Although originally from Holland, gin shall forever be associated with London. Hogarth’s shocking engravings of a city decimated by “mother’s ruin” are graphic reminders of the time that every market square in London was bordered by gin palaces where the traders could quite literally pour their earnings down the drain. By 1740, 11 million gallons of gin were being drunk every year by a London population of only 500,000.
The most popular type of gin is “London dry”, which is a high-proof spirit, usually produced in a column still and redistilled after the botanicals are added to the base spirit. In addition to juniper, it is usually made with a small amount of citrus botanicals like lemon and bitter orange peel. Other botanicals that may be used include anise, angelica root, orris root, licorice root, cinnamon, coriander, and cassia bark. Unlike Plymouth gin, London gin has no geographical protection and can be manufactured anywhere in the world.
Yet it’s been left largely to the mega-brand Beefeater to fly the gin flag in London. Their copper stills, manned by only five staff, churn out 2.3 million cases a year.
In the last ten years, a trend for boutique gin labels has been gaining strength, and now a handful of London entrepreneurs are hoping that they can help do for gin what micro-breweries and small-batch production has done for beer and vodka in the last few decades.
Sipsmith of Hammersmith produce small batches of 500 bottles or less of their London dry gin (in addition to a barley vodka). The London Gin Co also produce a small-batch, high-end product from their city premises, though they appear to be owned by a Spanish company. Sacred Gin is hand-distilled in Highgate, based on a formula from the time of the Dutch Gift of 1660, when Charles II of England was returned to the throne after the English Interregnum – the Restoration. Juniper Green organic dry gin is produced for the label by the Thames Distillery in Clapham, London. Other gins made in London include Berry’s Best, and Bulldog Gin made with an assortment of rare and exotic botanicals, including Poppy and Dragon Eye, a cousin of the lychee fruit that is an ancient Chinese secret said to boost skin vitality and promote sexual stamina.
London distillers will have to run to catch up with the growing trend for microdistilleries which is already well established in the USA, and includes gin-makers such as Leopold’s, Bluecoat American Dry, Junipero (made by the Anchor Steam beer company), and Aviation.
If small-batch gins ignite the public’s imagination, surely it can only be a short time until some of the grand gin palaces of London are returned to their former glory? Here's hoping…
