Spring Break
Gin: Unusual Taste, Eclectic History
American Spirits
Timothy Bleasdale
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: Focus
When was the last time you were at a weekend gathering where the drink of the hour was gin? I'm going to venture a guess here and say probably never, right?
The sight of someone opening a bottle of gin in a group of 20-something-year-olds is usually met with a chorus of groans and at least one person complaining, "Oh gross, that stuff tastes like pine trees!"
Having encountered the above reaction more than a few times, I'm pretty sure that most budding young scholars have absolutely no taste for gin. So why bother writing about it?
Because gin has a fascinating history, a deep connection with American drinkers and your inebriant guru just happens to be a die-hard gin fan.
It is well known that alcohol was widely used for "medicinal purposes" during the Middle Ages and even into the 1800s. The concoctions of herbs and animal parts that early doctors and chemists cooked up as medicine were fairly unpalatable, to put it mildly.
To make these potions drinkable, and the patient feel better, physicians began adding alcohol. Of these alcohols, gin was by far the most popular.
Originally the spirits added to the medicinal drinks were just that - straight distilled alcohol. In the 11th century, however, Italian farmers discovered that the berries of the juniper tree were pretty tasty, and began adding them to things that tasted bad, like straight distilled alcohol.
Soon, the Germans were following suit, adding whole juniper berries, crushed berries and oil from the berries to alter the flavor of wine, creating a precursor to brandy.
Over the next few centuries juniper berries developed a reputation of being able to both prevent and treat stomach problems and even cure the bubonic plague.
But in the mid-1600s, the medicinal value of junipers was confirmed by a Dutchman by the name of Franciscus de la Boie at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Professor Frank's discovery not only explained why juniper berries helped the stomach (turns out that in the right quantities they act as a diuretic), but also determined that the strong taste of the berries is mellowed when combined with alcohol. And presto, gin was born. The good professor dubbed his drink "jenevre."
The sight of someone opening a bottle of gin in a group of 20-something-year-olds is usually met with a chorus of groans and at least one person complaining, "Oh gross, that stuff tastes like pine trees!"
Having encountered the above reaction more than a few times, I'm pretty sure that most budding young scholars have absolutely no taste for gin. So why bother writing about it?
Because gin has a fascinating history, a deep connection with American drinkers and your inebriant guru just happens to be a die-hard gin fan.
It is well known that alcohol was widely used for "medicinal purposes" during the Middle Ages and even into the 1800s. The concoctions of herbs and animal parts that early doctors and chemists cooked up as medicine were fairly unpalatable, to put it mildly.
To make these potions drinkable, and the patient feel better, physicians began adding alcohol. Of these alcohols, gin was by far the most popular.
Originally the spirits added to the medicinal drinks were just that - straight distilled alcohol. In the 11th century, however, Italian farmers discovered that the berries of the juniper tree were pretty tasty, and began adding them to things that tasted bad, like straight distilled alcohol.
Soon, the Germans were following suit, adding whole juniper berries, crushed berries and oil from the berries to alter the flavor of wine, creating a precursor to brandy.
Over the next few centuries juniper berries developed a reputation of being able to both prevent and treat stomach problems and even cure the bubonic plague.
But in the mid-1600s, the medicinal value of junipers was confirmed by a Dutchman by the name of Franciscus de la Boie at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Professor Frank's discovery not only explained why juniper berries helped the stomach (turns out that in the right quantities they act as a diuretic), but also determined that the strong taste of the berries is mellowed when combined with alcohol. And presto, gin was born. The good professor dubbed his drink "jenevre."
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