Gin: the spirit of juniper

From ancient remedies and the notorious Gin Craze to today’s wave of botanical innovation, gin has travelled a long and often turbulent path. Drinks journalist Jacopo Mazzeo explores how juniper came to define the spirit and the production choices behind the many styles of gin we know today. A Brief History of Gin Compared with many of the world’s greatest spirits, gin has remained remarkably consistent in its defining character throughout history: a distillate flavoured primarily with juniper. Yet the journey that transformed it into the popular drink it is today has been anything but straightforward. Over the centuries, gin’s fortunes have swung from respected medicinal remedy to symbol of social depravity, before it eventually emerged as one of the most innovative and dynamic categories in modern distilling. For millennia, humans have recognised the functional properties of juniper berries, incorporating them into foods and drinks. The ancient Egyptians are thought to have used juni

by WSETglobal · source ↗