What Is Gin Made From? What Makes the Juniper-Flavored Spirit Unique
- Gin is made from a fermentable grain, starch, or fruit; juniper berries; and other botanicals.
- To be classified as gin, the spirit must contain juniper and be at least 40% alcohol by volume.
- Gin is different from other liquors because of the use of botanicals in the distillation process.
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Whether you’re making a classic Negroni, a French 75, or a flavorful martini, you’re going to want a great bottle of gin.
Despite being well known, many overlook the origins of this liquor’s unique flavor profile. Made from a fermented grain, fruit, or starchy base; the addition of juniper berries; and an endless array of other botanicals like spices or herbs, gin has developed its own deserved place in the liquor industry.
Gin uses its ingredients as a means to create a unique flavor experience. “[Gin] is leveraging the strength of alcohol and its ability to extract a botanical essence and bring that to life in a cocktail,” says Ryan Christiansen, head distiller and president of Caledonia Spirits.
In order to be classified as gin in the United States, the spirit must contain a minimum of 40% alcohol by volume, as well as the addition of juniper berries.
“Cocktail culture was built on gin. When you look historically, two-thirds of the cocktail menu was gin cocktails,” Christiansen says. In the 19th century, gin already had some roots in the United States due to imports from England, but it wasn’t until prohibition that it’s popularity increased. During the 1920s and 1930s, many made gin at home, coining the term “bathtub gin,” because it was fast and affordable. It dominated the cocktail menu until vodka began its reign in the late 1960s.
Before its boom in the United States, gin can be traced all the way back to the Middle Ages.
The name gin came from the Dutch word for juniper, which is ‘genever.’ Those in the Netherlands took a liking to the spirit, making it for decades, and eventually England followed suit. Throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, gin began to hold an important name of its own in Europe and eventually made its way to the United States.
What is it made from?
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Like other liquors, the sugars in a carbohydrate are fermented to create alcohol. The type of base carbohydrate, like a grain or fruit for example, can vary based on the distiller or brand.
“Most gins on the market are made from a grain-based, neutral spirit. There’s any number of sugar sources that can become the foundation of the gin. It’s up to the distiller to decide, and we use a corn base,” Christiansen says. Some other common bases are wheat, rye, barley, or potatoes.
Where gin becomes distinctive is the use of botanicals, or plants, to create added flavor. The only required botanical in gin is the juniper berry, and distillers will either use less or more depending on the flavor profile they are looking for. Juniper berries are what give gin the piney, woody note.
“If you were to find a juniper plant, a dark purple berry is ready to pick. If you crush one of those up in your hands and put it in front of your nose, it’s [the essence of] gin,” says Christiansen.
To create a flavor profile that goes beyond juniper, some distillers will add other botanical ingredients such as honey, citrus, coriander, cardamom, or lavender, yielding endless potential flavor variations and combinations.
Types of gin
There are a handful of gin categories, but distillers don’t have to fall square into any of them. Some gin producers combine different categories to create their own specific style. Because of this, there is an ever-growing market of well-crafted gins to choose from, whether classic or experimental.
Internationally and nationally, many distillers are enhancing their gin by including botanicals from their specific location to create an authentic representation of their land and culture.
If a brand wants to label their gin as London dry gin or Plymouth gin, they must fulfill specific requirements. But other common styles are a bit looser in their definition.
London dry gin is a very traditional, dry, high-proof, juniper-focused gin. According to EU guidelines, to be labeled London dry all flavoring must be done during or before the distillation process. Nothing — aside from water — can be added after distillation. The initial spirit distillate also must be at 70% alcohol by volume but can be bottled at a lower percentage. The resulting liquor must be clear, and all flavors must be naturally derived.
Plymouth gin can only be made in one specific location in Plymouth, England and is incredibly similar to London dry gin with less alcohol by volume and a bit of a heavier citrus note. To be labeled Plymouth gin, the spirit has the same requirements as the London Dry and has to be made in its designated location.
New Western dry gin is a contemporary style gin that mutes the juniper flavor, choosing to highlight any other botanicals desired instead.
Old Tom gin is a classic production method that is slightly sweeter than other styles due to the addition of sugar. It can sometimes be aged in barrels or casks like bourbon, and is typically referred to as a mix between Genever and London dry.
Genever gin is different from others due to the carbohydrate base. Instead of using neutral grains, this longtime Dutch-produced gin uses malted grains to create a deeper, sweeter, richer flavor.
How is gin made?
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“Distilling is an essential part of making gin. What you’re doing when you’re distilling is separating compounds by their boiling temperature,” says Christiansen. Using the controlled heat, alcohol and botanicals are extracted.
In the distillation process, the base grain or carbohydrate is mashed, then combined with water and yeast. The yeast, combined with the sugars and starches from the carbohydrate, develops the alcohol, ethanol, during the fermentation process. This alcohol base gets added to a still, then heated at a controlled temperature to concentrate the alcohol and extract it in liquid form.
Botanicals are often added during the distillation process. They are either steeped in the alcohol base or placed above the base in trays. The vapor from the heating process draws out the flavor. “The art of gin production is how you’re using the neutral spirit to extract the essence of the botanicals,” says Christiansen.
After this, the alcohol can be collected to be bottled right away or placed into barrels or casks for aging. Many spirits are filtered and diluted with water before bottling to meet the appropriate alcohol by volume level. The entire process can take anywhere from days, to weeks, to years depending on each distiller’s needs.
How does gin differ from other types of liquor?
Since the base can be made from any carbohydrate, the alcohol can start the same as other spirits like vodka, brandy, whiskey, or even rum.
What differentiates gin from other liquors is the use of botanicals. Gin uses the alcohol as a carrier for the flavors of the botanicals.
Gin isn’t always aged, but many distillers add an aged gin to their lineup in order to provide a gin with similar richness that other spirits like bourbon or whiskey develop from their production process.
Insider’s takeaway
Gin’s key ingredients are a carbohydrate base, juniper berries, and any other botanicals desired. In order to classify as gin, the spirit must contain juniper berries and have an alcohol by volume percentage of 40%. The base of gin is made just like other liquors. A carbohydrate or neutral grain is fermented and distilled. What differentiates gin from other liquors is the use of juniper and other botanicals during the distillation process.
