The first records of distilled grains spirits appeared in Ireland and Scotland in the 1400’s. Over time, these spirits became known as whiskey, which is the anglicized version of the Gaelic word uisce beatha (Ish-ca Baa-ha) which means water of life. English colonization spread whiskey making it to both Canada and the United States and the types of whiskey they made evolved based on the grains that grew well in those climates and soils. Before the 1800’s, whiskey was largely stored in barrels simply for transportation. But, around the turn of the 19th century, people noticed that whiskey stored in barrels had a better flavor and aroma and so began purposefully aging whiskey before selling it. As distilling technology improved, it expanded the variety of whiskey styles that could be made to match the preferences of the drinking public.
Gin can be made anywhere in the world and while the most well known brands come from England and the United States, the Philippines and Spain are the two largest consumers of gin. Ginebra San Miguel from the Philippines is the largest selling gin brand in the world.
Gin is a distilled spirit that derives its flavor from juniper and other botanicals. Juniper can add a piney or resinous character that compliments the other botanicals. Gin can be made in a variety of ways and using a variety of stills. Common methods include: compounding, where botanical essences are added to a base spirit; a single shot process, where botanicals are added to the still to make a single batch of gin; or in a multi shot process, where extra botanicals are added to the still to make a botanical concentrate which is then blended with additional base spirit to make multiple batches of gin at one time.
Gin that has been matured in or with wood using either a barrel wood chips or staves. There are two main types of aged gin: yellow gin, which is slightly influenced by wood, and sipping gin, a more modern and popular style.
Forms the blank canvas for the botanicals and flavors to overlay. Gin is produced by redistilling a neutral alcohol with botanicals to add character to the drink.
Term originates from the early days of American Prohibition in the 1920’s. It was used to describe the illicitly produced, compounded gin drank at various speakeasies in the United States.
A gin made by distilling each botanical individually in separate distillation runs and then blending the distillates together in the desired proportions to produce the final gin.