The first major mention of juniper-based health-related drinks appeared in a Dutch encyclopaedic work Der Naturen Bloeme (The flower of Nature) by Jacob van Maerlant. Ever since, gin has been used for medicinal purposes: The Royal Navy, for example, mixed gin with lime cordial to stop scurvy. Given that tonic water contains quinine (an anti-malarial drug), it seems that gin and tonics are beneficial after all!

Gin originated in Holland English soldiers came into contact with ‘genever’ during the Thirty Years’War (1618-1648). The expression ‘Dutch Courage’ dates from the habit of soldiers having a nip of genever before going to battle

By 1663, numerous small Dutch and Flemish distillers (some 400 in Amsterdam alone by 1663) had popularized the re-distillation of malt spirit or malt wine with juniper. This was used to treat medical problems including kidney ailments, lumbago, stomach ailments, gallstones, and gout.

In London, on the 11th of April 1689, the Dutch ruler William III – better known as William of Orange – was crowned at Westminster Abbey as the new King of England, Scotland and Ireland. He quickly liberalized gin distilling, imposed a heavy duty on French wines and increased tax on beer. This kick-started an alcohol revolution: the drink of choice, once beer, was now gin.

Gin production grew quickly, soon overtaking that of beer and ale, and cemented William as one of the most famous monarchs in history.

By 1720, in London, a quarter of all houses were actively distilling gin and consumption had risen from 2.5 million to 8.2 million gallons. The working classes seemed permanently inebriated, public health suffered, people became simply unemployable, and life expectancy dropped significantly.

The abuse of alcohol and Gin by the poor became a major problem. This was addressed by The Gin Act in 1736: a law that rose the price of the spirit and consequently caused mass riots and widespread anger. At this time, 11 million gallons of gin were distilled in London: a  figure over 20 times larger than it had been in 1690. In 1751, English artist William Hogarth created two prints in support of what would become the second Gin Act: Beer Street and Gin Lane. Designed to be viewed alongside each other, these works depict the evils of the consumption of gin in contrast to the merits of drinking beer. The second Gin Act was successfully passed later that year and the Gin Craze finally began to wane.

The column still was invented in 1832, making the distillation of neutral spirits practical and enabling the creation of the “London dry” gin: a less sweet but more delicate variation of the traditional “Old Tom” developed later in the 19th century.

In tropical British colonies gin was used to mask the bitter flavour of quinine, which was the only effective anti-malarial compound. Quinine was dissolved in carbonated water to form tonic water; the resulting mix became the origin of today’s popular gin and tonic combination – and the G&T was born

Gin triumphed in the 1920s – the first ‘Cocktail Age’ – after having been scarce during the 1914-18 World War. Now recognised as a cosmopolitan and refreshing drink, gin became the darling of the famous Cunard cruises. During the 1920s and 1930s the newly popular idea of the ‘Cocktail-Party’ crossed the Atlantic from the USA to Britain via an American hostess who wanted to fill in for her friends the blank time between teatime and dinner. The famous Martini was born!