VERVE’S GIN COCKTAIL PICK
NEGRONI
INGREDIENTS
30ml Gin
30ml Campari
30ml Sweet Vermouth
DIRECTIONS
Add ingredients into an ice filled glass. Stir well.
Garnish with a twist of orange.
DUTCH COURAGE
Although gin is now England’s signature spirit, it actually began in the Netherlands. English soldiers encountered jenever during the 17th-century Dutch Wars of Independence and brought it home. The London-style gin we know today wouldn’t emerge until 150 years later.
A TONIC
Franciscus Sylvius, a Dutch physician, crafted jenever in the 16th century as a medicinal spirit, thought to aid circulation and other ailments. During the Dutch War of Independence, soldiers drank it for bravery – earning it the nickname ‘Dutch Courage’.
MOTHER’S RUIN
While jenever was referred to as ‘Dutch courage’, gin sported a darker nickname: ‘mother’s ruin’. The reasoning behind the moniker varies, though some claims that, being inexpensive, gin was the spirit of choice in brothels and that it also induced abortions.
CLEAR AS DAY
The legendary London Dry gin doesn’t refer to geography, but a production style. It’s a gin that must be distilled to high strength, contain only natural botanicals, and have no added sweeteners after distillation.
BATHTUB GIN
Gin was especially popular during Prohibition thanks to how easily it could be made. Home distillers mixed cheap grain alcohol with flavorings like juniper berry, often using actual bathtubs as their stills. It wasn’t a very sterile process, and the lack of regulation meant many batches were toxic, leading to illness and even death.
NOT NEAT
Bathtub gin was made for a specific purpose – and so was not gentle on the palate! Drinking gin straight during Prohibition took some guts, but for many, the only way to get that firewater down was mix with other ingredients… leading to the creation of many of the cocktails we know and love today!
