Everything that we find ourselves needing in life requires a good, strong foundation. From the physical foundations of our home, the educational basics we learn as children, to surrounding ourselves with good people as we grow up - gin is no exception to this rule. Besides the distinctive juniper berries that are required for a gin to be called a gin, the spirit that we know and love is basically a flavoured vodka at heart.
The base spirit of gin was first believed to be made by re-distillation of malt wine. However, due to the cold winter temperatures in Europe that weren’t conducive to the grape growing vines, this changed to the re-distillation of natural grains such as barley, corn, rye, sorghum or wheat. Luckily for us, gin’s base spirit can be made from many agricultural products, so there’s no risk of running out any time soon!