Invention of gin

Gin is an alcoholic beverage that has evolved greatly over the last 300 years from its origin. Gin is basically a distilled grain spirit flavored with extract form different plants, mainly the juniper berry. Juniper must be the predominant flavor. Juniper had been used since the 13th century to treat stomach complaints.

Juniper wine had been produced in France since the 16th century. Invented by Count de Morret, the son of Henry IV, it was known as the ‘wine of the poor’.

The Dutch were the first to formulated gin and have been doing so since the late 1500s, where juniper and grain spirit were combined to produce juniper berry elixir known as genievere – French for juniper.

Genievere was entirely different juniper wine. The spirit was for medicinal purposes only, particularly as a remedy for troops suffering from East Indian fevers. But the concoction was so potable that is swept the country as liquor, under the name Geneva or Genever. It contained an ethanolic extract of juniper, said to be a natural therapy for kidney function, coriander for the stomach, and calamus for colic.

Gin started to become known in England when troops returned from fighting the Thirty-Year War (1618-1648). The British supported the Protestant Dutch against Catholic Spain and brought back tales of Genever and its warming properties which had given them ‘Dutch Courage’.
Invention of gin

History of Gin

History of Gin
Gin is basically a distilled grain spirit flavored with extract form different plants, mainly the juniper berry. The Dutch were the first to make gin and have been doing so since the late 1500s.

Gin was invented b Franciscus de la Boe, also known as Dr. Sylvius. Dr. Sylvius was a Professor of medicine and physician at Holland’s University of Leyden. He used a juniper berry elixir known as genievere – French for juniper.

Dr. Sylvius also had medicinal benefits in mind, but his concoction was so potable that is swept the country as liquor, under the name Geneva or Genever.

He thought that juniper berries could be assist in the treatment of kidney and bladder ailments.

British soldiers sampled his elixir when returning from the wars in the Netherlands and nicknamed it “Dutch courage.” When they brought the recipe back to England, they changed the name to gen and later to gin, which soon became the national drink of England.

At one time, London alone had more than 7,000 gin places.

Cheap gin was soon being made in London from almost anything – “Make it in the morning and drink it at night” – and sold in hole-the-wall dramshop all over London.

King of England, William of Orange at the time, was from Holland had his own gin consumption became somewhat legendary; the royal banquet hall was nicknamed The Gin Palace.

The pattern repeated itself in the United States during Prohibition, when so called bathtub gin was made at home, from alcohol, juniper and glycerin. Bathtub gin too, was a poor and sometimes lethal product, and the custom arose of mixing it with something else to kill the state, thus popularizing the cocktail.

It took gin some years to outlive its tacky, but today it is a highly respected favorite.
History of Gin