Gin is a type of alcohol distinguished by its juniper berry flavour. During the distillation process, botanical components are added to a neutral spirit to create gin. In order for a spirit to be categorised as gin in the US, it must have at least 40% alcohol by volume (ABV). There are numerous varieties of gin, like Old Tom, Plymouth, Genever, and London Dry, and a variety of drinks that incorporate the well-liked spirit, including the traditional Gin and Tonic, Tom Collins, and French 75.

Spirits made with juniper have been produced since the sixteenth century, including gin. Since then, gin production has taken on a variety of forms:

1. London Dry: London Dry is an English-made distilled gin. A London Dry Gin’s most noticeable botanical ingredient is usually juniper, with coriander, angelica root, and citrus rounding off the back end. Most manufacturers of London Dry Gin bottle their gin at high proof.

2. Plymouth: Plymouth Gin, which is made in the South of England and bottled at a lesser proof than London Dry, is mellower and noticeably less juniper-forward. The distillate’s alcohol content, however, is significantly higher than that of most other gins at 57 per cent alcohol by volume (also known as “Navy strength”).

3. Old Tom: An older variety of gin, Old Tom has a distinctive lemony sweetness and a thick, malty texture. It is occasionally stored in casks or barrels.

4. Genever: Genever, also known as jenever, is a Dutch spirit that dates back to the sixteenth century and is a forerunner of modern gin. Genever has a malty, savoury, earthy flavour and is fuller than gin. Genever is distilled from neutral grain spirits rather than malt wine spirits in Holland, Belgium, and some regions of France and Germany.

5. Global flair: From Spain to Japan, Brazil to the United States, new gin variations seem to be introduced daily. Many modern gin producers craft their spirits as direct expressions of their region, including local roots and botanicals. Freed from the usual botanical trappings of the London Dry style.

Gin distillers utilise one of three distillation processes to separate their ethanol and add botanicals to the final product:

1. Steeping: In this method, the ethanol and botanicals are combined in a pot still, a metal container placed over a heat source. The base spirit steeps the botanicals. The botanicals may be immediately removed or allowed too steep for up to 48 hours, depending on the flavour profile that the distiller wants to achieve.

2. Vapor infusion: This technique uses a Carter-head still, a modified still that has a suspended basket. The botanicals are suspended from the basket over the base spirit. Ether vapours rise into the botanical basket while the spirit is cooked in the still. The botanicals can now release their essential oils into the vapours, which reliquefy and carry the flavours of the botanicals with them.

3. Vacuum distillation: Also referred to as cold distillation, this method of distillation calls for a low-pressure vacuum setting, which lowers ethanol’s boiling point considerably. The flavours from the botanicals are said to remain intact without using high heat, according to supporters of this procedure.

1. Combine the components for the base: Gin producers will combine dried, prepared grains — such as wheat malt and flaked maize — with water and yeast to create a fermentable base. The mixture is then heated and stirred to make sure it is thoroughly blended and prepared for fermentation (also referred to as “gin mash”).

2. Make the base ferment: The base combination is then kept in storage for a predetermined period of time — often between one and two weeks — in order to finish the fermentation process. In this phase, the molecules start to disintegrate and release ethanol, a straightforward, naturally occurring alcohol.

3. Sift the combination: Producers of gin separate the liquid from the fermented solids when fermentation is finished. The liquid (ethanol) will be used to manufacture gin, and the solids will be discarded.

4. Dissolve: By heating and vaporising a liquid, then collecting the vapour as it condenses back into a liquid, distillation is a method for purifying liquids. Since many contaminants are left behind when the liquid evaporates, the resulting liquid is thought to be purer and more alcoholic. All gin distillers have varied methods; some may just distil once or twice, while others may need to distil and redistill multiple times to achieve a purer product. Additionally, they can add botanicals at different points along the way. Some people steep their botanicals in ethanol before to or in between distillations.

5. Gather and arrange the merchandise: Because ethanol fluctuates as it distils, the liquid that gin manufacturers have after distillation isn’t always the same. The first 35% of a distillation produces an ethanol product that contains acetone or methanol and may be poisonous or highly volatile; these containers are known as the “foreshots” and “heads,” and distillers typically discard them. The best, most useful product is found in the final 30%, which are called “hearts.” The remaining 35 percent are the “tails,” which can be preserved and redistilled for a little bit more product despite being impure.

6. Lighten: Once the distillers achieve their desired alcohol concentration for the gin, they will test the alcohol by volume (ABV) and gradually add water to dilute the gin to that level. To create goods like sloe gin, pink gin, or rhubarb gin, distillers manufacturing gin liqueur may add more flavourings or sugar at this stage.

7. Bottle: Gin producers add the finished product to labelled bottles during the bottling process, which is the last step.