Sign in with facebook
Gin-eral Knowledge
Think you know all about gin? Here’s some interesting facts about this age-old spirit along with some history.
Ori-gin
Gin’s name is derived from the French word “genievre”, which stands for juniper. The earliest predecessors of Gin can be traced back to Italian monks that were creating crude distillations of juniper berries, which were used, unsuccessfully, as a remedy for the bubonic plague. Jumping ahead 500 years, a Dutch doctor begins creating a spirit using juniper berries and a variety of other botanicals to create a medicinal drink to treat everything from stomach problems to kidney disorders to gout.
Gin-erating Gin
Gin is made from juniper berries, but there are several other botanicals that go into the production of Gin. The exact amount of each botanical used for each brand is considered a trade secret, but they will often include coriander, citrus peels, anise, and fennel.
When picking out your bottle of Gin, there are two methods of imparting the flavors of the botanicals into the Gin. The first is through vapor infused. This is when the fermented mash of grain is heated and the spirit vapor rises past a basket type device that houses the juniper berries and botanicals. The vapor is then condensed into a highly alcoholic spirit with the flavors of the botanicals infused into it.
Compound infusion is another method. This one involves the adding of each botanicals oils to a neutral spirit. This would be like the instant coffee of infusion.
At Ultra Liquors you will find a wide selection of gin at the lowest prices.
