Gin - what you didn't know!

15th January 2019

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So what is Gin?

it is neutral base spirit which has juniper as the main flavour or 'botanical' and it has to have a minimum ABV of 37.5%

This is the EU definition!

The leading botanical flavour must be from juniper berries.
Must use a neutral base spirit (ethanol of agricultural origin) originally distilled to over 96% ABV
It then must be re-distilled to at least 70% ABV.
It can only be diluted to a minimum strength of 37.5% in the EU (40% in the US) after re-distillation.
No artificial ingredients allowed
No additional flavour or colour can be added after re-distillation.

In very simple terms Gin is a neutral base spirit (like Vodka ), which can have vorious ‘botanicals’ added, one of which has to be juniper.

So what are Botanicals?

These are roots, seeds, spices, herbs, and fruits that the Gin Distiller will use to create their own Gin recipe.

They combine them with their base spirit to create their own brand of Gin.

The distiller can use literally hundreds of differents botanicals to create their own unique recipe but these are the favourites.

So yes, Gin is essentially flavoured Vodka!

Guess how many bottles of gin we consume in the UK each year......

Over 50 million bottles!!!

Whats your favourite?

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