Many people drink alcoholic drinks as a hobby. Everyone (of legal drinking age, mind you) has preferences for alcoholic beverages, but one that’s widely drunk by several demographics is gin.
Gin used to be one of the more obscure alcoholic drinks, but it has experienced fast growth in popularity due to the interest in cocktails. It’s also a low-calorie drink, making it the perfect alcoholic beverage for anyone trying to lose weight.
In this article, we’ll get to know more about gin and the drinks you can do with it. Read on below to learn more.
More about Gin
Gin is a flavoured alcoholic drink with Juniper berries as the primary ingredient. In some cases, other botanical ingredients are added, too, such as coriander and Angelica root.
With Juniper as the base flavour, the base alcohol itself has to be made from something natural. It can either be barley, grapes, potatoes, rye, and wheat. There must also be a minimum of 37.5 per cent ABV (alcohol by volume).
London Dry Gin: The Best Gin Ever
London Dry Gin is considered to be the best gin of all time simply because of its quality. It’s made entirely from natural, high-quality ingredients and alcohol, and it also contains 0.01g of sugar per litre of alcohol.
The name might give the impression that it’s only available in London, but that’s not the case at all. In fact, gin is widely available in any corner of the world.
That being said, here at Jim and Tonic we pride ourselves on making what we refer to as ‘London Dry Gin by name, London Dry Gin by nature’. This is referring to our London Dry Gin which we make right here in London of course, sourcing botanicals such as apples and linden blossom from the capital, which go into the distillation of our truly London Gin!
The Difference Between London Dry Gin and Distilled Gin
When you look at a common gin bottle’s label, chances are it will say “distilled” gin. London Dry Gin and distilled gin is pretty much made in the same way, but with one significant difference. After the distillation process, distilled gin can have more flavourings added to the mix.
The different kinds of non-London Dry Gins are as follows:
Geographical Gins
Geographical gins are often compared to champagne in the sense that it comes from a specific region. Champagne comes from a specific area in France, while everything else is sparkling wine.
In the case of geographical gins, it would be Menorca’s Mahon Gin and Lithuania’s Vilnius Gin. The well-known Plymouth Gin also used to be a geographical gin until 2014 but is now classified as a London Dry Gin since then.
Sloe Gin
Despite its name, sloe gin is a liqueur, not a gin. This is because its ABV is somewhere between 20 to 25 per cent, which is below the minimum 37.5 per cent requirement of a spirit. It also has more sugar in it, unlike gin.
Old Tom Gin
Having been around since the 18th century, the Old Tom gin is one of the more classical styles of gin. These drinks are sweeter because lots of sugar or honey is used to mask the lousy quality of gin used when making them—at least, that’s how it happened back in the day.
Old Tom gins are also the best gin to drink with soda water since the sugar in the tonic can overpower the gin’s sweetness.
Other Drinks to Make with Gin
Gin & Tonic is the most popular drink made with gin, where gin and tonic are mixed and added with a slice of lime. However, that’s not the only thing you can make with gin. Other options include:
- French 75 - It combines gin, lemon juice, and sugar syrup, shaken and served on a flute topped with champagne.
- Gimlet - Two parts gin and one part lime juice, topped with soda.
- Hot gin toddy - Gin topped with boiling water and garnished with a lemon slice. This drink is perfect during cold days.
- Martini - Made with one part dry vermouth and six parts gin. Mix in some ice cubes and are usually served with an olive (though it’s not a requirement).
- Negroni - A drink that’s one part gin, one part Campari, and one part sweet vermouth served with ice and an orange slice. Watch us make the perfect negroni here.
- Singapore Sling - This drink is known for being made at the Long Bar of Singapore’s Raffles Hotel. This is made of gin, benedictine, cherry liqueur, Cointreau, dash bitters, grenadine, lime juice, and pineapple juice. Watch our head Mixologist Seb make his twist on the classic Singapore Fling here.
Conclusion
Gin is one of the more versatile alcoholic drinks out there because you can make various recipes. You should always enjoy yourself while having it, but you should also remember: drink responsibly!
The great thing about making gin-based drinks is that you can do it yourself. Jim and Tonic have cocktail-making sets good for anyone who wants to know a thing about making cocktails. We also have various cocktail recipes on our website you can use at your disposal. Simply go to our online distillery shop to get started!
