London Dry

When Dutch trading was at its peak, genever found its way to Great Britain and it was a huge success. The British nicknamed the spirit Dutch Courage because the Dutch mercenaries that they hired would drink the spirit before battle and they were notorious for the battle spirit and tenacity.

In the 1600s, as ruling monarchies continually fought, the British Crown’s hope was to supplant imported French brandy and Holland Genever with gin distilled and produced in Great Britain. Of course, this plan worked to great effect. It’s hard to think of gin and not think of England at the the same time.

By the 1700s, a gin craze had swept the country and Dutch Courage had its name changed to “Mother’s Ruin.” The societal difficulties of a rapidly advancing industrial age were blamed on gin. Nevertheless, gin continued to be a product that was synonymous with England.

By the 1800s, the gin made in England and the genever made in The Netherlands were drastically different. English gin was nowhere near as malty, flavorful, and rounded as Holland genever. The English had created their own variety of the drink that whose goal was to stay as rectified as possible - meaning that the goal was stay clean, pure, and as free of as many particles as possible.

To be a distilled gin, the gin has to be made with distilled, natural botanicals. What does this mean? This means that once the neutral spirit is created, it has to go through a secondary distillation where the juniper and other flavors are included.

No additional flavorings can be added after the distillation process. At the end of the day, nothing at all can be added except for more neutral spirit, water, and sugar (less than .1g per liter). And of course, there are ABV (Alcohol by Volume) stipulations. For the UK, the ABV must be 37.5% or higher and for the US, the ABV must be 40% or higher.

Contrary to popular belief, London Dry Gin can be made anywhere in the world! The only caveat is that it follows the strict rules and regulations that define London Dry Gin as a category.

Juniper, juniper, and more juniper - but! That’s the whole point of this super clean and erudite style of gin. You’ll also notice hints of citrus, baking spices, and natural herbs.

Suggested Brands - Beefeater, Tanqueray, Bombay, Hayman’s, and Ford’s Gin.

Suggested Cocktails - Gin Fizz, Gimlet, and Negroni