Juniper is the only botanical found in all gins. The law requires that the cones of the juniper shrub (often referred to as “juniper berries”) be present and perceptible in order for a liquor to be called gin. Juniper is found in 100% of spirits called gins. The key ingredients in gin are a carbohydrate base, juniper berries and any other desired botanical ingredient.
To be classified as gin, brandy must contain juniper berries and have an alcohol percentage by volume of 40%. The base of gin is made just like other liquors. A carbohydrate or a neutral grain is fermented and distilled. What sets gin apart from other liquors is the use of juniper and other botanical ingredients during the distillation process.
Gin is an alcoholic beverage that is obtained by distillation from a grain base (wheat or barley). In an additional procedure, botanical ingredients are added together with water until the desired flavors are met. To be called gin, the spirit drink must have a predominant juniper berry flavor. Juniper is a type of aromatic “fruit” that grows along the branches of junipers.
Internationally and nationally, many distillers are improving their gin by including botanical products from their specific location to create an authentic representation of their land and culture. During the 1920s and 1930s, many made gin at home, coining the term bathtub gin, because it was fast and affordable. Gin cannot be made without juniper berries, because the law requires that it have the predominant flavor of juniper berries in a beverage to be called gin. Unlike vodka, which is made with nothing more than alcohol and unflavored water, there is an enormous diversity in the flavor of different gins.
Like gin and vodka, akvavit is made by distilling a neutral grain, but unlike vodka, flavors are added after this distillation. In an Aviation gin, juniper is slightly attenuated compared to a London Dry gin, so you can enjoy more other notes of botanical products such as lavender and orange. But what are some of the best gins to mix? What makes a gin ideal for mixing There are many, many different beverages that use gin in combination with other liquors, juices or soft drinks. To be labeled as Plymouth gin, the spirit drink has the same requirements as London Dry and must be made in the designated place.
Although the juniper berry can already add many different flavors to a liquor, most gin manufacturers also add different botanical ingredients to their gin. Akvavit is often compared to gin because it is sometimes flavored by infusing ingredients during a second distillation, just like gin. A distiller's job is to ensure that the botanical ingredients used in a gin are treated in a way that results in the same final product with the same flavor, despite, for example, using different berry, seed and herb crops throughout the life of a brand. If you really don't like the mainly pine flavor that most gins offer, or you're allergic to juniper berries, there are a lot of alternatives to gin that would blend nicely into existing gin cocktails.
It is what the distiller does with this product in the process of infusing flavors that makes each gin different. As mentioned above, juniper berries have to be the predominant flavor in a liquor to be classified as gin. Gin must contain mainly juniper berries for the law to qualify as gin, but you can make beverages that taste a lot like gin but without the pine flavor of juniper berries. .
