The physician Franciscus Sylvius has been falsely credited with the invention of gin in the mid-17th century, as the existence of jenever is confirmed in Philip Massinger's play The Duke of Milan (1623), when Sylvius would have been about nine years old. These were a popular cure-all, though some thought these tonic wines to be a little too popular, and consumed for enjoyment rather than medicinal purposes. Across Europe, apothecaries handed out juniper tonic wines for coughs, colds, pains, strains, ruptures and cramps. As a medicinal herb, juniper had been an essential part of doctors' kits for centuries: the Romans burned juniper branches for purification, and plague doctors stuffed the beaks of their plague masks with juniper to supposedly protect them from the Black Death. They were making medicines, hence the juniper. The monks used it to distill sharp, fiery, alcoholic tonics, one of which was distilled from wine infused with juniper berries. The earliest known written reference to jenever appears in the 13th-century encyclopaedic work Der Naturen Bloeme ( Bruges), with the earliest printed recipe for jenever dating from 16th-century work Een Constelijck Distileerboec ( Antwerp). All ultimately derive from juniperus, the Latin for juniper. The name gin is a shortened form of the older English word genever, related to the French word genièvre and the Dutch word jenever. Gin is also often used as a base spirit to produce flavoured, gin-based liqueurs, for example sloe gin, traditionally produced by the addition of fruit, flavourings and sugar. It is commonly consumed mixed with tonic water in a gin and tonic. After juniper, gin tends to be flavoured with herbs, spices, floral or fruit flavours, or often a combination. Gin today is produced in different ways from a wide range of herbal ingredients, giving rise to a number of distinct styles and brands. Gin subsequently emerged as the national alcoholic drink of England. Although this development had been taking place since the early 17th century, gin became widespread after the 1688 Glorious Revolution led by William of Orange and subsequent import restrictions on French brandy. Gin became popular in England after the introduction of jenever, a Dutch and Belgian liquor that was originally a medicine. It then became an object of commerce in the spirits industry. The modern gin was then modified in Flanders and the Netherlands, to provide aqua vita from distillates of grapes and grains. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. Gin ( / dʒ ɪ n/) is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. A selection of bottled gins for sale in Georgia, United States, 2010
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