In the be-gin-ing…
The drink we now know as gin was invented by a Dutch chemist, Sylvius de Bouve, sometime in the second half of the 16th century. His juniper spirit, called ‘genièvre’, was created as a medicinal cure but soon became a popular tipple.
The drink first made waves in England when soldiers sent to the continent to fight returned with tales of drinking ‘genever’ to give them ‘Dutch courage’ in battle. But it became a smash hit when Dutch ruler William of Orange was crowned King of England in 1689 and introduced a Distilling Act allowing anyone to distil spirits.
By the early 1700s cheap genever – now known by its shorter English name gin – was the drink of choice for London’s poor, resulting in increased deaths and lower birth rates, and earning gin the moniker ‘mother’s ruin’. Its disastrous results were immortalised by William Hogarth in his print 'Gin Lane' (pictured below right, with 'Beer Street' on the left). By 1750 its effects were so bad that Parliament passed a series of Gin Acts prohibiting sales and production.
![Gin Lane by William Hogarth]()
This did the trick and by the 19th century gin had become a drink for the upper classes, made by respectable distillers such as Plymouth Gin, Tanqueray and Gordon’s. With the expansion of the British Empire, gin was shipped all over the world, becoming particularly popular in the US – so popular in fact that it was banned during Prohibition, leading to a huge demand for illicit gin and sparking a fashion for mixed drinks (to disguise how bad this ‘bathtub gin’ tasted). And so the cocktail era began...
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The styles
London Dry: The invention of the column still in 1831 led to the creation of very pure, crisp and dry gins, which are the dominant style today. Popularised by London distillers, but despite the name, they can be made anywhere in the world.
Old Tom: Popular before the column still arrived, this is a sweetened style of gin, which uses sugar to cover up the unpleasant taste of compounds created in rudimentary stills. Today Hayman’s and Jensen have revived the style.
Genever: The original Dutch juniper spirit is still produced in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, where it’s protected by geographic indication. Look for Bols – the original distiller that’s still going strong.
New Western Dry: A modern style with lower levels of juniper. Instead the focus is on other flavours such as cucumber (Hendrick’s), grape (G’Vine) or raspberry (Pinkster).
![Gin martinis]()
Classic gin cocktails
Gin is the key ingredient in a host of iconic mixes. Get gin-spired and try making one of these gin cocktails at home…
GIN & TONIC
A throwback to the days of the British Raj, this refresher can be given a twist with your own choice of tonic and garnish. Try this Original G&T made with Whitley Neill, served in a balloon wine glass for a Spanish-style GinTonica.
Glass: Balloon
Garnish: Orange wheel
Method: Add the gin to a balloon glass filled with ice. Top with the tonic and garnish with an orange wheel.
50ml Whitley Neill Original Gin
100ml Lamb & Watt Original Tonic Water
MARTINI
A deceptively simple combo of two ingredients sparks endless debate. Wet or dry? Lemon twist or olive? Either way, making a perfect Martini is an art – and forget James Bond, it should always be stirred not shaken.
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Lemon twist or olive
Method: Put your Martini glass in the freezer to chill. Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with plenty of large ice cubes and stir well for at least 30 seconds. Strain into your chilled glass and garnish.
50ml gin
10ml vermouth
TOM COLLINS
The Tom Collins recipe first appeared in The Bar-Tenders Guide by Jerry Thomas in 1876. It’s almost identical to a Gin Fizz, which uses the same ingredients but is shaken rather than made in the glass. Give us an easy life…
Glass: Highball
Garnish: Lemon slice
Method: Fill the glass with ice and pour in the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup. Top with soda water, stir to mix and garnish.
50ml gin
25ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
50ml soda water
NEGRONI
Invented by Count Camillo Negroni in Italy in 1919, this bitter classic has enjoyed a hipster revival – you’ll find it on tap in some bars. But it’s easy to make at home; you can even pre-mix it for a party. (Can we come?)
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Orange twist
Method: Fill your glass with ice and add all of the ingredients. Stir to mix and garnish.
25ml gin
25ml Italian vermouth
25ml Campari
![Negroni cocktails]()
Eight gins to try
Edinburgh Gin
The blend of 14 botanicals includes native Scottish plants such as heather and pine, which you’ll be able to sniff out on the nose. The palate is really citrusy, with menthol notes and a creamy nuttiness that lingers on the finish. The heather aromas complement the floral violet flavours of an Aviation cocktail, while its punchy citrus keeps the mix in balance.
Edinburgh’s new Rhubarb & Ginger gin, meanwhile, grafts two classic British summertime flavours onto a heady, juniper-forward profile – just add tonic.
Edinburgh Gin, £28, Tesco; Edinburgh Rhubarb & Ginger Gin, £21.56, Amazon
Whitley Neill
Proof that you can make a classic London dry gin with some very non-London ingredients, Whitley Neill adds Cape gooseberry (aka physalis) and baobab to a base of classic gin botanicals to produce a gin inspired by South Africa. Smooth and clean-tasting but exotically spicy, it is a terrific match with bitter, citrus flavours: try it in a G&T with an orange wheel garnish or in that bittersweet classic, the Campari-based Negroni.
£26, Sainsbury’s
Gin Mare
This aromatic Spanish gin expresses its Mediterranean mix of botanicals with a recipe that includes Arbequina olives, basil from Italy and thyme from Greece. The palate finishes with a zesty hit of citrus and spice notes, which makes it great in a Martini as the herbal character makes for distinctively savoury sipping – garnish with an olive, obvs. Or for a G&T with a citrus kick, add a bar spoon of bitter orange marmalade and two dashes or orange bitters.
£37, Waitrose
No.3 London Dry Gin
Using six botanicals (three fruit and three spice), No.3 – owned by London’s oldest wine and spirit merchant, Berry Bros & Rudd – offers a big hit of juniper on the palate, but is balanced with fresh citrus and spice notes too, making it a versatile choice for cocktails as well as a G&T. With its bone-dry finish, characteristic juniper bitterness and refreshing grapefruit and orange citrus, No.3 makes a great Negroni.
£37, Waitrose
Pinkster Gin
Made by steeping raspberries in the gin and infusing it with raspberries after distillation, which gives a delicate pink colour and raspberry notes on both the nose and the finish. White pepper notes stop the palate becoming too fruity. This modern gin with a raspberry twist is an ideal partner for the Clover Club, adding a subtle new dimension to the fruit-forward taste of this traditional raspberry cocktail.
£29, Amazon
Portobello Road No.171
There’s plenty of juniper on the nose and palate of this proudly London Dry style gin, along with citrus and grassy aromas that are followed by nicely judged spice leading right though the palate to a nutmeg-infused finish. With its classic juniper profile, Portobello Road works in any number of classic gin cocktails, but its spice notes add an extra dimension to the super-citrus Tom Collins cocktail.
Look out, too, for Portobello’s Local Heroes No.3, created in partnership with Notting Hill local Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits fame), which adds lime zest, cucumber peel and olive oil to Portobello’s nine signature botanicals.
Portobello Road No.171, £22, Tesco; Local Heroes No.3, 42.95, masterofmalt.com
Salcombe Gin Start Point
Inspired by the 19th-century Salcombe ‘fruiters’ who brought exotic fruit to Devon from the West Indies and Azores. Grapefruit, lemon and lime add bright citrus notes to the classic juniper palate, which also shows fiery spice. Salcombe adds even more citrus punch to the Champagne-and-lemon French 75, a refreshing sparkling cocktail that makes a perfect aperitif.
£40, salcombegin.com
Silent Pool
Made in the Surrey countryside from 24 botanicals, this juniper-driven, intensely flavoured gin has floral notes of lavender and chamomile cut through by the sharper citrus note of kaffir lime, all rounded out with honey and added to water from the Silent Pool itself, a small lake next to the distillery. Try it over ice swirled around with tonic in a Spanish-style coppa glass to release the floral aromas (there’s rose flower and elderflower in there too) and add a twist of orange peel to complement the lime.
£39.50, Waitrose
Hepple Gin
Deep in the bowels of their experimental Northumberland laboratory, the clever people at Hepple have used a combination of pot stills, vacuum distillation and supercritical CO2 extraction to create a gin packed with vivid flavour and zing. Using local wild juniper, picked green, alongside juicier Macedonian juniper, this gin is certainly layered and juniper-forward, cut with a lemon sherbert kick and a grassy, herbaceous edge. Finely balanced, with a little bitterness and a little sweetness, it has a long, smooth finish.
£38.00, Waitrose
Gin days out
![Salcombe Gin School]()
If you want to visit a distillery or even make your own gin, there are plenty of options. Here’s our top three…
22-24 Bride Lane, London, EC4Y 8DT; 020 7936 3636
For a gin day out in the heart of the capital City of London Distillery offers a range of distillery tours and tastings. The ‘Gin Lab Experience’ is a two-hour session that teaches you how to distil and choose botanicals to create your personal recipe, before distilling your bottle in a mini-still. Price: £125
The Boathouse, 28 Island Street, Salcombe, Devon, TQ8 8DP; 01548 288 180
For a gin-themed weekend break, head to Devon, the home of Salcombe Gin. Learn about distilling, then take charge of your mini-still to create your bespoke bottle of gin. Try it out with a range of tonics and garnishes at The Boathouse bar with its estuary view. Price: £110
186 Portobello Road, London, W11 1LA; 020 3034 2234
Portobello Road Gin runs this Notting Hill venue which includes a distillery, bar, restaurant and rooms – just in case you aren’t up to the trip home after your visit. ‘The Experience’ offers a session on gin history, a visit to the still and the chance to craft your own gin, with tipples along the way. Price: £120