Elixirs and cordials flavored with juniper berries have been known in Europe since the 14th century. Legend has it that gin production was started in the 1570s in Holland by a University of Leyden doctor, Franciscus de La Boe, a.k.a. Silvius of Leyden. The physician never intended to invent an alcoholic drink; he was looking for medication to treat kidney disorders and stomach complaints.
The Dutch doctor, drawing his inspiration from essence de geniévrier, a sort of French juniper wine, created the first gin recipe by steeping some juniper berries and other aromatic herbs in grain alcohol, then distilling the batch in a pot still.
British troops fighting in the Netherlands area during the Thirty Years' War acquired "Dutch courage," thanks to a few shots of gin prior to battle during the long campaigns.
The gin boom in England began when William of Orange ascended the throne with Queen Mary in 1689. The king encouraged the use of domestic grain to make distilled alcohol, rather than promoting grape brandy made by their enemy, the French.
Gin quickly became the people's drink. By 1690, England produced almost half a million gallons a year. Within a few years, the volume of gin sold daily exceeded that of beer, which was more expensive because of a tax imposed in 1694.
Sometimes gin was distributed to workers as part of their weekly wages. In 1727, the consumption reached 5 million gallons. In 1730, London had more than 7,000 shops that only sold gin. Five years later, London produced 11 million gallons of gin—14 gallons for every resident—and soon the working class' abuse of alcohol became a major problem.
The Gin Act of 1736 made gin prohibitively expensive. A license to retail gin cost 50 pounds, and duty was raised fivefold, to 1 pound per gallon. Not surprisingly, there were riots, and the law was widely and openly broken. Finally recognized as unenforceable in 1742, the Gin Act was repealed. The Tippling Act of 1751, which distillers helped to draft, was introduced. Provisions were reasonably high prices and excise duties, and putting licensed retailers under the supervision of magistrates.
The United Kingdom's modern gin industry started with the emergence of distilling families in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their success was, in turn, linked to industrial advances which allowed for a higher-quality spirit to be produced. Soon, respectable firms were embarking on the business of distilling and retailing gin.
During the second half of the 19th century, gin gradually changed in taste. Originally sweet and aromatic in the 1830s, "London dry gin" came into being. It was a complex drink that appealed to a more sophisticated palate, and the change in taste and smell had an enormous effect on gin's social status.
From the 1830s on, gin drinkers belonged to a much higher class than in the past. They met in gin palaces—the ancestors of modern bars—rather than taverns. English gin became accepted as a guarantee of quality, as much as French champagne. "London Dry" soon spread across the British Empire and around the world.
A century later, with Prohibition, America banned liquor advertising and the use or sale of anything that might lead to its manufacture. But English gin continued to enter the United States in various ways—smuggled over the Canadian or Mexican borders, or by boat from the Caribbean. Half-full demijohns of moonshine obtained from bootleggers were filled with bath water and flavored with juniper syrup from the drugstore, earning the moniker "bathtub gin."
In post-Prohibition Hollywood, the mixing of martinis onscreen ushered in a new era of glamour for gin. By 1950, gin had become one of the essential drinks for home entertainment, and the gin martini and gin and tonic were staples.
Today, as people rediscover older quality brands, producers are crafting exciting premium versions. Products such as Tanqueray Ten, Bombay Sapphire, Plymouth and Junipero meet the sophisticated tastes of a new "gineration."
Francesco Lafranconi, a master mixologist, is a beverage specialist for Southern Wine and Spirits and the director of the Academy of Spirits & Fine Service.