Why is it named gin?
The name of the beverage comes from the French name for the juniper berry, genièvre, altered by the Dutch to genever and shortened by the English to gin.
gin 5. / (dʒɪn) / noun. Australian offensive, slang an Aboriginal woman.
Like many of Britain's national favourites, gin did not originate on our shores. In fact, if you don't count the Italian monks who are thought to have used juniper berries as flavourings in distilled spirits back in the 11th century, it's Holland that's credited as the birthplace of gin.
The quinine was drunk in tonic water but the bitter taste was unpleasant. Presidency armies officers in India in the early 19th century took to adding a mixture of water, sugar, lime and gin to the quinine in order to make the drink more palatable, and thus the gin and tonic cocktail was born.
The Gin family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Gin families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 2 Gin families living in Georgia. This was about 33% of all the recorded Gin's in USA.
Our favourite tipple has gone by many names over the years. Dutch courage, ladies' delight and knock me down are just a few, but perhaps the most common and widespread of these nicknames is Mother's Ruin.
Gin quickly and uniquely became associated with poverty, extreme drunkenness, madness, death and inferiority.
The gin obsession was blamed for misery, rising crime, madness, higher death rates and falling birth rates. Gin joints allowed women to drink alongside men for the first time and it is thought this led many women neglecting their children and turning to prostitution, hence gin becoming known as 'Mother's Ruin'.
The industry slowly recovered and now, three of the world's best-selling gins – Tanqueray, Hendricks and Gordons – are all made in Scotland. It is thought that at present, around 80% of all gin produced in the UK comes from Scotland.
Gin, [N] [E] a trap for birds or beasts; it consisted of a net, ( Isaiah 8:14 ) and a stick to act as a spring. ( Amos 3:5 ) [N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible.
Who is Gordon's gin named after?
“Alexander Gordon really was one of the first gin distillers to set up a reputable gin company in London,” says Diageo senior archivist, Joanne McKerchar. As evidence of his commitment to quality, she points to how he made his son, Charles, do a full seven-year apprenticeship before taking over the reigns in 1823.