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2006-10-12 02:32:56 · 15 answers · asked by kchick8080 6 in Food & Drink Beer, Wine & Spirits

15 answers

When we think of Gin
we think of England
and her former colonies.
The actual origins of Gin
can be traced to 17th century Holland.
Dr. Franciscus de La Boie
invented Gin in 1650.
He was a medical professor at
the University of Leyden
and was more widely known as Dr. Sylvius.
As was with many other spirits, Gin
was originally intended to be used as a medicine.
Dr. Sylvius was seeking an inexpensive,
but effective diuretic to use in
the treatment of kidney disorders.
He mixed oil of Juniper berries
with grain alcohol,
both of which have diuretic properties.
He called his new medical concoction "genever",
from the French word for Juniper.

What made the recipe so revolutionary,
was not the use of Juniper,
it had been used before in dozens
of liqueur formulas,
but the choice of grain alcohol.
Until Dr. Sylvius, most beverage alcohol
had been made from grapes or other fruit.
In other words, Brandies.
While the Scotch and Irish were
making Whiskies from grain,
they tempered them with years
of aging in wooded casks.
Unaged grain spirits,
at least those produced with
17th century technology,
were considered too harsh
for human consumption.
But Genever tasted good
and it was relatively inexpensive
to produce.

At the same time, English soldiers,
who were fighting on the continent,
were introduced to what they termed,
"Dutch Courage".
They returned to England
with a preference for this new drink,
and the population at large soon grew fond
of this palatable yet inexpensive spirit,
so much so that it eventually became
identified as the national drink of England.
It was the English, of course,
that shortened the name to "Gin".

Gin was also quite popular with the
English foreign service in the "colonies".
It mixed naturally with quinine (tonic water)
which was used as a profilacsis
to mulify the effects of Malaria.
Even today it's easy to conjure up an image
of the British Colonial officers sitting
on a wide veranda sipping a Gin and Tonic
while surveying his vast dominion.

"'London Dry' and other styles"

The dry Gin that London distillers eventually
developed is very different from the
Holland or Geneva Gin still made by the Dutch,
which is heavy-bodied
and strongly flavored with a
pronounced malty taste and aroma.

London dry Gin appeared
soon after the continuous still
was invented in 1831.
This new still made a purer spirit possible,
encouraging English distillers
to try an unsweetened or dry style.
Sugars had been used to mask the rough
and unpleasant flavors that could show up
in older pot still production.
Originally, the phrase "London dry Gin"
specified a geographic location;
that the Gin was made in or near London.
Now, the term is considered to be generic
and is used to describe a style of Gin,
(In fact, Beefeater is now
the only Gin distilled in London.)
and virtually every Gin on the market
uses the term "dry".

Gin is the distillate of a grain mash
with various flavoring agents.
It gets its primary flavor from Juniper berries,
but many other herbs and spices
go into the make-up.
The botanicals come from all over the world:
Cardamom from Sri Lanka, Cassia bark from Vietnam,
Orange peel from Spain, Coriander seed
from the Czech Republic, Angelica root from Germany.
Most of the Juniper berries themselves
are imported from Italy.
There are also dozens of other possible ingredients.
Each distiller has his own secret formula
and no two Gin brands are exactly alike.

Production

The vast majority of this unaged spirit
(federal regulations do not permit
any age claims for gin, vodka and
other neutral spirits)
is either English dry Gin or American dry Gin.
The English version uses 75% corn,
15% barley and 10% other grains for the mash.
The fermentation process is similar
to that of whiskey.
Following fermentation the resulting liquid
is distilled and rectified through a column still,
producing a pure spirit of at least 90°.
The liquid is then redistilled with
the many flavoring agents.
Methods vary from producer to producer.
Some combine the botanicals with the spirit
and distill the mixture,
while others suspend the botanicals
above the spirit in the still
and let the vapors pass through
the many flavoring agents.
The spirit that comes off
is reduced to bottling strength,
anywhere from 80° to 97°.

American Gin is produced
using one of two standard methods:
distilling and compounding.
Distilled Gin is primarily made
by adding the flavoring agents
during a continuous process.
There are two fairly similar methods
of achieving this; direct distillation
or redistillation.
In direct distillation the fermented grain mash
is pumped into the still.
Then it is heated and the spirit vapors pass
through a "gin head", a sort of percolator basket
filled with Juniper, herbs
and other natural ingredients.
It picks up the delicate flavoring agents
as it passes through and then condenses
into a high proof Gin.
Water is added to bring the product
down to its bottling strength, usually 80°.

The other method, redistillation,
differs only in that the fermented mash
is first distilled
into a flavorless neutral spirit.
Then it is placed in a second still,
containing a "gin head", and is redistilled,
with vapors absorbing the flavoring agents.

Compound Gin, a less costly product,
is simply the combination of neutral spirits
with the oil and extracts of the botanicals.
However, the dominant flavor
must be from Juniper berries.

2006-10-12 02:40:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

Gin is made from the berries of the juniper tree

2006-10-12 02:44:35 · answer #2 · answered by jay 5 · 0 0

Juniper Berries or as explained via Wikipedia.....

Gin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gin (Sometimes referred to as Mother's Ruin) is a spirit, or strong alcoholic beverage. It is 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, cinnamon, coriander, and cassia bark.

A well-made gin will be very dry with a smooth texture lacking in harshness. The flavor will be harmonious yet have 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)."

Peace

2006-10-12 02:35:13 · answer #3 · answered by JVHawai'i 7 · 0 0

White grain spirit and juniper berries. The original dry london gin is fairly simple but most other gins have citrus stuff thrown in like orange peel or cinnamon or anise.

2006-10-12 02:42:23 · answer #4 · answered by mildly_adiktiv 2 · 0 0

Gin is made with juniper berries.

2006-10-12 02:35:10 · answer #5 · answered by nikkio27 2 · 0 0

well obviously its made from juniper berries by all these answers^
but heres some useless info did you know long term drinking of gin is medically proven to cause depression.i still love it though

2006-10-12 03:44:47 · answer #6 · answered by chrissieyp 1 · 0 0

Juniper berries

2006-10-12 02:34:00 · answer #7 · answered by RRM 4 · 0 0

Its grain spirit flavoured with juniper berries.

For grain spirit one makes a beer from your grain of choice (wheat or barley for example) and then this is distilled to concentrate the alcohol content. Water is then added to bring the alcohol concentration back to a palatable level (usually 40%).

2006-10-12 02:53:06 · answer #8 · answered by 13caesars 4 · 0 0

1

2017-02-19 23:22:25 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0 0

I know it's flavoured with juniper berries...

2006-10-12 02:33:57 · answer #10 · answered by interested_party 4 · 0 0

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