Editing Gin (section)

===18th century===
[[Image:William Hogarth - Gin Lane.jpg|thumb|Hogarth's ''[[Gin Lane]]'' (created 1750–1751).]]

Gin drinking in England rose significantly after the government allowed unlicensed gin production, and at the same time imposed a heavy [[duty (economics)|duty]] on all imported spirits such as French [[brandy]]. This created a larger market for poor-quality [[barley]] that was unfit for brewing [[beer]], and in 1695–1735 thousands of gin-shops sprang up throughout England, a period known as the [[Gin Craze]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084zk6z|title=The Gin Craze, In Our Time – BBC Radio 4|website=BBC}}</ref> Because of the low price of gin compared with other drinks available at the time and in the same location, gin began to be consumed regularly by the poor.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Complete English Tradesman: In Familiar Letters; Directing Him in All the Several Parts and Progressions of Trade ... Calculated for the Instruction of Our Inland Tradesmen; and Especially of Young Beginners|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Iqs_AAAAYAAJ&q=%22good%20old%20days%22%20defoe&pg=RA1-PA91|publisher = Charles Rivington|year = 1727|language = en|first = Daniel|last = Defoe|quote = ...&nbsp;the Distillers have found out a way to hit the palate of the Poor, by their new fashion'd compound Waters called Geneva}}</ref> Of the 15,000 drinking establishments in London, not including coffee shops and drinking chocolate shops, over half were gin shops. Beer maintained a healthy reputation as it was often safer to drink the brewed ale than unclean plain water.<ref>{{cite web|last1=White|first1=Matthew|title=Health, Hygiene and the Rise of 'Mother Gin' in the 18th Century|url=https://www.bl.uk/georgian-britain/articles/health-hygiene-and-the-rise-of-mother-gin-in-the-18th-century|website=Georgian Britain|publisher=British Library|access-date=6 August 2017|archive-date=28 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428234757/https://www.bl.uk/georgian-britain/articles/health-hygiene-and-the-rise-of-mother-gin-in-the-18th-century|url-status=dead}}</ref> Gin, though, was blamed for various social problems, and it may have been a factor in the higher death rates which stabilized London's previously growing population.<ref name="nb" /> The reputation of the two drinks was illustrated by [[William Hogarth]] in his engravings ''[[Beer Street and Gin Lane]]'' (1751), described by the [[BBC]] as "arguably the most potent anti-drug poster ever conceived".<ref name=finlo>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28486017|title=When gin was full of sulphuric acid and turpentine|first=Finlo|last=Rohrer|date=28 July 2014|access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref> The negative reputation of gin survives in the English language in terms like ''gin mills'' or the American phrase ''gin joints'' to describe disreputable bars, or ''gin-soaked'' to refer to drunks. The epithet ''mother's ruin'' is a common British name for gin, the origin of which is debated.<ref>{{cite web|title=Origin of the phrase "mother's ruin?"|url=https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/163917/origin-of-the-phrase-mothers-ruin|website=English Language and Usage|access-date=18 January 2016}}</ref>

The [[Gin Craze|Gin Act 1736]] imposed high taxes on retailers and led to riots in the streets. The prohibitive duty was gradually reduced and finally abolished in 1742. The [[Gin Act 1751]] was more successful, but it forced distillers to sell only to licensed retailers and brought gin shops under the jurisdiction of local magistrates.<ref name="nb" /> Gin in the 18th century was produced in [[pot still]]s, and thus had a maltier profile than modern London gin.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Scott C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANm5BgAAQBAJ&dq=The+18th+century+gave+rise+to+a+style+of+gin+referred+to+as+Old+Tom+gin,+which+is+a+softer,+sweeter+style+of+gin,+often+containing+sugar.+Old+Tom+gin+faded+in+popularity+by+the+early+20th+century&pg=PA613 |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives |date=2014-12-16 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4833-3108-9 |pages=613 |language=en}}</ref>

In London in the early 18th century, much gin was distilled legally in residential houses (there were estimated to be 1,500 residential stills in 1726) and was often flavoured with [[turpentine]] to generate resinous woody notes in addition to the juniper.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/history/0,6121,725676,00.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Distil my beating heart | date=1 June 2002|access-date=3 May 2010}}</ref> As late as 1913, ''[[Webster's Dictionary]]'' states without further comment, "'common gin' is usually flavoured with turpentine".<ref name="Gin definition"/>

Another common variation was to distill in the presence of [[sulfuric acid]]. Although the acid itself does not distil, it imparts the additional aroma of [[diethyl ether]] to the resulting gin. Sulfuric acid subtracts one water molecule from two ethanol molecules to create [[diethyl ether]], which also forms an [[azeotrope]] with ethanol, and therefore distils with it. The result is a sweeter spirit, and one that may have possessed additional analgesic or even intoxicating effects&nbsp;– see [[Paracelsus]].{{cn|date=July 2022}}

Dutch or Belgian gin, also known as ''jenever'' or ''genever'', evolved from malt wine spirits, and is a distinctly different drink from later styles of gin. [[Schiedam]], a city in the province of [[South Holland]], is famous for its ''jenever''-producing history. The same for [[Hasselt]] in the Belgian province of Limburg. The ''oude'' (old) style of ''jenever'' remained very popular throughout the 19th century, where it was referred to as ''Holland'' or ''Geneva'' gin in popular, American, pre-Prohibition bartender guides.<ref>Johnson, Harry; "Harry Johnson's New and Improved Bartender's Manual; 1900.";</ref>

The 18th century gave rise to a style of gin referred to as ''[[Old Tom gin]]'', which is a softer, sweeter style of gin, often containing sugar. Old Tom gin faded in popularity by the early 20th century.<ref name=":0" />