So welcome thank you everyone for Joining me on the history of gin webinar This evening my name is Julia Lambeth I’m one of the educators of WCTU school And I will confess predominantly a wine Educator although I do have a love for Spirits as well in fact it was WCT that Kind of encouragement of the spirits Back in the day when I was doing my Diploma several years ago it kind of Inspired me we could say so since then I’ve been drinking much more gin and This is one have come full circle So the turn for this evening is to look Through the several different stages in The history of gin I feel like I should Say at the beginning that I can’t 106 go Into the facts see there’s a lot of a Lot of conjecture I’ve done some Research and tried to find out the most Consistent story that I can but there Are a lot of stories so if you have any Gin stories feel free to pop them in as Well so I guess we should start really With them what gin is just to make sure We’re all on the same page I can see Most of you of tights in the chat Already some of the gins that you’re Drinking which is great but for anyone Who’s not that got that intogen just yet When we talk about gin what we mean is a Neutral spirits that have been played With botanicals and those botanicals Must include gin as juniper as a
Dominant flavor so essentially it’s like A vodka but with flavorings added to it And those flavorings have to include Juniper and other flavorings can vary so Other botanicals that and of course is The word we use for flavorings and Include things like spices herbs seeds Citrus peels and lots of different Options we can come unto some of those Later but that’s just important to make Sure that we are on the same page to Start with so when we are talking about The history of Jim we’re going to go Back a few centuries First off sixteenth century in Particular and we’re going to start in The Netherlands and now this is the Starting point for the story tonight but It is theorized that juniper based Drinks were around much longer than that So we can’t be certain but we do know From the 16th century there were plenty Of recipes for juniper flavored spirits So that’s a good place to start in terms Of our history so the spirit that we’re Talking about here in the Netherlands Was referred to as Jennifer so that’s The word that you can see there this Would have been quite different to the Gin that we drink today So Jennifer was more like a spirit Michael whisky favored juniper The reason the juniper was added there Is it a few theories juniper masked some
Of the harsher flavors that we found in This spirit that was maybe not the best Considering you know few centuries ago And all that juniper was also considered To have medicinal properties and so for Things like problems with your kidneys Or your stomach doubt juniper was said To be able to and help alleviate those So the first version of gin Jennifer as It was called and was essentially Medicinal some would well argue that it Still is today you know you can decide That for yourselves so from the word Jennifer that you can see you on the Screen there and it doesn’t really take A lot of imagination to see how we got To the web Jim so gin is essentially Like a preview an abbreviation of Jennifer and anglicized as well so That’s the main theory of how he looks The web Jim and I’ve also put up there The words Dutch Korea Now I’m sure all of you have heard the Term Dutch courage before you have a Little swig of something and to make you Feel more courageous before an event and This is said to originate from from British soldiers drinking Genna Buhr Drinking this juniper flavored spirits Back in the 30 Years War so they were Fighting over in the Netherlands they Would have a little swig of their Jennifer and then go after battle so I Mean it makes perfect sense to me so
Hope that’s probably a 10 that’s not too Just unfamiliar to you but you may have Not known that actually that’s Considered to be where it originates so That’s a really long time ago what we’re Going to do next is bring it over to the UK I should have mentioned actually this Is going to be quite a UK centric History of Jim because well we at least Believe we drink the most of it if not Make the best of it and it is it’s quite An interesting story as I hope you will Agree so from the 16 hundreds we’re Jumping as well but jumping is slightly Further later in the century to 1689 Where the Dutch William of Orange Married to English Mary and became King Of England so he brought with him his Jennifer his juniper flavored spirit Abolished taxes made it easier to buy And also imposed taxes on some of gins Jennifer’s as it was then competitors so Imposing taxes on French wine and cognac Might have been inspired some more Recent politicians so basically made it Kind of impossible for people not to Drink gin so by the time we get to the 1720s a few decades later and we reached The period in London that the current Has since become known as the Djinn Craze and by this time a quarter of Houses in London we use for the Production Or consumption of gin by this time a
Pint of gin was cheaper than a point of Beer and in my favorite sentence of Historical research ever mass Drunkenness became a serious problem and So a lot of gin being drunk a lot of gin Being produced however we’re still not Talking about gin like the gin that we Drink today it was it was not great it Was not very good and we’re talking About The spirits that were made from often Greens which were not considered good Enough for the beer producers so Anything they didn’t want it would be Used which in production we were so had And other things added to try and make It through the texture flow better or The tasteful better and so actually You’ll find things like and serpentine Also furyk acid being used and ken Whoever’s drawing my presentation please Stop thank you and so yes that was Turpentine and sulfuric acid so needless To say these are things that you do not Want in a drink and so Furyk acid Apparently created an a sweet taste in The gin which was why it was added yeah Not good for your health so we talked About drunkenness and actually there’s Probably some serious health issues that Were created as a result of this spirit That became so popular so quickly so This leads us on to a very important Picture that we need to talk about when
We’re talking about the history of Jim And that is william Hogarth Gin Lane so If you’ve done any gin tasting at all You’ve probably seen this picture but it Is one to look at again and again so I Invite you to take a look to see what You can spot in this picture gin Lane Was depicting the depravity of Gin-soaked London and what you can see There I mean there’s a lot of problems Going on front and center you can see The women who’s dropping a child in Front of her you’ve got the guy who Looks like he’s in skin and bones he’s Starving what else we’ve got we’ve got People fighting people fighting people Fighting You’ve got buildings falling down got Coffins hanging from the rafters there I’ll just say it was bad and some of This was of course based in truth and The woman at the front there was Apparently based on the story of a real Woman Judith before who is said to have taken Her own child out to a field unclosed it And left it there and used its clothes To buy more gin so pretty unsavory title In the story of gin here and which just Goes to show that actually well we kind Of laugh a little bit about it now it Was it was a really big problem And so Hogarth’s Gin Lane was an attempt To depict that what I also want to
Mention though is their street the Street the picture you can see next to It and while the picture of gin Lane is Pretty terrible and what we have to bear In mind is that it was apparently Commissioned by the beer producers so Gin Lane and beer Street were both drawn In conjunction with each other now if You think about the beer producers for a Second beer producers have been losing Out for quite a few years now as I Mentioned already a pint of gin was Cheaper than a pint of beer so a lot of People had been switching their Allegiances to thinking gin rather than Drinking beer and that just you know the Big people just kept up with that and so When we look at Gin Lane and then look At a bit of Street well you can see beer Streets here Is a picture of gentility completely Different in terms of the atmosphere Here and everyone’s looking very relaxed There’s no fighting just having a good Old time we’ve got some some painting Going on Oh everyone’s working nicely Together And you can see people working on rooms Because beer is so good you can do that And still work on the rooftops so that’s How important there was and to be fair At the time but it was probably safer to Drink the mortars so it was the dark Days of gin and again you know not like
The gin that we have today so from the Dark times that were created here Eventually we did get a project that is So from here what’s a little bit about How the gin craze ended and then how We’ve got the gin where we are today so Eventually the government did step him I Put there in 1751 because actually that Was the government act that was Successful before that there were other Men other government acts that tried but Were basically repealed because there Were riots so it was not too long before 1736 that the first gin act was created They tried to raise taxes on gin they Tried to put 850-pound license on any Distillery now at this time 50 pounds Was and was a lot of money so that was That was quite a big deal and that Prevented a lot of production and then The other lucrative thing at this time It was they also paid people to inform On anyone who was producing gin Illegally so they’re stopping the gin Production they’re also encouraging People to Tellem anyone who is creating gin but This this time island this was the early One in 1736 it led to riots in the Streets so they just abolished it but in 1736 was before Gin Lane was produced so That was seventeen fifty one when the When the second act came in instead and This was the one that stuck and so same
Sort of thing again really impose taxes Made licenses difficult to get and just Generally slowed down the population of Drink of gin production obvious seem to Have someone writing their name so as Well as imposing the carrots on gin Production there was also eventually Greater competition from other drink Sources so the beer guys got their wait He became more popular rum was being Imported from the Caribbean so there Were more choices and and really just General exhaustion after drinking that Much gin for that long everyone had had Kind of had enough so eventually we came Around to the nicer side of things and Then by the time we got to well quite a Way in the future still by the time we Got to 1830 and eventually there became Cheaper than gin so it took a while but The beer producers got there in the end And then as we move on we do get better Jim production so it was around 1830 That the coffee still was introduced so This was a different type of stool that Had been used previously and this Allowed for a sort of a better Distillation a cleaner distillation that Would allow us this neutral spirits that We wanted to be the base for a gin so no More adding the sulfuric Acid or the turpentine lovely Now with these government controls it of Course meant that a lot of the
Distilleries producers that had existed Just shut down they weren’t able to meet The financial demands all their sales Just fell so then we see a real Reduction in the number of distilleries In the number of gin producers and that Continued for a very long time in fact Most of us will remember you know Without within our lifetimes if you had So it’s gone into a pub or a bar not so Long ago you would have seen a handful Of genes you know things like Gordon’s Or Bombay Sapphire B Peter Sam I Mentioned earlier so Jim production was Limited and then it was a fuse that kind Of lasted but that changed obviously if We look at where we are now and we’ll Talk about why that changed in a minute Before that just wanted to mention some Of the different terms words that we’ve Used to describe Jim so we’ve talked About how he went from Jennifer to Jim That one fairly easy to understand but It’s a few other terms that you may have Become familiar with in terms of Different types of Jim so old Tom it’s Actually quite an historical name for Jim So this apparently goes back to the days In London where pubs that were selling Jim would put a cutout of a cat in front Of their door sort of a shaped like a Cat and this was used to indicate that Gin was being sold in this establishment
Particularly during the phases when it Became illicit when they were no longer Allowed to produce Jim and so you may be Able to connect this the cats cats are Sometimes known as Tom so old Tom and Was due to this plaque It cats being used to symbolize the Availability of gym and so this was Still quite a while ago and when people Talk about the style of old Tom it’s Often described as being sweeter and That is because it kind of goes back to This pre column still phase where the Style of gym was just slightly different These days you can find Oh Tom as well Using more modern recipes and often You’ll find that they do try and make no Bit sweeter to try and replicate that Style that you would have found back Then but as with audience you know it Really would have depended on the recipe That was used so you can get lots of Different styles of old Tom now so from Old Tom the name changed eventually to London dry so dry referring to the Absence of sugar so the style is Eventually evolved to have less sugar And become dry instead and London Meaning produced in London originally And now London dry is used to mean more Of a particular style so London dry can Actually be produced anywhere in the World and I’m sure you’ve all had one Dry from other countries and so while
The dry is important because it has to Be dry it doesn’t have to be from London So and do with that what you will by Contrast Plymouth gin does have to come From Plymouth so specific rule was there So other ways in which the Styles have Been changed we can of course talk about Gin and tonic I’m sure a few of you have A G&T to hand at the moment and that This wasn’t originally how gin was how It was drunk Tonic came about as an addition due to British naval forces India having to take their Quinn I’m Basically so to break that down Quinn ein is an anti-malarial medication The the British naval soldiers were Ordered to take while they were in India Quinn I’m does not taste very nice so it Was made into a tonic and as a way to Make it easier to drink but the way that Made it even better to drink the tonic Was to add gin with it so gin and tonic Was essentially a ribbon originates in The Navy and and of course gin travels Much better than beer so while people Might have originally preferred to drink Beer gin on those kind of long voyages Would have been more consistent more Safe to drink and with a tonic and with Some of the citrus fruits that were no Doubt available you know in skirting we Have agile until it creates it now of Course beer was eventually made to
Travel as well see IPA that would be a Different conversation and so that’s Really how gin and tonic came about the Tonics we drink now still have some Quinine in most of them do the good ones Anyway but they have much less then Would have been used back then so Probably not the best anti malarial Currently certainly no good for any Other viruses around so that’s why gin And tonic started and cocktails were Another more recent invention so Cocktails starting with things like the Martini oh that reminds me probably About time I had a sip of wine cheers Everyone Mm-hmm I do generally insist on olives In my martini You know you might take you as a Different way mm-hmm yeah martinis other Cocktails were invented and a lot this Was associate With America but as I can see someone’s Already mentioned in the chat this kind Of cocktail era was slightly curtailed Slightly curtailed very much curtailed And by prohibition and and this is where We do see the turbine bathtub gin coming Into place so that’s another one that You might have come across before Bathtub gins there’s a few didn’t you Can buy now that are known as bathtub Gins So while probit shouldn’t was enforcing
Obviously went around technically to Make gen that people were still finding A way and you can see some was already Committed there it was then it was Pretty much in the bathtub these days Thoughts of jeans are not made in a Bathtub just to clarified but it’s often Talking about a method of gym production Where we just leave all the botanicals To soak in the spirit so they can take On and a slightly different appearance They’ll have more of a color compared to Other gyms which are produced by B Distillation for example and so a number Of different words different Terminologies that you would have come Across so this is bringing us up until You know quite a recent time but then we Have the period of the most over the Last decade or so and which I will refer To as the journey since sadly I did not Come up with that word and it’s awesome So I’m borrowing it so this brings us to 2009 specifically so you’ll remember That way back in 1751 when the Jeanette Was created and how it became much Harder to open distilleries well this This prevailed for a very long time and In fact it was only in 2009 where the London distillery sip Smith managed to Win their legal battle they had the law Changed to allow small-scale Distillation again and this was the First time in nearly two hundred years
License had been granted so it was a Pretty landmark event and I don’t know If you’ve ever looked into it or if You’ve ever wondered why gin has become So big in the last decade or so that’s Pretty much the reason they once that Law has changed at open up the doors for Everyone and anyone who had been wanting To try gin the production or had an idea About Jim I’m even if they hadn’t hadn’t I did before they might have seen six Myths and worked out how awesome that Was and tried it for themselves and so SIP Smith started producing there Jim And and that’s probably what many people Think of as the beginning of craft Jim So looking at smaller scale production And making something that was a little Bit different essentially to the gins That we had on offer already so open the Door this did shortly after that we had Companies like Hendrix come about Hendrix again I’m sure you’re familiar With at the time when Hendrix was first Released again this was something that People had never considered a gin that Had botanicals like rose and cucumber You know it was just something that we’d Never come across and and that really Was only just the beginning So yeah in shoes a lot of license Requests for distilling to the point Where we get to last year which was the Latest info and we’d find where the HMRC
Are issuing true distilling licenses per Week and that’s just in London I know We’ve got people from all over the world Here and so yeah goodness knows if we Try to add up all the gins in the world And we would struggle but you get you Can start to see a picture now of why The shelves in your supermarket or your Pub or restaurant have changed so vastly Over the past ten years whereas once You’d have had maybe just one gin or Maybe the three at most now you can see All sorts of gin From all around the world you will find It your local pub obviously you twist Garnishes you know do you want that with Lemon or lime would be the very minimum That you would expect and all sorts of Things going use and I had a gin Recently where the garnish they Recommended to go with it was chilly I Don’t recommend that that was not my Favorite garnish but grapefruits much Safer yes and but you get the idea so it Sort of exploded we’ve had particularly In London we’ve had gin festivals gym Bars you can go and make your own gin You can do all sorts of gins Hastings You know gin has really taken off and Yeah as far as I’m concerned and I’m Sure as far as you’re concerned that’s Only a good thing and it has led to all Sorts of different styles of gym and I Mentioned different kind of garnish is
There but the botanicals have changed as Well and I mean let’s have a little Exercise here can you type into the chat The most unusual botanical that you’ve Ever come across in a gin you know yes We think about citrus peel Spices Yes someone’s picked my one already Which was ants wattleseed elephant dung Lovely sunflower oyster shell asparagus This is a great game pink pepper yeah I’ve seen some of those graphs and the List will go on and on matcha green tea There’s a yeah there’s all sorts so it Basically gives distillers kind of open Licence to use whatever they want of Course we have to have juniper in there Got to don’t even know what bladderwrack Is I’m gonna need to do some paperwork After this first real epistle has to be Them and we normally still want a Balance of different botanicals to make Sure that it feels and stoever alba and Yeah Whatever you want needs days so it’s an Yeah really opened up and this is seen This is why we can try so many different Things and and of course it is a global Collection so as I mentioned already and I have a propellant a UK centric view of Jim for this webinar that we’ve got gins From all over the world so people saying They’ve you know different all different Countries in Europe every country in
Europe there is places in America does Knowledge in Asia you know much more Than we think about and it’s exciting to See the botanicals used that locally in Each of these countries to produce Something that is different in every Place and this idea of local botanicals I think is one of the things that’s Going to carry Jim forward almost like Having a terrible war for Jim I can’t Forget Australia and Mexico you’re right So if you’re using botanicals that are Only local to where you’re from then This is going to mean that the gin that You produce can’t be produced anywhere Else so you do have something that’s Truly unique so this is one of the Things that for me has been really Exciting as much as yes some of them are Weird and wonderful and you know you may Not want to drink all of them it means That essentially we can just keep on Trying until well until when I don’t Know are we ever gonna run out probably Not okay and so this does leave me kind Of from what I was just saying really About to the future Jim so now that we’ve got particularly Lists in the UK the ability for lots of People to make Jim and where are we Going to go from here so the botanicals We’ve definitely covered and Jim tourism Is becoming a Important thing as well I know in
Scotland in particular now they have a Genome trailer you can go and visit Different distilleries and in Scotland It is made much easier because the gin Is produced in the whisky distilleries So they existed there already if you go Back you know not too long ago people Would not have considered that you’d Want to go and visit where Jim was Produced and as I’ve said you can go and Make gin yourself there’s various places In London where you can go and pick out The botanicals that you’d want for your Own personalized recipes you can get it Distilled you can get it bottled and you Can have your in brand of gin some People have taken their even further and Got one of those licenses and just made Their own Jim I remember speaking to Someone a couple years ago who and Literally just decided to make a gin From the kitchen and got a little stove Top still distilled other botanicals and That was what they wanted to make I Mentioned the focus on local technicals I think that’s going to continue to be Important in terms of local botanicals As well I think it’s it’s useful to Realise that in when we talk about Botanicals they’re not always you know Hand selected and foraged and most gins Just by their botanicals from the Botanical shop and order them in large Quantities they’re probably not been
Around the world traversing the Juniper Plains of Bulgaria wherever it may be so And if you can find some where there Actually does use botanicals that are Particularly local to them it does give As I’ve said already and that particular Unique feel to it and I put there gin For every occasion Now that’s not just me drinking a lot of Gin and I think it comes down to a bit Of Marketing now there are so many gitans And some of them are just kind of Designed as specialities or one offs for Particular events now Jim can do this Because actually the production version Is much quicker than production for Other spirits I think about you know Whiskey or rum or anything that has to Be aged and it’s not gonna happen but if You want to make a gin form Christmas do It I think I’ve still got some remnants A virgin that was had frankincense as a Botanical Christmas and you’ve get your Valentine’s Day gins you get your summer Regions you hit win regions and I saw a Few couple of comments earlier about Different flavored gins and we’re Getting more pink gins someone mentioned In the gin earlier so there’s all sorts Going on a gin I’ve just seen that Coming there yeah I mean as much as I’ve Just said that you don’t have to a gin And that’s why it’s quick to make there
Are a few producers who are indeed using Hope to age gin as well so if you want Something that’s a sort of crossover Between gin and whiskey thank you Absolutely can’t find it so yeah I stand By a gin for every occasion and and then The sort of questioned I’ve put there is Will we reach peak gin is there going to Be such a time as we’ve got enough gin In the world that everyone’s had enough And yeah I’m not sure it’s happened yet I’m not sure that we’re building and Clearly from all of your messages that I’ve had a chance to glimpse so far There’s many Morgan’s from various Countries that I’ve not had the chance To taste so I’ll be keeping an hour an Eye out for those And I don’t think people are going to Stop one thing to make them I think the Thing that drives a lot of these Particularly small independent gym Producers is you know they just want to Make a gin that has a style that that They like so as it’s such a personal Thing and it’s there’s always gonna be People wanting to create new things good Couple of questions they’re a good Cocktail with gin and well obviously for Me it’s a gin martini other cocktails This is where my brains gonna go blank Isn’t it and Negroni thank you you guys Know you cocktails gimlet southside Excellent French 25 I mean these guys
Are on it GT classic and yeah there’s no Lack of different options for cocktails I do admit that I prefer the martini Because it is the most of Ginny I sort Of question about sustainability there As well and that’s a good question too You know it can be a concern for gin Production as much as it can dude for Any drink or anything else that we Consume it’s gonna be tricky when we’re Thinking about a lot of spirit Production you know unless you are Growing and making everything yourself You’re gonna have to be buying in Materials from other places and you may Not be able to guarantee the Sustainability of them there’s very few Producers who actually form all of their Base material for their base spirits who Then source all of that botanicals Locally I mean that’s pretty rare and so I think it’s a question that eventually Will come into play and it may make a Change in terms of how people view gin Production but currently it’s not a Consideration for most people and Again here about a GOI for Plymouth I Believe so that’s why it has been made In Plymouth so is a legally defined term So submit to call it up image in it has To adhere to to those laws so yeah yeah Just takes a pretty special I like that About on climate Jim and so that does Bring us up to the modern day and that’s
That’s all that I have to say and feel Free to put in some questions ABV Requirements which in if there is so Much most into bottled at 40% Historically you can see there you can Get some that are lower that also comes With tax advantages some producers go Higher Now all liam saying that cream it’s no Longer has a GI there in terms of ABV Some producers preferred to bottle Slightly higher you can have you know People playing around with 42.3% to see What’s better holding the flavors of Botanicals in more so that again will be Up to the producers we’ve got a comment On Navy strength there yeah quite quite Rare less common to see may be strength Jim Navy strength means an ABB of fifty Seven point seven percent and this was The term comes about through its use in The Navy so when as I mentioned earlier And naval forces would get their ration Of gin it was at a high obv so that if It came into contact with any of the Gunpowder it would no problem so in Order to then test that there Jen was The correct strength because you would Want it being diluted and you being Ripped off with you Jim and you they Would then mix a bit with How to just attest they didn’t lights so Navy strength refers to this Particularly high alcohol gym and I
Think Navy strength is pretty awesome And that’s what you want in your martini But you can only have one obviously Question about what qualifies in London Dry Gin it just has to be dry it has to Have it’s like no more than 0.1 grams Per liter of sugar in it but it doesn’t Have made in London So just to drive it that’s sir Particularly important there Bob saying Its transported at a higher strength Because there was less way for the ship Yeah that makes sense Liam saying the other rule for London Dries and the thing added post Distillation other than water so you Can’t had add any other flavors after The distillation has occurred when in The process of botanicals added this is Gonna vary through through different Produces I read it must be distillation For London Dryden are you guys are good So so when the other botanicals is going To vary so most botanicals are added Gins are produced by read isolation so You put your and neutral base spirit in Your stool you add botanicals and you Regis did it and as you may have Understood from the previous comments Some producers will add some botanicals Afterwards these are known Lee the ones That are more delicate but that can’t Happen in a London dry the bathtub gin That was mentioned earlier is slightly
Different as we said that’s where you’re Just kind of soak your botanicals in you Can find also some genes that are made By a cold compounding and this is where They just add flavorings of kind of cool Too rather than botanicals themselves so Yeah not to do quite so good that one And ideally we distillation is very it’s Better to get the most quality the most Flavor Country that produces the most gin this Is a good question so last time I looked It up it was unexpected What the answer was and I’m sure we Might have some guesses here and show Some more correct me if it’s wrong and [Music] Anyone know the country the produces the Most gin yes Philippines it’s not the UK We wish it was the UK apparently its Philippines because they have someone Who’s written a locally produced gin by Some ago and they make an awful lot of It now I’ve not been to the Philippines I would imagine that for that to be true They must each in everywhere but who Knows yeah after Philippines Spain USA All before okay in terms of production So yeah maybe not the place that you Would think of that’s that’s where the Award goes to right so I feel like Everyone’s probably to be thirsty for Some gin now so I will and bring us to The conclusion here and feel free to
Hang around are some more questions tell Me your favorite jeans or whatever it May be if you are interested in keeping Such a obviously you’ve got contact Details on the screen there I assumed That probably most of you know by now About our range of webinars that we’re Running and so they’re all free feel Free to sign up to them we’ve got our Quiz tomorrow evening a quiz which this Week someone told me was better than MasterChef so if that’s not an Endorsement I don’t know what is and Yeah all sorts of things coming up so Keep an eye we’ve got more things Planned And I will be the plan is to put this Recording on a YouTube page which is a Work in progress and so I will it will Be up soon Bear with us on that but anything else You you have any concerns with in the Meantime Oh sod name reoccur and now on The YouTube page so I know a few people Have been emailing about them anyone can Access it you just have to look on the Go to main WCT page and there’s one of The channels which is the WCT school and That’s where you’ll find and find the Couple beforehand they do has already Got the link for you even better so Thanks everyone for Jillian we’ll look For to see you again soon Time to fill my rotini I’m not even
Drunk on our tinea outrage come well NZ And Island recording