column still and redistilled after the botanicals are added to the base spirit. In addition to juniper, it is usually made with a small amount of citrus botanicals like lemon and bitter orange peel. Other botanicals that may be used include anise, angelica root, orris root, licorice root, cinnamon, coriander, and cassia bark.
A well-made gin will be dry with a smooth texture lacking in harshness. The flavor will be harmonious yet with a crisp character with a pronounced juniper flavor. Other types of gin include Jenever (Dutch gin), Plymouth gin, and Old Tom gin (said to approximate the pot-distilled 18th century spirit). Compound gin is gin where the juniper flavoring is added to the neutral spirit and there is no re-distillation.

History

Gin originated in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Its invention is often credited to the physician Franciscus Sylvius. It spread to England after the Glorious Revolution put a Dutchman on the British throne. Dutch gin, known as jenever, is a distinctly different drink from English-style gin; it is distilled with barley and sometimes aged in wood, giving it a slight resemblance to whisky. Schiedam, in South Holland, is famous for its jenever. Jenever is produced in a pot still and is typically lower in alcohol and more strongly flavoured than London gin.

Brands of gin

Premium / famous brands
• Aristocrat gin
• Beefeater - first produced in 1820
• Blackwood's Superior Nordic Vintage Dry Gin
• BOLS - Dutch jenever
• Bombay - distilled with eight botanicals
• Bombay Sapphire - distilled with ten botanicals
• Boodles
• Booth's - first produced in 1790 by Sir Felix Booth
• Broker's Premium London Dry Gin, 47%. Highly rated in tests.
• Burnett's Gin - based on a 1770 recipe by Sir Robert Burnett
• Calvert Gin
• Cork Dry Gin - Ireland's preferred brand
• Geek Gin
• Gilbey's Gin - inexpensive, low-qualty
• Ginebra San Miguel - has juniper berries as its main flavor, produced by the company of the same name and is the largest-selling gin in the world although it is mainly sold in the Philippines
• Gordon's
• Greenall's
• Hendrick's Gin - infused with cucumber, coriander, citrus peel and rose petals
• McCormick Gin
• Martin Miller's Gin - London dry gin, with over eight botanicals blended with icelandic spring water
• Phillips Dry Gin - English gin since 1963
• Plymouth - first distilled in 1793
• Seagram's Gin
• Silver Wolf Gin
• South Gin - triple distilled in New Zealand using nine botanicals, two of which are native: manuka berries and kawa kawa leaves, believed by the indigenous Māori people to offer medicinal properties
• Steinhäger
• Taaka - a London Dry Gin with a secret formula
• Tanqueray
• Tanqueray Ten
• Toojburn's Signature
• Whitley Neill London Dry Gin - premium gin containing two African botanicals, the fruit of the Baobab tree, the "Tree of Life", and the Cape Gooseberry

Other brands and variations

• Anchor Junipero Gin - produced in California by Anchor Steam Brewery
• Bafferts Gin - Triple-distilled with four botanicals in England
• Barton Gin
• Bellringer Gin - 94.4 proof English gin
• Bols Gin
• Bombadier Military Gin
• Boodles British Gin - 90.4 proof gin
• Boomsma Jonge Genevere Gin
• Burnett's Crown Select Gin
• Caballito: Panama's finest export gin
• Cadenhead's Old Raj Gin - 110 proof gin containing a small amount of saffron, which imparts a slight yellowish/greenish tint
• Citadelle - distilled with nineteen botanicals in France
• Cascade Mountain Gin - uses hand-picked wild juniper berries, distilled in Oregon
• Damrak Amsterdam
• Dirty Olive - olive-flavored
• Fleischmann's Gin - Marketed as the original American gin, first distilled in 1870
• Gilbey's London Dry Gin
• Gin Bulag - the Philippines' most famous choice of gin. Directly translated as
• "Blind Gin," this concoction has been aptly named after gin drunkards have been reported to lose their eyesight after three straight days of gin insobriety.
• Gin Llave - Argentina's prime and extra-smooth concoction
• Gin Lubuski
• Gin Xoriguer - Minorcan local gin
• Ginebra San Miguel
• Gordon's London Gin - by appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain
• Hamptons Gin
• Juniper Green Organic Gin - first gin made from all organic ingredients in England with four botanicals
• Leyden Dry Gin - distilled three times in small batches, twice in column stills then in a pot still
• Mr. Boston
• Larios - from Spain
• Quintessential
• Sarticious Gin - Dutch style gin distilled in Santa Cruz, California, orange and cilantro
• Smeets - Belgian brand, produce a great range of fruit flavoured gins "Jenèvre de fruits" as well as their original

Common mixers for gin

• Vermouth - in a martini
• Tonic water - in a Gin and tonic
• Soda water - in a Gin Rickey
• Orange juice
• Orange soda
• Lemon juice
• Lime juice
• Grapefruit juice
• Ginger Ale or Ginger Beer
• Cranberry juice
• Milk for 'Gin Milk Punch'
• Kool-Aid
• Fresca

Cocktails with gin

• Martini
• Tin Roof
• Tom Collins
• Maiden's Prayer
• Salty Dog
• Singapore Sling
• Gimlet
• Gin and Tonic
• Pimm's N°1.
• Punkdutch
• Apoica
• Orange Blossom
• Pink Gin
• Presbyterian
• Satan's Whiskers

Types of gin-

Dutch gin or Holland gin- it is distilled twice in pot stills, with juniper berries and other aromatics included in second distillation.
London dry gin- distilled first in patent still, and then in pot still with the addition of juni[er berries and other aromatics.

Dutch gin  or Holland gin

dutch gin production

Dutch gin, also known as Hollands, is produced by fermenting the mash of rye, malted barley, and corn and distilling it in pot stills and then redistilling at low proof with the addition of juniper berries and coriander seeds. This produces full-bodied gin with a distinct flavour of malt and jumper. This drink is not suitable for cocktail preparation as its flavour dominates the other ingredients. It is best enjoyed straight and chilled. Bote, De Kuyper, and Jonga Graan Jenever are the examples for Dutch gin

London Dry Gin

london dry gin production

London dry gin is made from grain spirit which is distilled from a grain mixture of barley, corn, and rye in patent stills to obtain neotral spirit at 180-188 proof. It is then reduced to 120 proof with the addition of distilled water and then redistilled in pot stills with juniper berries and coriander seeds either placed in the spirit or suspended above them so that the rising vapours pass through them absorbing the flavour, and then condensed.
Each manufacturer has his/her secret recipe for flavouring gin but all of them have one basic ingredient—juniper berries. Other aromatics include cassia bark, angelica root, calamus root, orris root, liquorice, cardamoms, fennel, almonds, lemon, and orange peel These aromatics are termed as botanicals.
Gin is colourless and is an example for white spirit. It is not aged in wooden cask as this will get the colour from the wood. It is stored in stainless steel or glass-lined container until it is bottled. However, Golden gin is stored in cask for a short time to get the golden colour,
London gin is used mainly in the preparation of mixed drinks and they are seldom taken straight.

varieties of gin

varieties of gin

Key terms-

juniper berries

Juniper –it is a tree or shrub with small purple cones, resembling berries.
Neutral spirit- it is a highly rectified, congener, and impurities free spirit.
Sloe- it is a type of plum.
Turpentine- it is colourless. Flammable, strong smelling oil uses as a paint solvent, and in medicine.