Gin can be categorized as flavoured vodka. That is if you want to be a douche about it. For those of us that don’t, the following will give you a better understanding of what gin is. And oh: this is the longest chapter, partly because Odd wrote it, partly because gin is in.
Juniper berries have been used as food and medicine throughout human history, and the first evidence comes from Ancient Egypt. (1800-1500 BC). The juniper was used to treat digestive ailments, chest pains and stomach cramps. Most of the research on distillation and how to make spirits where in the following centuries confined to Asia and the Middle East. It is thought that Aristotle, the greek philosopher and scientist, had a good idea about what distillation was, although he may not have mastered the art of distilling alcohol. At some point in the 12th century monks in Italy produced a recipe book that included a tonic distilled from wine mixed with crushed juniper berries. This is probably the prototype of gin, but still not used for pleasure or abuse, but as medicine.
A small note on the involvement of religion in the making of alcohol. Most alcoholic beverages that we know, enjoy and abuse today are invented by some kind of religious institution. The monks of european monasteries were the first brewers, winemakers and distillers. Although they might have taken the knowledge from other cultures and religions, they were the ones to perfect it, and make it available to what we know today as the western world. And now, in the modern world, most religious people frown upon the consumption of alcohol. Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think? It’s like raaaaiiin on a sunny day…..
Religious institutions would probably answer with “we possess the ability to learn from our mistakes”. But, alcohol and other ways of externally augmenting your spiritual side has been part of most religious movements, from smaller cults force fed LSD to larger religious institutions like altar wine. Though, while monks were crucial to the perfection of the process of distillation and controlled fermentation, they were so because they wrote stuff down. The techniques were often practiced by alchemists or healers (students of medicine), trying to either create gold or tinctures to heal the popes sores. The monks later adapted this tradition, and wrote down their methods and findings, as well as whom they learnt it from. So, yes and no is my opinion.
Further north in Europe, at the University of Montpellier in France, professor Arnaldus de Villa de Nova discovered distillation of wine. It was called Aqua Vitae(water of life), a term that has stuck as you will see throughout this text. According to professor Arnaldus aqua vitae was the water of immortality and furthermore goes on to giving it the following attributes: life prolonging, clears away ill-humours, strengthens the heart and maintains youth. Professor Arnaldus was probably brilliant, and is right about at least one of these. I’m sure you can pick out which one he got right.
Nikola Tesla famously said as a response to losing his fortune (for the first of two or three times), that he now had to lower his life expectancy, as he could no longer afford his daily shot of brandy. He cut his calculated length of life from 150 to 120 years due to that fact alone.
At some point in the 13th century Aqua Vitae arrived in the Low Countries, an area covering modern-day Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of France and Germany. The Low Countries were enjoying a prosperous period, and the city of Antwerp was becoming a spiritual and intellectual hub, as well as the richest city in Europe. Physicians, chemists and monks begin documenting the trendiest findings in the world of science and alchemy. One of these trendy things was the use of juniper in almost any medicine, to cure almost anything. By the end of the 14th century, juniper wines and spirits were stocked in the medical cabinets of any doctor. The book “A history of Plants”, original title: “A Nievve Herbal”, celebrates juniper as “good for the stomach, lungs, liver and kidneys”. How about that? If you include the strengthening of the heart, maintaining of youth, prolonging of life and clearing away your ill-humours, there is little left to mess up your life. No wonder people started drinking these Miraculixic potions.