I had a belief that gin or the classic G and T was about as English as it comes. I thought it was right up there with things like Toad-in-the-hole, Morecombe and Wise and beaches at the seaside devoid of even a hint of sand.
However, like a great deal of my beliefs, it turns out to be way far off the mark. Although the classic gin served over our bar is London dry, gin began its life a mere invention from a Dutch doctor in Amsterdam. Luckily for us, this was well before the golden rule of ‘what happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam’, or is that Las Vegas, not entirely sure. It was used as a medical tonic to treat ailments, as the primary ingredient Juniper berries has well known medical properties.
The English love affair with gin started in the early 17th century when for all extent and purposes a bunch of squaddies went on the razzle dazzle in the Dam. The drink became so popular with the English soldiers who were at the time fighting the “eighty year war” and if I’m honest seemingly dragging the whole thing out a bit, that the term Dutch courage was derived.
The production of gin soon erupted in England, and the government actually allowed unlicensed gin manufacturing, obviously not a coalition government. They say that by 1740 there were 15,000 watering holes in London and over half were what were known as Gin Shops. Gin at the time out sold beer!!!! It was considered quite the common or poor man’s drink. Again, another one of my beliefs that gin tends to be an upper-class choice- shot completely out of the water.
The government wisened up to the fact that London was getting on the smash via cheap gin and consequently imposed the Gin Act 1736; imposing higher taxes on retailers. The response was typically French- everyone went on a riot.
For the next couple of hundred years the majority of the gin production, certainly in London, was from illegal stills and sold primarily on the black market.
The advent of the popular mix of gin and tonic again wasn’t discovered in the U.K. It was the adventurers, who forged the British Colonies, that used gin in vast quantities to mask the taste of quinine which at the time was the only effective anti malarial compound. The quinine was mixed with carbonated water plus a big slug of gin for good measure. Surprisingly today tonic water still contains quinine, however vastly reduced, yet this still doesn’t stop necking back a few G ‘n’ Ts when I’m in warmer climes.
Today gin or even a gin and tonic is recognised as a sophisticated wind down drink. Gordon’s is probably the most popular gin (without the help of that chef with the permanent tan and the very white teeth). However if you take a moment to look, we do a decent range of gins including Bombay, Hendricks and Plymouth. These all have a slightly different taste that certainly can increase your drinking pleasure.
