About Gin

Many people attribute the invention of gin to the Dutch, who got in on the act in the mid 13th century, again, claiming medicinal properties for the stomach, kidneys, and, ironically, the liver.

So well regarded were the juniper berries’ medicinal properties, many people thought the consumption of gin would protect them from the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, during the mid-14th century. People even wore masks stuffed with juniper berries in hopes of warding off the deadly disease.

Early distillation methods were based on grapes, and by the 16th century, Dutch distillers figured out a way to scale up, by using grain (originally fermented beer). Jenever, the Dutch word for gin (from whence the term Dutch courage originates, once you’ve consumed enough) became hugely popular in The Netherlands, which could account for why many people think gin originated there.

By the 17th century, this magical, medicinal elixir had found its way into England where it was pronounced slurringly gin (most likely as a result of consuming more than a few ounces of the stuff).

Funny story that
William III, also known as William of Orange, a Dutchman by birth, showed up in Devonshire with 15,000 men intent on gaining power. Now granted, parliament had invited him because they preferred to have a protestant on the throne. The current monarch, James, who incidentally was William’s father-in-law, was abandoned by his own army. William and Mary, his wife, peacefully assumed the throne and were granted joint sovereignty, of the British throne by parliament, in 1689.