A Brief (and Spirited) History of Gin

A Brief (and Spirited) History of Gin

Gin has had one of the greatest redemption arcs in drinking history. Once blamed for societal collapse, moral decay, and the occasional missing tooth, it’s now the darling of craft bars, marble countertops, and men who suddenly own a lot of glassware. But gin’s story is far richer—and messier—than its current Instagram-friendly glow suggests.

Let’s rewind.

From Medicine Cabinet to Mug

Gin’s origins lie in the Low Countries, specifically the Netherlands, where a juniper-flavoured spirit called jenever was created in the 16th century. It wasn’t designed for cocktail menus—it was medicine. Juniper berries were believed to help with kidney ailments, gout, and other assorted ills. Whether it worked or not is debatable, but it definitely lifted the patient’s spirits. Literally.

English soldiers encountered jenever while fighting alongside the Dutch and brought a taste for it home, referring to it as “Dutch Courage.” The name shortened, the recipe loosened up, and gin was born.

Gin Goes Wild in England

By the early 18th century, gin had England in a chokehold. Cheap, potent, and easier to make than beer, it flooded the streets—especially in London. The result? The infamous Gin Craze, a period where consumption skyrocketed and public order… did not.

Gin was so affordable that it became the drink of the urban poor, leading to widespread addiction and social decay. Artist William Hogarth captured this beautifully (and brutally) in his engraving Gin Lane, which depicted a society unraveling one dram at a time.

The British government tried to rein it in with a series of Gin Acts—essentially sin taxes with teeth. It took time, but regulation, rising quality standards, and changing tastes slowly pulled gin out of the gutter and back onto respectable shelves.

Refinement and the Rise of London Dry

By the 19th century, gin cleaned up nicely. Advances in distillation led to smoother spirits, and London Dry Gin emerged as a refined, crisp style—juniper-forward, clean, and elegant. Importantly, “London Dry” refers to the method, not the location, though the city of London certainly helped cement its reputation.

Gin palaces sprang up across Britain—lavish establishments with chandeliers, etched glass, and a clientele that now included the middle class. Gin was no longer a menace; it was fashionable.

The Gin & Tonic Saves the Empire

Here’s a fun fact every gentleman should have ready at a dinner party: the gin and tonic was born out of necessity, not leisure. In colonial India, British officers were required to take quinine to ward off malaria. Quinine was bitter, so they mixed it with sugar, lime, soda water—and, crucially, gin.

Thus, the G&T became both a health measure and a ritual, quietly reinforcing gin’s place in British culture and helping it spread across the empire.

Fall, Forgetting, and a Modern Revival

Gin hit a slump in the mid-20th century, overshadowed by vodka’s clean, no-nonsense image. For a while, gin was seen as your grandfather’s drink—something ordered quietly, if at all.

Then came the revival.

Starting in the late 1990s and exploding in the 2010s, craft distillers rediscovered gin’s greatest strength: flexibility. While juniper must remain the backbone, botanicals like citrus peel, lavender, peppercorn, seaweed, and even cucumber entered the mix. Brands like Bombay Sapphire helped reintroduce gin as stylish and aspirational, while small-batch producers pushed boundaries further.

Gin Today

Today, gin is a playground for experimentation and tradition alike. It can be classic or weird, restrained or wildly aromatic. It works just as well in a perfectly stirred martini as it does in a tall summer tonic with ice clinking like confidence.

From medieval medicine to moral panic to craft darling, gin has survived it all—and come out better dressed. Not bad for a spirit that started life as a cure for kidney problems.

Cheers to that. 🥂