Dry Gin

What is dry gin?

A dry gin is a rather strong alcohol that is flavored by seeds from the juniper bush. You will hardly ever find anyone drinking this spirit on its own, however it is used as an ingredient in many different cocktails. You may find that dry gin is smooth to the taste, but has a strong taste of juniper that you may or may not like.

 

Gin gets its name from the Dutch language word genever, which translates to juniper. Many other people believe that the name for the spirit came from the name of the Swiss city of Geneva. There is some contradiction on where the spirit actually originated from because some people say it is Dutch and others say Italian. However, the first time dry gin actually became really popular was when it was used in Holland as a treatment for stomach aches and gallstones by doctors. Juniper berries are known to have many curative attributes, such as helping to ease arthritis pain and also acting as a diuretic.

 

After it became popular in Holland, dry gin quickly became popular in England. The English changed toe flavors into something of their own by aging the spirit in wooden casks, which gave it more flavor. The Government in England allowed the citizens to not be required to have a license to create it in the 18^th century, so the production of gin really accelerated. It was that ruling by the government that pushed gin ahead of beer in consumption levels in England. Many of the bars at that time actually were known for being specialized in creating their own gins that they proudly served to their patrons.

 

Today, dry gin is very simple, such as London dry gin, which is a similar recipe and type of gin as Beefeater. Some gins now have extra flavoring added to them to make them more appealing and different than the standard. Bombay Sapphire is a type of dry gin that, as well as juniper, also has flavors of lemon, coriander, almonds, and licorice. A popular drink that includes Bombay Sapphire is the Bombay Sapphire Martini.