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May 4th is National Orange Juice Day, and Mother’s Day is this Sunday. So here’s a cocktail to celebrate both, made with blood orange juice and gin. You can buy and squeeze your own blood orange juice (photo #3), but it’s easy to find it already squeezed in brands like Mongibello and Natalie’s.
This cocktail has no fancy name, just a generic one (“Blood Orange Thyme And Gin Cocktail”). So unleash your inner mixologist and name it after yourself, your mother, whoever.
The recipe follows, along with:
> The history of gin
> Gin terminology.
Elsewhere on The Nibble, you’ll find:
> The different types of gin.
> The history of blood oranges.
> The history of all oranges.
> The year’s 14 gin holidays.
January is Ginuary! There’s more exciting gin information below.
RECIPE: MONGIBELLO GIN SPLASH
Thanks to Mongibello, an Italian producer of fresh citrus juices, for this recipe.
Ingredients Per Cocktail
Ice
1/2 cup blood orange juice
1-1/2 to 2 ounces gin
Simple syrup to taste (we left it out entirely)
Club soda
Garnishes: 1 sprig thyme, 1 slice orange (ideally blood orange)
Optional: coarse salt rim
Preparation
1. ADD a handful of ice to a cocktail shaker. Pour in the blood orange juice, gin and simple syrup.
2. SHAKE 4-5 times and strain the drink over fresh ice.
3. TOP with a splash of club soda. Garnish and serve.
THE HISTORY OF GIN
The distillation of a form of gin can be found as far back as 70 C.E. when a Greek physician named Pedanius Dioscorides published a five-volume encyclopedia on herbal medicine, De materia medica.
The encyclopedia detailed the use of juniper berries—gin’s core ingredient—steeped in wine to combat chest ailments.
As a medicinal herb, juniper had been an essential part of medical treatments from ancient times to modern herbalists and homeopaths.
From the earliest times, alcoholic products were used as medicines.
In Baghdad, the first pharmacies were established in 754 [source]. Pharmacists compounded medicines, including those that were alcohol-based.
(These old-style pharmacies existed through the early 1900s, when drug companies were able to synthetically reproduce the key properties of the natural substances in tablet form, therefore supplanting most medicines that used alcohol as a base).
The basic principles of distillation were known by ancient Greek and Egyptian scholars, including Aristotle. But the roots of modern distillation technology began the alembic still, developed in 800 C.E. by the great Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan (photo #6). From his discovery, the world began to distill different types of spirits.
In the 11th century, in 1055, the Benedictine Monks of Salerno, Italy in their Compendium Solernita, included a recipe for tonic wine infused with juniper berries as well [source]. They distilled it in an alembic still, equipment still used today [source].
The Dawn Of Modern Gin
Gin as we know it originated in the 16th century when the Dutch began to produce a medicinal spirit called genever (pronounced JEN-ih-ver): a malt wine base and a large amount of juniper berries to mask the harsh flavor.
The first known written use of the word “gin” appears in a 1714 book, “The Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices, Publick Benefits,” by one Bernard Mandeville.
The British likely began calling genever “gen” for short, which evolved into “gin.” It was a popular drink.
But gin was unregulated, and unscrupulous distillers added turpentine, sulphuric acid, and even sawdust into the gin. The result: drinkers suffered insanity and death.
The negative results of over-consumption—family breakdown, poverty, and public drunkenness—led to the nickname “Mother’s Ruin.”
As a result, a distiller’s license was introduced. It cut back on the bad hooch but was so highly-priced that few people produced gin. Gin was down, but it wasn’t out.
It appeared in London during the 1730s, a period known as the Gin Craze, when the city was gripped by an epidemic of public drunkenness.
To combat this, the British Parliament passed the Gin Act of 1736, which imposed a massive £50 license fee on anyone selling gin—a price so high (the equivalent of £10,000 today [more than $13,000]) it was effectively a ban on gin.
Of course, this simply forced the sale of gin into illicit channels. The first such was the Puss and Mew (photo #8).
And 186 years later, the Puss & Mews Distillery began to produce gin in Australia (photo #11).
The Puss & Mew, An 18th-Century Hack
An enterprising man named Captain Dudley Bradstreet found a clever legal loophole. The law required an informer to identify the person selling the gin to make an arrest. Bradstreet realized that if the transaction was anonymous, the authorities couldn’t prosecute.
Here’s how his device, known as Puss and Mew (photo #8), worked:
Bradstreet rented a house in Blue Anchor Alley, London and nailed a sign of a large wooden cat to the window.
A secret password was required. A thirsty customer would walk up to the window and whisper, “Puss, do you have any gin?” From inside the house, Bradstreet would reply with a muffled “Mew.”
The customer would drop a coin (usually a penny or two) into a slot in the cat’s mouth. Bradstreet would then pour a shot of gin down a lead pipe hidden under the cat’s paw. The gin would flow out of the paw and into the customer’s cup or mouth.
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[1] Combine blood orange juice and gin for a tasty cocktail (photos #1, #2 and #4 © Mongibello Juice).
[2] Delicious blood orange juice is available from both domestic producers and imports. Mongibello blood oranges are grown at the base of Mount Etna, Sicily.
[3] The flesh of different varieties of blood orange can range from rosy pink to deep red (photo © Good Eggs).
[4] A blood orange grove at the base of Mount Etna, in Sicily.
[5] Gin and Tonic, possibly the most popular gin cocktail, was developed so Brits in malarial areas of the world (like India) could swallow preventative and curative doses of awful-tasting quinine (photo © Sebastian Coman Photography | Pexels.
[6] The alembic still. Numerous places sell them. This one is on Etsy (photo © CAFA Italia |Etsy).
[7] This copper alembic still is available on Amazon.
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[8] A replica of the original Puss and Mew on at the Beefeater Gin Distillery in Kennington, London. An Australian distiller makes a Puss & Mews-brand gin (photo below.)
Once Bradstreet’s ruse proved successful, the “Puss and Mew” system was widely adapted by other establishments seeking to bypass the strict Gin Act.
A Revolution In Distilling
In 1830, a new still was introduced that modified the existing column still and revolutionized the production of all distilled spirits. Gin distillers were able to produce a purer, clear spirit, and the gin phoenix rose from the flames.
The British Royal Navy helped to boost gin sales. As sailors traveled to destinations where malaria was prevalent (including India), they brought quinine rations to help prevent and fight the disease.
The quinine tasted awful, even with the newly-developed, carbonated Schweppes Indian Tonic Water, launched in 1783. It delivered quinine in a more palatable form, but it still was tough to drink.
In the early 1800s, a British officer in colonial India invented the Gin and Tonic when he realized that alcohol helped the tonic water taste better. It could be sherry, gin, rum, locally distilled arrack—whatever was available.
Sugar and lime were also added. Over time, gin became the alcohol of preference. You can thank malaria for the appearance of the Gin And Tonic.
Gin as a straight spirit, and later in cocktails, became an important part of the modern bar. Today, artisan distillers are producing new styles of gin to offer new aroma and taste experiences to gin fans.
Late 1800s To Early 1900s: The Golden Age Of The Cocktail
While Schweppes Indian Tonic Water was launched in 1783 as an anti-malarial, it was a bitter, unpalatable necessity.
But British officers in early-to-mid 1800s in India found a solution: They mixed the bitter quinine with sugar, lime, and water to make it drinkable, adding gin to evolve quinine water from a health necessity into a a palatable, pleasurable drink (the history of the Gin & Tonic).
It was an established cocktail in Britain by the late 1800s and a global cocktail sensation by the 1950s.
Following the introduction of the Gin and Tonic back in the homeland, gin found its way into the emerging cocktail culture. The late 19th century saw bartenders creating classics like the Martinez (a gin and vermouth precursor to the Martini) and the Tom Collins (sugar syrup and lemon juice).
By the early 1900s, the Dry Martini had become the sophisticated drink of choice, cementing gin’s place in cocktail culture.
Prohibition Era (1920-1933): Bathtub Gin
American Prohibition devastated legitimate gin production but sparked illegal manufacturing. A form of bootleg gin, bathtub gin—so called because it was made in a bathtub—was a crude, often dangerous spirit flavored with juniper and other botanicals were steeped in neutral alcohol (often grain alcohol) to mask its harshness, sometimes using a bathtub as a large container for mixing or watering down the hooch.
Bootleggers often stole or repurposed industrial alcohol, which was meant for factories, not human consumption. Worse, it was deliberately poisoned at the command of the government so consumers would not drink it.
The questionably made liquor flooded speakeasies, where the poor quality of bootleg gin led bartenders to create heavily mixed drinks to mask the harsh flavors, inadvertently advancing cocktail creativity.
Mid-20th Century: Vodka Takes Over The Martini
Post-World War II, gin’s popularity declined dramatically. Vodka, marketed as smooth and modern, became the spirit of choice by the 1960s-70s.
Gin became associated with older generations, and many historic gin brands struggled or disappeared.
[9] Bombay Sapphire started the gin revival with its premium expression, Bombay Sapphire (photo © Bombay Sapphire | Baccardi).
The 1990s & Beyond
A gin revival began in the late 20th Century. By the 1990s, premium spirits began gaining traction.
Bombay Sapphire (launched 1987) helped pioneer the “premium gin” category with its distinctive blue bottle and emphasis on botanical complexity.
The 2000s brought an explosion of craft distilling. Small-batch gins with unique botanical profiles proliferated worldwide. Notable developments include:
London distilleries reopening after decades (Sipsmith received London’s first new gin distilling license in nearly 200 years in 2009).
Regional styles emerging: Spanish gin-tonics with elaborate garnishes, Japanese gins emphasizing local botanicals
Flavored and colored gins pushing traditional boundaries.
Pioneers Of The Gin Craft Movement
These brands helped transform gin from a declining category into one of the spirits world’s most dynamic and innovative segments:
Hendrick’s (Scotland, 1999): Their unusual cucumber and rose petal infusion helped to show that gin could be creative and unconventional along with compelling and delightful.
Sipsmith (London, 2009): Often credited with kickstarting London’s craft gin revival. They fought to change distilling laws and focus on traditional copper pot distillation with classic London Dry style (photo #10).
The Botanist (Islay, Scotland, 2010): Made by Bruichladdich, a whisky distillery, it uses 22 locally foraged Islay botanicals alongside traditional ones.
Tarquin’s (Cornwall, UK): a small-batch distillery emphasizing sustainable practices and distinctive flavors.
Beyond The U.K.
Aviation (Portland, Oregon, USA): Helped define American craft gin with a slightly sweeter, more floral profile.
Four Pillars (Australia): Known for seasonal releases and creative use of native Australian botanicals.
Gin Mare (Spain): Mediterranean-style gin with olives, thyme, rosemary, and basil; it helped to popularize gin in Spain.
Ki No Bi (Japan): Kyoto’s first gin distillery, showcasing Japanese botanicals like yuzu, sansho pepper, and hinoki wood.
Monkey 47 (Germany): Uses 47 botanicals and helped establish Germany as a serious gin-producing country.
St. George Spirits (California): One of America’s oldest craft distilleries, known for experimental botanical blends.
[10] Sipsmith, of London, was a pioneer in the craft gin movement (photo © Sipsmith).
The Gin Market Today
The global gin market more than doubled between 2010 and 2020.
Today, gin enjoys unprecedented diversity and popularity, with thousands of craft producers worldwide creating everything from traditional London Dry to experimental, terroir-driven expressions.
GIN TERMINOLOGY
The world of gin terminology can be a bit confusing because the terms are often used interchangeably in casual conversation by consumers. But they have distinct meanings when you look at production methods and branding. Examples include:
Type refers to how the gin is made. This is typically the legal or technical category defined by how the gin is made and what ingredients are used. Examples include:
London Dry: This is a strict technical process where all flavors must be introduced through distillation with natural botanicals, and no sugar or color can be added after distillation.
Distilled Gin: Similar to London Dry, but the distiller is allowed to add flavors or essences after the final distillation.
Compound Gin: This is made by simply “steeping” botanicals in a neutral spirit without re-distilling it. This is how bathtub gin was made during Prohibition.
Style refers to the flavor profile or historical tradition the gin follows, regardless of the technical type. Examples include:
Old Tom, a historical style that is typically sweeter and rounder than London Dry. It was the bridge between the older Dutch Genever style and the modern dry gins.
Plymouth Gin, a style that was historically protected by a geographical indication (though this has since lapsed). It is earthier and less citrus-forward than London Dry.
Contemporary/New Western, a modern style where the juniper takes a back seat to other botanicals like lavender, cucumber, and citrus.
Expression refers to the particular version in the lineup released by a specific brand. Examples of gin expressions:
Cask-Aged Expression: The same base gin recipe, but aged in oak barrels for 3 to 18 months to pick up a golden hue and some vanilla notes. To age it longer would bury the juniper and degrade other botanicals.
Navy Strength: An expression of the standard recipe but bottled at a much higher alcohol percentage (usually 57% ABV).
Seasonal expressions:, e.g. a Summer Expression with elderflower or a Winter Expression with warming spices.
Note that gin is an unaged spirit. In cask-aged spirits (Bourbon, Scotch, Tequila, etc.) the different amount of aging (e.g. 12, 18, 25 years for Scotch; reposado, añejo and others for Tequila) also count as expressions.
[11] The Puss & Mews lives on, in this 21st-century brand of gin. There are currently 9 expressions: Australian Dry, Navy Strength, Signature Dry; specialty versions Barrel Aged, Honey Coconut, Sloe Gin, Spiced Turkish; and limited editions Berry Harvest and Christmas Gin (photo © Puss & Mew Distillery).
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*“Bootleg” refers to any illegal alcohol smuggled into the country or made in the U.S. during Prohibition (1920-1933). Much bathtub gin was dangerous primarily because bootleggers used poisonous industrial alcohol (denatured with methanol [also called methyl alcohol or wood alcohol]). Harmful chemicals (kerosene, sulfuric acid) were added to mask the awful taste, leading to blindness, paralysis, severe illness, and death. The government had intentionally made industrial alcohol toxic to prevent consumption during Prohibition.
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