A New Years Eve / New Years Day Report will be coming shortly, but I think it prudent at this time of year to reflect on the meaning of Christmas and New Years and to remember why we are celebrating, indeed to remember why we are here.
And so I would like to read a section from the Bible, The Bartender's Bible by Gary Regan, Chapter 4, Verse 1;
Gin
The word gin is merely a corruption of the Dutch for juniper - jenever - or from the French word for juniper - genièvre. Gin is a versatile yet distinctive beverage, the main ingredient in a Tom Collins, a Martini, and a Singapore Sling. Gin, a wonderfully perfumed potion, is probably the most notorious of liquors, and, for some reason, gin drinkers are seen as serious drinkers, people who like the taste of alcohol and do not try to disguise it. This attitude is much appreciated by gin distillers, who go to great lengths to make their gin distinctive and jealously guard their recipes.
Gin was first developed in the seventeenth century by a Dutch doctor, who combined alcohol with the juniper berry to concoct a remedy for kidney complaints. Apparently, although it did nothing for the kidneys, the “tonic” was very popular due to its amnesia-inducing qualities. It made the patient forget or, at the very least, not care about his/her complaint.
Then came William III, another Dutchman, who married Mary II and became King of England in 1689. William had a personal grudge against the French because they were threatening his native Holland. Vengefully he raised excise duties on all French wines and brandies. This action made gin, the cheaper Dutch liquor, more accessible to the English public, thus hurting the French and benefiting Holland in one fell swoop.
His adopted country took to the gin very quickly. They were soon making it themselves, and for a large part of the eighteenth century, gin became the solace of the English poor. Soldiers drank it before going into battle, and their drunken bravery came to be known as “Dutch Courage.” Juniper berries were erroneously believed to have the power to induce abortion, and thus gin earned the name “Mother's Ruin.” If a person was living a debauched life, he/she was said to be on “Gin Lane.”
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