Gin, in its most basic terms, is a liquor of approximately 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof) or greater that is derived from grain distillation and primarily flavored with juniper berries (or juniper extract).
In FACT gin gets its name from the Dutch word for juniper, which is genever. If you only remember one thing from today, it's to send me money. If you remember two things, go ahead and make it that fun fact. For indeed it is juniper, that humble conifer, that tree of twisted trunk and gnarled bough, that sets gin apart from all other types of liquor, for indeed it is juniper that officially must be the prevailing aroma and flavor for a liquor to be classified as gin.
Gin likely traces its origins to liquors produced back in the Middle Ages, with references to a spirit flavored with genever referenced in a 13th Century Flemish manuscript. By the 1600s, the Dutch were producing gin in earnest, with hundreds of distilleries in the city of Amsterdam alone.
Gin, like so many things (Coca-Cola and heroin come to mind), was originally produced as a medicine. It was distributed by chemists for the treatment of ailments such as gout and dyspepsia. Consumed in large enough quantities, it likely did help ameliorate perception of the symptoms associated these issues and many others, such as Coward's Fist, though only for a few hours at a time. Gin gained in popularity doing the Thirty Years' War, when British soldiers fighting on Dutch land were bolstered with Dutch Courage by, y'know, drinking gin.
It didn't take long for this lovely liquor to hop across the English Channel in a big way. In the latter half of the 17th Century and in the early years of the 18th Century, gin rapidly gained popularity in England, cementing the association it still enjoys with that nation. In fact, by the year 1720, some experts estimate that as many as a quarter of the households in London frequently produced their own gin. The period in the storied city's history became known as The Gin Craze, an era that was so awesome Parliament had to pass no fewer than five major legislative acts over the course of 22 years in a vain attempt to rein in the population's consumption of gin.
Gin remained popular with the Brits, notable for its use by soldiers and colonials living in lands prone to malaria infections: gin was excellent at masking the unpleasant, bitter flavor of the anti-malarial alkaloid quinine, a necessity for the susceptible foreigners. This medical elixir developed into the Gin & Tonic we know and love to this day.
In the modern era (AKA don't even bother with that qualification, just start the sentence) gin has seen a resurgence in popularity as mixology has gone mainstream. From the classic martini to the Gimlet to the Tom Collins, the same cocktails that knocked F. Scott Fitzgerald and his cronies cockeyed are again being shaken and stirred up at taverns everywhere.
Certain types of gin can be enjoyed neat or on the rocks, such as Bombay Sapphire, a variety produced with no fewer than 10 botanicals, including juniper and lemongrass. Other gins are perfectly suited for blending in cocktails. Tanqueray comes to mind: it has been distilled according to the same basic recipe for nearly 200 years now. And for the record, that makes it a relative newcomer. Many distilleries have been producing the same type of gin since the early 1700s.
London Dry, originating in ... England...but produced all over the world, is what most people think of when they think of gin-and it's what you typically get in a G&T or martini. You know the stuff: Beefeater, Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire. "You're definitely gonna get juniper, said O'Neill, because juniper is the most dominant flavor within the gin and hence the reason it's called gin (juniper is genevrier in French)." Juniper, as in the Christmas-tree flavored berry often found in certain Bath and Body Works products, mellows out when distilled. Some London Dry gins steep fresh citrus peels or dried peels before distillation and that gives them a bright, citrus flavor-and why a twist of lemon really does magic in a martini, bringing all of that out even more. What's termed a 'dry gin' means there's no added (artificial) flavoring, the flavors are all natural from the botanicals, said our gin guide, plus no added sweeteners. If the gin has sweetness, it's more than likely it contained a botanical like licorice.
Plymouth gin is technically a style of gin, but only one distillery produces it and it's one of the oldest recorded distilleries in the U.K. It's been through a lot–different owners, a little thing called World War II, the general progression of time and vodka. O'Neill schooled us: "Plymouth was very special because it named in the Savoy Cocktail Book, and it was in 23 gin recipes in the book. It was one of the most significant cocktail books in the world and still is to this day. So to have the actual name physically in it, is very very important. With that, it allowed Plymouth to become very popular in the first part of the 20th century when a lot of gins were coming onto the market." You can also tell the gin has history from the old school ship on the bottle-the British Royal Navy loved it so much they requested a higher proof gin just for them (seems like a good idea), and that's known as Navy Strength and the reason you have a Tweety Bird tattoo on your shoulder blade.
Flavor-wise, it's drier than London Dry and more citrus forward, and you might get a spicier finish from their blend of seven botanicals: juniper, coriander seed (adds acidity), dried sweet orange peels, cardamom, Angelica root, and Orris root. Because of those roots, said our gin guru, "the gin has a bit of an earthier feel, and it's a little bit softer in juniper. It has a nice kind of oily texture, which works fantastic in things like martinis and negronis, anything that has a slightly bitter flavor, Plymouth gin work really, really well." Bonus ingredient: Holy water. Just kidding, but the small amount of water in Plymouth is special. It's pure water from the Dartmoor reservoir, which, per O'Neill who's been there and literally drunk the water, "gives an exceptionally clean and fresh flavor to the gin." I'm just going to roll with him on that one.
Old Tom is the corduroy-clad hipster of gins. After a quick discussion of the death rate versus birth rate in the 16th, 17th, and the 18th centuries, professor O'Neill basically said that back then, gin got a bad rap because so many people were making their own. And it was terrible. "They would have used things like licorice or a sweetening agent to actually sweeten the gin. So it became known as bathtub gin, that style. Old Tom was originally a sweetened style of gin that was produced and it came around the middle of the 18th century, and Old Tom was the street name for the gin."
Nowadays, it's taken a full turn, he said. "Old Tom is very good gin, the botanicals are usually distilled, the sweetness in it normally comes from a larger amount of licorice that's in the distillation; they don't add flavor after." It doesn't taste like licorice, in case you're wondering, but that different balance of ingredients affects the texture and "perception of taste," said O'Neill. It's richer in flavor than London Dry, which is why "Old Tom works better in mixed drinks and pre-Prohibition cocktails, anything that has bitter flavors." At the NoMad, they use it in a Tom Collins because it helps to bring the actual citrus down a notch in the traditionally lemony-sweet drink. O'Neill also recommends it in a Martinez (gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, bitters).
Ransom's Old Tom is aged in wine barrels, so it takes on that caramel color, but some Old Tom gins are clear, like Hayman's. Similarly, some use added sugars to sweeten while others rely on botanicals to do the trick. Different brands are creating their own take on the historic gin, so there's some leeway here, I just wish they'd bring back all the ads with cats in them.
This is the original style of gin, dating back to 16th-century Holland. The base grains are malted (so the grain starts to germinate aka live and then that process is halted), similar to whiskey, giving it a more robust flavor. It's also flavored with juniper and botanicals, but less so than the other gin types.
O'Neill explained the process: "Instead of using a neutral grain spirit, Genever distillers actually create a malt wine spirit, which is the predominant flavor of the gin. The grains are left to ferment for five days or so, and then turned into a mash, which is similar to how whiskey is made. Then they'll add different botanicals, including juniper, but the difference here between the dry gins and Genever is that juniper is not the predominant flavor. The actual gin is a lot more malty. Flavors added can be cloves, caraway, ginger, nutmeg. So you've got vaguely different style of taste, and you certainly have way more earth notes within it." You won't often taste citrus like with London Dry, some distillers don't even add it at all.