From classic juniper-forward bottles to Greek- and Japanese-influenced craft creations, variations on the spirit are ever-expanding.
A gin and tonic seems like the simplest drink in the world, yet depending on that central ingredient, you can end up with very different drinks. London Dry? Old Tom? Based on a neutral spirit and a mix of botanicals, gins often lean on juniper flavors, but not always. Especially with widespread craft distilling and regions of origin, the botanicals may range widely.
Before you go get a bottle to make a martini or negroni, consider what sort best suits your taste.
Good For You?
Like so much liquor, gin was first hailed for its medicinal properties. Jenever, a distilled malt wine, was first produced in the Netherlands and Flanders and dates back to the 13th century. Juniper (Latin name juniperus, and thus Jenever) and other herbs were added to try to help the “medicine” go down. Jenever still exists today, malt-wine or neutral-spirit-based, but when it made its way to England in the 1600s, it caught on and the name was shortened to gin.
