The differences between vodka and gin While gin and vodka are made as neutral liquors, gin has additional ingredients, such as juniper berries, that give it its characteristic pine flavor. In fact, gin can only be called gin if it contains juniper. Without this, the liquor is technically vodka. Gin isn't just flavored vodka.
Vodka is a neutral and tasteless liquor, while gin is infused with juniper and other botanical ingredients. Although they are similar, they have different production methods, have different brands and completely different tastes. Gin is, at the most basic level, a neutral liquor flavored with juniper berries. It turns out that vodka is a neutral liquor.
Like all spirits, both must have an alcohol content by volume (ABV) greater than 37.5% (40% in the US). USA) to be considered vodka or gin. No two gins are the same, making the liquor very diverse in flavor and exciting for the budding waiter. Gin is one of my favorite liquors and I have spent most of my time over the past 10 years teaching people about its history, production, virtues and cocktails.
Popular botanical ingredients or flavoring agents for gin often include citrus elements such as lemon or orange peel, as well as a combination of other spices, which may include star anise, dragon's eye, coriander, nutmeg and cinnamon. The main difference between London Dry and other gins is that all their botanical ingredients must be added during the distillation process and all must be natural. Slightly sweeter than London Dry gins, the juniper flavor of Plymouth gin is also more subtle, with a greater emphasis on “root” botanical ingredients, such as licorice and lily. Every living soul may be thinking of England when gin is on the table, but that is not the correct assumption, since there have been recordings of Holland producing this liquor since the 16th century, and the term Dutch courage can even come from soldiers who drink gin before going into battle because of its calming effect.
London's dry gin doesn't always come from London. Gin doesn't have the same geographical restrictions as spirits such as cognac, Scotch whisky or tequila. Strong opinions abound on both sides of the argument about how or whether or not innovative new products should be allowed to call themselves “gin”. Gin is not inherently more expensive than vodka flavored by any specific criteria, although the production costs of a standard gin bottle are likely to be higher than those of a vodka that uses artificial flavors.
However, beyond that, there are hundreds of different botanical ingredients that can be combined in different ways to produce a completely unique flavor for each gin. They all have different flavors, production methods and ingredients, but they're worth trying if you haven't tried a wide variety of gins. The Royal Navy mixed gin with lime soda to stop scurvy, and the narrowness calmed the stomach in the sea. Gin is flavored vodka.
The most common method of production of gin is to distill botanicals, such as juniper, coriander, citrus peel, cinnamon, almond or licorice, with neutral grain alcohol. The different combination of botanical ingredients in the distillation process causes variations in flavor between gin products.
