In 1830, things finally started looking up for England’s gin scene. A French-born Irishman named Aeneas Coffey introduced a new still that modified the existing continuous column still and essentially revolutionized liquor production around the world. Gin producers quickly embraced it, celebrating its capability to produce a much cleaner, purer spirit than ever before. Out with the sawdust-infused gin, and in with the crystalline elixir.
Another category boost came courtesy of the British Royal Navy. England’s sailors often found themselves traveling to destinations where malaria was prevalent, so they brought quinine rations to help prevent and fight the disease. Quinine tasted notoriously awful, so Schweppes came out with an “Indian Tonic Water” to make it palatable.
London Dry gin accompanied the sailors on these voyages. It was in fashion at the time and made for better cargo than beer, as the latter quickly spoiled in the sweltering bellies of ships. So, like true Englishmen, eventually the two liquids were combined to form what is now the classic gin cocktails. Limes were added due to their anti-scurvy properties, thus birthing the term “limey,” a moniker for sailors.
Cordials were made to preserve the limes, and a lime cordial and gin were inevitably combined (hello, Gimlet).
“During World War II, while the Germans were bombing London in the Blitz, they were also bombing Plymouth because of the large British Royal Navy base there,” Robby Nelson of Plymouth Gin says. “Plymouth gin was so beloved by the Navy that, when the fleet was notified that Plymouth had been bombed, one sailor said, ‘Well, Hitler just lost the war!’”
Such was the esteem the English had for gin at the time. “Bombing London was bad enough, but attacking the home of the navy AND their gin was completely unacceptable,” Nelson says.
The stylish Distillery is a boutique hotel on London’s Portobello Road. Credit: The-Distillery.London
Things really calmed down throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Gin consumption today is not deadly or mania-inducing. Instead, it’s been re-embraced as a cult and craft cocktail ingredient.
In 2008, after several years of lobbying, Sipsmith was granted England’s first official gin distiller’s license since 1820. A gin-lover’s paradise, The Distillery, recently opened on Portobello Road. A boutique hotel and gin destination, The Distillery has a working distillery, three guest rooms, two restaurants, and an interactive museum hosting gin history classes.
After centuries of ill repute, English gin is back, in all its polarizing glory.