What Is Gin?

What is Gin?

Gin is defined as "distilled liquor made from grain and flavored with juniper berries" (www.pimpworks.com). Gin is a clear white spirit. The main flavoring is juniper berries, other ingredients are grain, and botanicals (herbs and spices) such as "anise, bitter almonds, cardamom, caraway, cassia bark, calamus, cocoa nibs, lemon peel, licorice, orange peel, cinnamon, cubeb berries, angelica, and grains of paradise" (www.mixed-drink.com). Usually gin contains about six to ten different botanicals.

Gin is usually colorless, and unlike other spirits, it does not have measurement by aging. Most gin is 80 to 94 proof and when ordered at a bar, you would usually get dry gin (www.cocktailtimes.com).

The History of Gin

Gin was first made in the 17th Century in Holland for medical purposes (www.mixed-drink.com), and the Dutch called it jenever (juniper) and the French called it genever. In the mid 1600's gin was created by a Dutch chemist,