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What is Gin?Gin is a distilled spirit with specific characteristics that define its identity.What is Gin Made From?Gin is primarily made from juniper berries, along with other botanicals.Criteria for Classification in the UKFor a drink to be described as ‘gin’ in the UK, it must meet two tests: Strength of Alcohol: It must be at least 37.5% ABV (alcohol by volume). Taste: It must taste predominantly of juniper, providing gin its distinctive flavour.Botanicals in GinIn addition to jun …

Yes. The flavour of juniper is one of the two key characteristics of gin (the other is a minimum level of alcohol). And the flavour of juniper comes from juniper berries. These fleshy modified female conifer cones are purple-back in colour when ripe; they come from the juniper tree or bush (most commonly, Juniperus communis).The name 'gin' comes from either the French genièvre or the Dutch jenever (a precursor to modern-day gin, a spirit which is still made commercially and drunk) …

Gin is made from neutral spirit, distilled with botanicals (herbs, spices, fruit, etc - which must include juniper berries), and diluted with water to a strength of at least 37.5% ABV (alcohol by volume).Neutral spirit has been made traditionally from fermenting ingredients such as grains, potatoes, fruit and sugar cane.While the alcohol and juniper are the key ingredients, gin makers add a bewildering array of botanicals to make their gin stand out from the crowd. These include many different f …

For a drink to be described as ‘gin’, it needs alcohol and a certain predominant taste. In terms of alcohol strength, it needs to be at least 37.5% ABV - alcohol by volume. And the predominant taste needs to be juniper.The alcohol comes form neutral spirit and the juniper taste comes from juniper berries. Water is used to dilute the alcohol to the required strength.Once these minimum requirements are met, a gin maker is free to do lots of interesting things with this spirit.Gin makers use all ki …