Contents
Gin Basics
Types of Gin
Gin Drink Recipes from the Four Seasons Restaurant
The Academic
Andromeda
Angel’s Breast
Apollo
Apple Sour
Archbishop
The Arthur
Ascot
Astoria
Astor Place
Athena
Avenue B
Bee Line
Bette’s Choice
Bilbo B.
Bleecker Street
Bloody Brit
Blue Sky
Braveheart
Bronx Tale
Brooklyn Nite
Carousel
Catapult
Century
Chandelier
The Cloisters
Commedia dell’Arte
The Crater
Crusader
Damsel
Delancey
Delmonico
Dreamy
East End Avenue
Elvira
Equestrian
Fairy Tale
Faust
Florentine
Gentle Pink
Gin and Tonic
Gin Daisy
Gin Fizz
Gingerly
Gin Gibson
Gin Gimlet
Gin Madras
Gin Martini
Gin Presbyterian
Gin Sour
Golden Drop
Grand Tour
Green River
Green Widow
Haunted Bride
Homer’s Choice
Kate’s Fave
Latin Twist
Long Island Iced Tea
The Monk
Napoleon
Nature Girl
Negroni
Orange Blossom
Paris Opera
Pink Lady
Pink Lady 2
Pink Panther
Pink Pussycat
Pink Rose
Pink Squirrel
The Poolside
Queen Mum
Queen’s Ruby
Root Beer Highball
Seraphim
Sexy Maiden
Singapore Sling
South Side Cocktail
Tom Collins
Triton
Learn more with these titles from Barnes & Noble
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- A brief history of gin and the basics of how gin is made
- A rundown of different types of gin, so you’ll know what you’re buying
- Gin cocktail recipes from the Four Seasons restaurant
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Gin Basics
Gin is a clear spirit with the distinctive flavor of juniper berry. Different brands of gin may vary in flavor depending on the particular distillation methods used in making the gin, as well as on the specific blend of botanicals (herbs and spices) added during the distillation process.
A Short History of Gin
Gin evolved from genever, a medicinal spirit formulated in the 1640s by a distinguished professor of medicine at Holland’s University of Leiden, Franz de le Böe—a.k.a. Dr. Sylvius. He named his mix of neutral grain spirits and oil of juniper for genièvre (French for juniper). The spirit, originally intended as a diuretic and remedy for kidney disorders, soon became popular as a drinking alcohol not only in Holland but also in England, where it was introduced by British troops who fought with the Dutch in their revolt against the Spanish (Habsburg) Empire. The soldiers’ habit of fortifying themselves with a dram of genever before battle gave rise to the drink’s nickname: “Dutch courage.”
After Dutch prince William of Orange took the throne as England’s King William III (reigned 1689–1702), English spirit-making flourished. The Protestant king set high tariffs on wines imported from France, Italy, and other Catholic countries, and abolished licensing fees for the local manufacture of grain spirits—including genever, whose name the British had shortened to gin. By the 1720s, gin was being produced on such a large scale that a pint cost less than a pint of ale. Public drunkenness became so unmanageable that Parliament enacted new licensing and marketing laws, and English gin was gradually transformed from two-bit rotgut into a respectable middle-class spirit.
In the 1830s, the invention of the column still improved distillation and led to production of pure gin and its enhancement with light botanical flavorings—the result was London dry gin, named for the concentration of distillers in London and its dry taste. The ports of Liverpool, Bristol, and Plymouth created fruitier and more aromatic versions of dry gin, but of those three only Plymouth gin survives today.
Gin soon became popular worldwide and rivaled whiskey as the flagship spirit of the “cocktail age”—the period of mixed-drink inventiveness lasting from the late 18th century into the Roaring Twenties. The earliest forms of the iconic gin martini date from the 1860s.
How Gin Is Made
Because gin producers use a wide variety of manufacturing methods, gin-making is less a uniform, step-by-step process than a matter of decision-making on the part of the distiller.
Production of Neutral Spirit
Gin production begins with a mash that can include malted barley, wheat, corn, rye, or sugarcane. (Sugarcane is generally used only for English-style dry gins, whereas malted barley is always the dominant grain in genever.) The mash is mixed with water into a low-alcohol malt wine, which is then distilled into a neutral spirit—a spirit without noticeable flavor or aroma.
Today gin-makers rarely produce this neutral spirit themselves. Instead, most purchase mass-produced spirit as the first step in distilling and bottling their brands.
Distillation
Gin producers distill the neutral spirit at least two or three times. Makers of English-style gins typically use column stills—tall, interconnected cylinders filled with chambers that continuously trap and condense water vapors as
alcohol-rich vapors pass through. The rectification stage of distilling purifies the neutral spirit by removing undesirable compounds and reducing the water content of the spirit, thereby raising the alcohol content as high as 90–94% by volume. However, advances in production technology have made the rectification stage largely unnecessary, so many producers no longer use it.
A handful of English-style gin makers use traditional pot stills for distilling gin, and pot stills are almost always used for the production of genever in the Netherlands
and Belgium.
Flavoring
Flavor can be added to the neutral spirit via one of
three methods:
- Vapor infusion: At the final rectification stage of column distillation, the vapors of the neutral spirit pass though a copper basket filled with cracked juniper berries and the botanicals used by the gin-maker. The vapors then are carried to the still’s condenser.
- Steeping: This method is used for gin distilled in pot stills. The juniper berries and botanicals are placed in a clean cotton bag and are then left to steep in a pot of distilled spirit for 24 hours or more.
- Cold compounding: Used for low-shelf gins, this method also involves steeping. Some gin-makers muddle the juniper berries and botanicals and put them directly into the distilled spirit to steep. Others press the essential oils from the plant material and add them to the neutral spirit. In either case, the mixture is filtered and then diluted with distilled water to lower the alcohol content.
Aging
Like vodka, gin needs no aging and usually goes almost directly from still to bottle. Certain gin-makers do age their gin in barrels, though, for three to six months. Aged gins take on a pale gold color. Genever is often aged for 1–3 years in oak casks.
Bottling Proof
In the United Kingdom, the proof system has been abandoned, and the percentage of alcohol is specified on the label instead. In the United States, gins range from 80–94 U.S. proof, proof being twice the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV). Some Dutch-style gins are bottled at 30% ABV, but most are marketed at 40% ABV.
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