Gin Glossary

Alcohol by volume (and, in the US, proof = twice ABV). Most gin sits at 40–47% ABV; a higher strength carries botanical oils better and stands up in cocktails.

The perforated chamber inside a still that holds botanicals for vapor infusion, letting alcohol vapour draw out their aromatics without direct steeping.

The herbs, spices, roots, fruits, and seeds that flavour gin. Juniper is mandatory; the rest — coriander, angelica, citrus, orris, and dozens more — make up a distiller's signature recipe.

Adding flavour after distillation rather than distilling with botanicals. At the cheap end it's 'bathtub' compound gin; done well it's a deliberate technique for delicate flavours that distillation would destroy.

A continuous still used to make the neutral base spirit for gin, and sometimes the gin itself. Produces a lighter, cleaner, higher-throughput spirit than a pot still.

Gin made by simply mixing botanicals or flavourings into neutral spirit with no redistillation. The lowest-effort category — occasionally characterful, usually cheap.

The traditional batch still used for small-batch gin distillation. Prized for the rounded, characterful spirit it produces, versus lighter continuous-column distillation.

Gin made by redistilling neutral spirit with botanicals. Unlike London Dry, it may have flavouring or colour added <em>after</em> distillation &mdash; the category that allows post-distillation infusions.

Botanicals gathered from a specific place, giving a gin a genuine sense of origin. A hallmark of the craft movement.

The Dutch and Belgian malt-wine spirit that gin evolved from. Richer, maltier, and more whisky-like than modern gin &mdash; the original 'Dutch courage'.

The berry-like cone of <em>Juniperus communis</em> and the defining, legally required botanical of gin. It gives that piney, resinous, fresh character. No juniper, no gin.

The classic, driest, most juniper-forward style. All botanicals must be added during distillation, nothing (except a little water) may be added afterward, and no colouring or sweetening is allowed.

Soaking botanicals in the base spirit before (and sometimes during) distillation to extract their oils and flavours. The most traditional method of flavouring gin.

High-proof gin, traditionally 57% ABV, historically the strength at which gunpowder would still ignite if the gin spilled on it. Intense, bold, and cocktail-transforming.

The clean, high-proof, flavourless base spirit (usually from grain) that gin is built on. Botanicals are distilled with it to create gin &mdash; the quality of the base matters more than marketing admits.

Modern gins that dial juniper back and push other botanicals &mdash; citrus, floral, cucumber, tea &mdash; to the front. Softer and more approachable than London Dry.

A historic, slightly sweetened style of gin that sits between juniper-forward London Dry and the malty Dutch genever. The traditional base of a Tom Collins and a Martinez.

Two ways to scale gin. One-shot uses the exact botanical ratio in every batch; multi-shot distills a concentrated botanical batch and dilutes it with more neutral spirit later. One-shot is often a craft badge of honour.

A historic style made only in Plymouth, England &mdash; softer, earthier, and rounder than London Dry, with more root botanicals and a signature smooth texture.

Not a gin but a gin-based liqueur, made by steeping sloe berries (blackthorn fruit) and sugar in gin. Rich, red, and fruity &mdash; a winter classic.

The classic co-stars behind juniper: coriander seed (citrus-spice), angelica root (earthy, binds the botanicals), orris root (floral, a fixative), and citrus peel. The backbone of most London Dry recipes.

The distiller's selection of which part of the run to keep. Heads (harsh, volatile) and tails (heavy, oily) are discarded or recycled; the clean 'hearts' become the gin. Where the cuts are made shapes the final character.

A method where botanicals are suspended in a basket above the boiling spirit, so only the rising vapour passes through them. Gives a lighter, more delicate, aromatic gin than steeping.