Gin traces its roots to the Low Countries of Europe, where Dutch and Flemish distillers first combined juniper berries with spirits as early as the 13th century. What began as a medicinal preparation evolved into one of the world’s most popular spirits, with global consumption reaching roughly 107 million nine-litre cases in 2024. The story of how it got from a medieval remedy to your cocktail glass winds through war, politics, and a near-catastrophic drinking epidemic in London.
Medieval Juniper Remedies in the Low Countries
The earliest known reference to juniper-based drinks dates to 1270, when the Flemish writer Jacob van Maarlant described a medicine made from juniper berries boiled in wine in his book “Der Naturen Bloeme” (The Flower of Nature). This wasn’t gin as we’d recognize it, but it established the core idea: juniper berries steeped in alcohol for their supposed healing properties.
Over the following centuries, Dutch and Belgian distillers refined the concept into a spirit called jenever (sometimes spelled genever), which used malt wine as a base and flavored it with juniper and other botanicals. Jenever became a popular drink in the Netherlands and Belgium, and it was this spirit that English soldiers encountered during the Eighty Years’ War in the late 1500s and early 1600s. The story goes that they drank it before battle for courage, giving rise to the phrase “Dutch courage.” They brought their taste for it back to England, where “genever” was eventually shortened to “gin.”
The London Gin Craze
Gin’s arrival in England was relatively quiet, but political and economic forces in the late 1600s turned it into an epidemic. In 1689, the English government banned spirits imported from France, which it was at war with, and promoted gin as a patriotic alternative to French brandy. Gin could be made cheaply from British corn, and taxes on spirits fell even as taxes on beer rose. For poor Londoners who had previously relied on beer as their main drink, gin suddenly became the cheaper option.
By the 1720s, London was the center of the gin distilling trade. The spirit could be made and sold without a license, so shops selling it appeared everywhere. It was more readily available than clean water and affordable to virtually everyone. The resulting social crisis, known as the Gin Craze, devastated London’s poorest communities for decades. It took a series of increasingly strict laws through the mid-1700s to bring gin consumption under control, eventually requiring proper licensing and raising taxes on the spirit.
What Makes Gin “Gin”
The one ingredient that separates gin from every other spirit is juniper. Under EU law, juniper must be the predominant flavor in any spirit labeled as gin. These small, aromatic berries from the juniper shrub provide gin’s signature piney, resinous character, with subtle citrus undertones. Without juniper, you just have flavored vodka.
Beyond juniper, distillers typically use a blend of botanicals that can include coriander seeds, citrus peel, angelica root, and dozens of other herbs and spices. The specific combination varies by brand and is often a closely guarded recipe. Some gins use fewer than ten botanicals, while others incorporate thirty or more. These supporting flavors are what give different gins their distinct personalities, but juniper always leads.
How Gin Is Made
All gin starts with a neutral spirit, essentially a high-proof, flavorless alcohol distilled from grain, grapes, or other agricultural sources. EU regulations require this base spirit to reach at least 96% alcohol by volume before botanicals are introduced. What happens next determines the quality and style of the final product.
Distilled gin is made by redistilling that neutral spirit in the presence of juniper and other natural botanicals. The botanicals can be soaked directly in the spirit inside the still, or suspended in a basket above it so the rising vapor passes through them. Heat extracts and carries the botanical flavors into the condensed spirit, producing a smooth, well-integrated flavor. If a bottle says “distilled gin,” it must have been made this way, with no artificial flavorings added after distillation.
Compound gin takes a simpler route. Instead of redistilling, producers add flavoring agents (natural or synthetic) directly to the neutral spirit. This skips the heat-driven extraction process, which means flavors don’t always blend as smoothly. Compound gin is cheaper to produce, and labeling rules aren’t always transparent about which method was used.
The type of still also matters. Pot stills generally create richer, more flavorful spirits, while column stills are better suited for producing the clean, neutral base spirit that gin starts with. Many distillers use a column still for the base and a pot still for the botanical redistillation, getting the best of both approaches.
Major Styles of Gin
London Dry is the style most people picture when they think of gin. Despite the name, it doesn’t have to be made in London. “London Dry” refers to a production method: the gin must be distilled with natural botanicals, and nothing can be added afterward except water and a tiny amount of sweetener (no more than 0.1 grams per litre). The result is a clean, juniper-forward spirit.
Plymouth gin is a softer, slightly earthier style historically produced in Plymouth, England. It’s less juniper-dominant than London Dry and has a fuller body, making it a popular choice for classic cocktails.
Navy Strength gin is bottled at 57% alcohol by volume, significantly higher than the typical 40-47%. The name was coined in 1993 by Plymouth Gin’s marketing team, but the concept is centuries old. The Royal Navy required all spirits carried aboard ships to be at least “100 degrees proof,” a benchmark tested by mixing the spirit with gunpowder and lighting it. If the paste burned, the spirit passed. That threshold, 100 degrees proof, translates to 57% ABV. The Navy insisted on this strength because if a cask ruptured during battle and soaked the gunpowder stores, the powder could still ignite if needed.
Old Tom gin is a lightly sweetened style that bridges the gap between London Dry and jenever. It was popular during the 1700s and has seen a revival in recent years among cocktail enthusiasts.
Sloe gin is technically a liqueur rather than a true gin. It’s made by steeping sloe berries (the small, tart fruit of the blackthorn bush) in gin for six to eight weeks or longer, then sweetening the mixture. The result is a deep reddish-purple drink that’s fruity, slightly bitter, and lower in alcohol than standard gin.
Where Gin Is Popular Today
Gin’s geographic reach has shifted dramatically from its European roots. The largest gin market in the world is the Philippines, followed by Nigeria and the United States. In the Philippines, local brands dominate and gin is commonly mixed with fruit juice. Nigeria’s gin culture is similarly driven by domestic brands at accessible price points.
In Europe, the UK and Spain remain major markets. Spain’s gin-and-tonic culture, which emphasizes large balloon glasses and elaborate garnishes, helped fuel a global gin renaissance in the 2010s. The craft distilling movement has expanded the category further, with small producers in nearly every country experimenting with local botanicals. Global gin volumes grew by 2% in 2024, suggesting the spirit’s popularity is still climbing.