Gin Craze

Last updated
Gin Lane by William Hogarth, 1751; it depicts what was by then considered a "drug crisis". William Hogarth - Gin Lane.jpg
Gin Lane by William Hogarth, 1751; it depicts what was by then considered a "drug crisis".

The Gin Craze was a period in the first half of the 18th century when the consumption of gin increased rapidly in Great Britain, especially in London. Daniel Defoe commented: "the Distillers have found out a way to hit the palate of the Poor, by their new fashion'd compound Waters called Geneva, so that the common People seem not to value the French-brandy as usual, and even not to desire it". [2]

Contents

Parliament passed five major Acts, in 1729, 1736, 1743, 1747 and 1751, designed to control the consumption of gin. Though many similar drinks were available and alcohol consumption was considerable at all levels of society, gin caused the greatest public concern. Although it is commonly thought gin or Jenever was the particular drink that became popular, at that time the word "gin" was also used as a general term for drinks distilled from grain.

Increased consumption of gin

Gin was popularised in England following the accession of William of Orange in 1688. Gin provided an alternative to French brandy at a time of both political and religious conflict between Britain and France. Between 1689 and 1697, the Government passed a range of legislation aimed at restricting brandy imports and encouraging gin production. Most importantly, the monopoly of the London Guild of Distillers was broken in 1690, thereby opening up the market in gin distillation. The production and consumption of English gin, which was then popular amongst politicians and even Queen Anne, was encouraged by the government. This encouragement was shown in the reduced taxes on the distillation of spirits. Additionally, no licenses were needed to make spirits, so distillers of spirits could have smaller, simpler workshops than brewers, who were required to serve food and provide shelter for patrons. [3]

Economic protectionism was a major factor in beginning the Gin Craze; as the price of food dropped and income grew, consumers suddenly had the opportunity to spend excess funds on spirits. By 1721, however, Middlesex magistrates were already decrying gin as "the principal cause of all the vice & debauchery committed among the inferior sort of people". [4] In 1736, the Middlesex Magistrates complained:

It is with the deepest concern your committee observe the strong Inclination of the inferior Sort of People to these destructive Liquors, and how surprisingly this Infection has spread within these few Years ... it is scarce possible for Persons in low Life to go anywhere or to be anywhere, without being drawn in to taste, and, by Degrees, to like and approve of this pernicious Liquor. [5]

Gin Acts of 1736 and 1751

The British government tried a number of times to restrict the flow of gin. The Gin Act 1736 taxed retail sales at a rate of 20 shillings a gallon on spirits and required licensees to take out a £50 annual licence to sell gin, a fee equivalent to about £10,000 today. The aim was to effectively prohibit the trade by making it economically unfeasible. Only two licences were ever taken out. The trade became illegal, consumption dipped but then continued to rise and the law was effectively repealed in 1743 following mass law-breaking and violence (particularly towards informers who were paid £5 to reveal the whereabouts of illegal gin shops). The illegally distilled gin which was produced following the 1736 Act was less reliable and more likely to result in poisoning.

By 1743, England was drinking 2.2 gallons (10 litres) of gin per person per year. As consumption levels increased, an organised campaign for more effective legislation began to emerge, led by the Bishop of Sodor and Man, Thomas Wilson, who, in 1736, had complained that gin produced a "drunken ungovernable set of people". Prominent anti-gin campaigners included Henry Fielding (whose 1751 "Enquiry into the Late Increase in Robbers" blamed gin consumption for both increased crime and increased ill health among children), Josiah Tucker, Daniel Defoe (who had originally campaigned for the liberalisation of distilling, but later complained that drunken mothers were threatening to produce a "fine spindle-shanked generation" of children), and – briefly – William Hogarth. Hogarth's engraving Gin Lane is a well known image of the gin craze, and is often paired with "Beer Street", creating a contrast between the miserable lives of gin drinkers and the healthy and enjoyable lives of beer drinkers. [6]

The Gin Craze began to diminish after the Gin Act 1751. This Act lowered the annual licence fees, but encouraged "respectable" gin selling by requiring licensees to trade from premises rented for at least £10 a year. Historians suggest that gin consumption was reduced not as a result of legislation but because of the rising cost of grain. Landowners could afford to abandon the production of gin, and this fact, coupled with population growth and a series of poor harvests, resulted in lower wages and increased food prices. The Gin Craze had mostly ended by 1757. The government tried to ensure this by temporarily banning the manufacture of spirits from domestic grain. There was a resurgence of gin consumption during the Victorian era, with numerous "Gin Palaces" appearing. In 1840, the amount of gin consumed in London (but by that time with a population in excess of one million) finally matched that from when prohibition ended in 1743. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gin</span> Distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper

Gin is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vodka</span> Clear distilled alcoholic beverage

Vodka is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is made by distilling liquid from fermented cereal grains and potatoes since the latter was introduced in Europe in the 18th century. Some modern brands use corn, sugar cane, fruits, honey, and maple sap as the base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish whiskey</span> Popular spirit made in Ireland

Irish whiskey is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word 'whiskey' comes from the Irish uisce beatha, meaning water of life. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world, though a long period of decline from the late 19th century onwards greatly damaged the industry, so much so that although Ireland boasted at least 28 distilleries in the 1890s, by 1966 this number had fallen to just two, and by 1972 the remaining distilleries, Bushmills Distillery and Old Midleton Distillery, were owned by just one company, Irish Distillers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenever</span> French, Dutch and Belgian juniper-flavoured liquor

Jenever, also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin, is the juniper-flavoured traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France and northwestern Germany. As an EU and UK Protected Designation of Origin the use of the term jenever and its soundalikes can only be used if the product is made according to the specifications in Belgium, the Netherlands, two northern French departments and two German federal states. Gin was developed in Britain after introduction of jenever to the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pernod Ricard</span> French company that produces distilled beverages

Pernod Ricard is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis. The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produces several other types of pastis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Gin</span> Type of gin

Plymouth Gin is a style and brand of gin that has been distilled on the same premises on the Barbican in Plymouth, Devon, since 1793. The site of production, the Plymouth Gin Distillery, was built in 1431 and is reputed to have once been a monastery of the Dominican Order, widely known as "Black Friars". For this reason, it has traditionally been called the "Black Friars Distillery", and this name appears embossed on the gin bottles. The taste profile of the style has been described as "earthy", and featuring more citrus notes than the "London Dry" gin style, of which Plymouth Gin is considered an offshoot, or subtype.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Grant & Sons</span> Scottish alcohol distillery

William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is the largest of the handful of Scotch whisky distillers remaining in family ownership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquor</span> Alcoholic drink produced by distillation

Liquor is an alcoholic drink produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit, distilled beverage, booze, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its alcohol by volume. As liquors contain significantly more alcohol (ethanol) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder." In North America, the term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is more commonly used in the UK. Some examples of liquors include vodka, rum, gin, and tequila. Liquors are often aged in barrels, such as for the production of brandy and whiskey, or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors, such as absinthe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of alcoholic drinks</span>

Purposeful production of alcoholic drinks is common and often reflects cultural and religious peculiarities as much as geographical and sociological conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gin Act 1751</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Sale of Spirits Act 1750 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which was enacted in order to reduce the consumption of gin and other distilled spirits, a popular pastime that was regarded as one of the primary causes of crime in London. By prohibiting gin distillers from selling to unlicensed merchants and increasing fees charged to merchants, it eliminated small gin shops, thereby restricting the distribution of gin to larger distillers and retailers in the Kingdom of Great Britain.

<i>Beer Street</i> and <i>Gin Lane</i> Two prints by William Hogarth

Beer Street and Gin Lane are two prints issued in 1751 by English artist William Hogarth in support of what would become the Gin Act. Designed to be viewed alongside each other, they depict the evils of the consumption of gin as a contrast to the merits of drinking beer. At almost the same time and on the same subject, Hogarth's friend Henry Fielding published An Inquiry into the Late Increase in Robbers. Issued together with The Four Stages of Cruelty, the prints continued a movement started in Industry and Idleness, away from depicting the laughable foibles of fashionable society and towards a more cutting satire on the problems of poverty and crime.

Old Tom Gin is a gin recipe popular in 18th-century England. In modern times, it became rare but has experienced a resurgence in the craft cocktail movement. It is slightly sweeter than London Dry, but slightly drier than the Dutch Jenever, thus is sometimes called "the missing link".

Distilleries in Canada are distillers of various alcoholic distilled beverages (spirits) such as whisky, rum, vodka, brandy, gin, etc. in the country of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey distilled spirits</span> Small alcohol industry in American state

The production of distilled spirits in New Jersey has not been a large industry in the state. Strict alcoholic beverage control laws in place during and after Prohibition (1919–1933) prevented the industry from growing for almost a century. In 2013, the state passed a law creating a craft distillery license. and issued the first new distillery license since Prohibition to Jersey Artisan Distilling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian whisky</span> Type of distilled liquor produced in Australia

Australian Whisky is whisky produced in Australia. As of December 2021, there were 333 registered distilleries in operation within Australia, of which approximately 50 have a whisky on the market. The industry has shown steady growth since the early 90s especially in the boutique craft distilling scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gin Act 1736</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Spirit Duties Act 1735 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain establishing a retail tax on gin and annual licenses for gin sellers. Designed to curb gin consumption, the law was widely disobeyed and then repealed in 1743.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gin Act 1743</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Spirits Act 1742 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain repealing the Gin Act 1736 in favour of lower taxes and licence fees.

Gin (1495) is a grape-based gin range made from a recipe dated from the year 1495. Chairman of the Hasselt Jenever Museum, Eric Van Schoonenberghe and international drinks expert, Philip Duff were credited with the discovery of the recipe in a 1495 cookbook which belonged to a merchant.

References

  1. ↑ Allred, Nicholas (2021). "Mother Gin and the Bad Examples: Figuring a Drug Crisis, 1736–51". Eighteenth-Century Fiction. 33 (3): 369–392. doi:10.3138/ecf.33.3.369. ISSN   0840-6286.
  2. ↑ The Complete English Tradesman, Vol. 2, Page 91 Daniel Defoe, 1727
  3. ↑ Phillips, Roderick (2014). Alcohol A History. The University of North Carolina Press.
  4. ↑ Kate Chisholm (2002-06-09). "A tonic for the nation". Telegraph. Retrieved 2010-08-30. In a review of The Much-Lamented Death of Madam Geneva by Patrick Dillon.
  5. ↑ The Pamphleteer, Volume 29 By Abraham John Valpy
  6. ↑ Gately, Iain (2008). Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol. New York: Gotham. p. 171. ISBN   978-1-592-40464-3.
  7. ↑ Dillon, Patrick (2002). Gin: The Much-Lamented Death of Madam Geneva: The Eighteenth-Century Gin Craze. London: Review. p. 228. ISBN   1-932112-25-1.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.