How gin went from ‘mother’s ruin’ to high-end craft tipple

When did gin become so trendy? It was originally a medicinal spirit used in the Netherlands, where it is known as jenever, and has enjoyed a mixed reputation over the centuries. Gin was once known as “mother’s ruin” or a rough spirit for sailors, dockers and soldiers. It arrived into England and Ireland through the same ports as spices and other botanicals. These were used to add flavour to an otherwise bland and sometimes rough spirit. Over the centuries it slowly developed into the complex, juniper-based spirit we know today.

More recently it was the favoured tipple of garrulous golfers and yachties who drank either Cork Dry Gin or Gordon's and always specified Schweppes tonic water. Then sometime around 2010 everything changed. The Spanish, always keen on gin, began drinking G&Ts from massive goblets crammed with ice, slices of fruit and fresh herbs. They were, and are, the largest consumers of gin in the world.

The iconic small-batch Hendrick’s gin was launched in 1999 but it was only a decade later that it, and a group of small craft producers, began experimenting with a range of flavours and grabbed the public imagination. Unlike whiskey, gin can be made in a few days, and allows the distiller to add all sorts of flowers, herbs, spices and other botanicals to create a unique drink. The predominant flavour, however, should always be juniper; otherwise it’s not gin. Around the same time, consumers began seeking out beers, wines and other drinks made by small-scale local producers. Cocktails were coming back into fashion too, and mixologists were looking for new, off-beat products to utilise. And so the number of Irish small-batch gins grew exponentially. Today we can choose from a wide range of locally produced gins.

Most Irish gin producers are very clear that they are not simply making gin while waiting for their whiskey to age. The gins they produce are world-class, award-winning spirits that can hold their own with any international brands and should be celebrated for their quality, range and diversity.

Gin doesn’t have to be enjoyed with a tonic or as part of a cocktail, although it is worth noting that we have Poachers, an award-winning Irish tonic water. In the Netherlands, jenever, the forerunner of gin, is served neat either at room temperature, or from the fridge or freezer, sometimes with a beer as chaser – when it is referred to as a kopstoot (headbutt) – or sometimes by itself. But a long, cold, gin-based cocktail, be it a G&T or your own more exotic creation, makes for great Summer drink.