How gin is made
Gin is vodka that has been given a second life: redistilled with juniper and other plants.
- stations
- 7
- things upstream
- 25
- raw sources
- 13
- steps from the ground
- 6
The short version
Gin is neutral alcohol flavored with juniper berries and other plant botanicals. In the best-known method, nearly pure spirit is redistilled with the botanicals so their aroma oils ride the vapor over into the finished gin. Water brings the strength down, and the gin is bottled clear.
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Ferment a grain mash
Gin starts as ordinary ethanol, often made from cereal grain or molasses. Grain is mashed and fermented with yeast into a weak alcoholic liquid.
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Distill to neutral spirit
Column stills strip the liquid down to nearly pure ethanol. The column still, developed in 1826 and 1831, made it practical to produce neutral spirits for London dry gin.
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Load the botanicals
Juniper berries are the defining flavor. Coriander is the usual runner-up, and distillers add citrus peel, spices and roots. The neutral spirit and botanicals go into the still together.
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Redistill with plants
The still heats gently. Aromatic oils from the plants evaporate along with the alcohol and are carried over as vapor. For London gin, the flavor can only come from this distillation.
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Collect the heart
The distiller keeps the clean middle of the run and discards the harsh start and end. Distilled gin comes off the still at a high proof.
at least 70% ABV for London gin
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Dilute to strength
Water reduces the spirit to the bottling strength. Rules for gin vary: the EU minimum is 37.5% for compound gin, and the US minimum is 40%.
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Bottle it clear
Most gin is bottled without any aging, so it stays clear. London gin may not have more than 0.1 g of sugars added per litre.
Goes in
Worth repeating
- The word gin is short for genever, an old Dutch name that comes from the Latin for juniper.
- London had an estimated 1,500 residential stills in 1726.
- Tonic water was created in tropical colonies to mask the bitter taste of quinine, giving us the gin and tonic.
- London gin is not a geographical designation, so it can be made anywhere.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and gin starts as these 13 raw sources.
Everything it is made of See it on the map
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Sources
Cite this page: "How gin is made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/gin