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The Philosophy of...
The Philosophy of Gin
Few, if any, alcoholic drinks have the dramatic and multi-faceted history of gin. In this fascinating new installment of the British Library’s pocket philosophies, gin is explored through its origins in Holland, where it was popularized by William of Orange; its roots in medicine; its capacity to provide an albeit destructive escapism during the Gin Craze; its influence on language—responsible for the coining of "dutch courage;" and its current status as a popular social beverage and a pastime for those keen to experiment with flavoring their own gins. The Philosophy of Gin covers the historic transformation of the beverage, ideal flavor pairings for the gin connoisseur, and how a spirit once given a wide berth by the middle and upper classes now attracts such a large proportion of the public to choose gin as their tipple of choice.
112 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2020
About the author
Jane Peyton
29 books1 followerJane Peyton writes non-fiction under her own name and has published books about alcoholic drinks, architecture & design, and British traditions.
She writes fiction under her pen name B.A. Summer and is the author of the magical realism romp 'Sole Brethren: If The Shoe Fits’ (to be published February 2023).
Jane was the UK’s first accredited Pommelier (cider sommelier) and Britain's first Beer Sommelier of the Year. She is a former Imbibe Magazine Drinks Educator of the Year. Jane is the instigator and driving force of the UK’s annual national beer day, Beer Day Britain (June 15th). For her beer work she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement from Britain’s Parliamentary Beer Group, and has won several other professional awards. She has won gold and silver medals for her beer writing. Although she never earned a Blue Peter badge, she is a Guinness World Records holder for hosting the world’s largest beer tasting tutorial in 2016 when 1, 256 people took part at a venue in London, UK.
She is the founder of the School of Booze – a training, education, events company, and consultancy specializing in alcoholic drinks and their no & low alcohol equivalents.
Jane loves pubs and considers herself very fortunate that her profession means she spends a lot of time in them!
She writes fiction under her pen name B.A. Summer and is the author of the magical realism romp 'Sole Brethren: If The Shoe Fits’ (to be published February 2023).
Jane was the UK’s first accredited Pommelier (cider sommelier) and Britain's first Beer Sommelier of the Year. She is a former Imbibe Magazine Drinks Educator of the Year. Jane is the instigator and driving force of the UK’s annual national beer day, Beer Day Britain (June 15th). For her beer work she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement from Britain’s Parliamentary Beer Group, and has won several other professional awards. She has won gold and silver medals for her beer writing. Although she never earned a Blue Peter badge, she is a Guinness World Records holder for hosting the world’s largest beer tasting tutorial in 2016 when 1, 256 people took part at a venue in London, UK.
She is the founder of the School of Booze – a training, education, events company, and consultancy specializing in alcoholic drinks and their no & low alcohol equivalents.
Jane loves pubs and considers herself very fortunate that her profession means she spends a lot of time in them!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 10, 2022
🔻 Genre: History.
👁 Point of view: Third person.
🖊 My review: This is a fairly interesting short history of gin that served me well enough for my research project for a book I am currently writing.
I read that “gin has gone through an extraordinary renaissance. From the 1960s until the turn of the millennium vodka was the modish spirit and gin was old hat, something that your granny sipped. The fact that Britain’s Queen Mother was well known to be partial to a drop did not help to endear it to a younger, fashionable demographic,” and that was a curiously thought-provoking tidbit to me. And supposedly, in a much watered-down statement, “[Warren] Harding, who as a Senator had voted in favour of Prohibition, was known to sup with colleagues in the Oval Office. If the big chief was tippling then how could law-makers expect other citizens to resist the urge? They could not, so in 1933 the law was revoked. By then Franklin D. Roosevelt was resident in the White House and, each day before dinner, he hosted a cocktail party, mixing the Martinis himself.” Well, not quite; it is much more complicated than what the author posits here, but this is not an American history of gin, nor the American temperance movement, nor American prohibition, but rather, more of an Anglo-centric one. There are a handful of gin cocktail recipes thrown in towards the end. Nonetheless, this book is a quick read, and the contemporary black and white photographs are entertaining, which helps the book be a worthwhile hour spent.
🔥 Dénouement: The ice melted by the time I arrived.
🔲 Excerpt :
The use of the tired cliché is a key indicator this book was written very recently (in 2020):
🗝 What I learned: That it appears that gin “evolved in London in the 1690s from a Dutch spirit called genever.”
💫 What I like best: The black and white photographs.
📌 Would I read this again? No.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟
◼️ Fun fact: A gin and tonic is a good hot weather drink.
🏮Media form: Kindle Unlimited version.
👁 Point of view: Third person.
🖊 My review: This is a fairly interesting short history of gin that served me well enough for my research project for a book I am currently writing.
I read that “gin has gone through an extraordinary renaissance. From the 1960s until the turn of the millennium vodka was the modish spirit and gin was old hat, something that your granny sipped. The fact that Britain’s Queen Mother was well known to be partial to a drop did not help to endear it to a younger, fashionable demographic,” and that was a curiously thought-provoking tidbit to me. And supposedly, in a much watered-down statement, “[Warren] Harding, who as a Senator had voted in favour of Prohibition, was known to sup with colleagues in the Oval Office. If the big chief was tippling then how could law-makers expect other citizens to resist the urge? They could not, so in 1933 the law was revoked. By then Franklin D. Roosevelt was resident in the White House and, each day before dinner, he hosted a cocktail party, mixing the Martinis himself.” Well, not quite; it is much more complicated than what the author posits here, but this is not an American history of gin, nor the American temperance movement, nor American prohibition, but rather, more of an Anglo-centric one. There are a handful of gin cocktail recipes thrown in towards the end. Nonetheless, this book is a quick read, and the contemporary black and white photographs are entertaining, which helps the book be a worthwhile hour spent.
🔥 Dénouement: The ice melted by the time I arrived.
🔲 Excerpt :
The use of the tired cliché is a key indicator this book was written very recently (in 2020):
🔸 In its eye-catching, slick, blue glass bottle, Bombay Sapphire was a visual dog-whistle for the dashing, the chichi, the soignées.🖋 The writing style: Easy-going.
🗝 What I learned: That it appears that gin “evolved in London in the 1690s from a Dutch spirit called genever.”
💫 What I like best: The black and white photographs.
📌 Would I read this again? No.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟
◼️ Fun fact: A gin and tonic is a good hot weather drink.
🏮Media form: Kindle Unlimited version.
November 13, 2020
Are you ready to kill a few of your preconceived ideas of Gin?
The title of this remarkable little book is not at all exaggerated. “The philosophy of Gin” does embrace both the broad definition of “philosophy” and the very essence of “Gin”.
Along its chapters, you will find quite an extensive array of ideas to the understanding of this particular subject, named Gin; you’ll get acquainted to the system of beliefs, values, and principles related to Gin and last but not least you’ll learn how someone thinks about Gin, deals with it and obviously why it’s been consumed continually since the early ages.
After literarily devouring the book, I guarantee you’ll want to try one of the cocktail recipes the author smartly suggests and, while savouring, you’ll find yourself guessing in which of the 11 states of mind you are engaged.
Definitely a Good Read!
The title of this remarkable little book is not at all exaggerated. “The philosophy of Gin” does embrace both the broad definition of “philosophy” and the very essence of “Gin”.
Along its chapters, you will find quite an extensive array of ideas to the understanding of this particular subject, named Gin; you’ll get acquainted to the system of beliefs, values, and principles related to Gin and last but not least you’ll learn how someone thinks about Gin, deals with it and obviously why it’s been consumed continually since the early ages.
After literarily devouring the book, I guarantee you’ll want to try one of the cocktail recipes the author smartly suggests and, while savouring, you’ll find yourself guessing in which of the 11 states of mind you are engaged.
Definitely a Good Read!
August 9, 2022
read this cause I went on a distillery tour w a friend. kinda interesting
March 12, 2024
Pleasant and easy to read. It is a short summary of the history of gin.
November 16, 2022
This Pilosophy of Gin provides a well-written and entertaining introduction to the history of gin, be it from a culturally one-sided and narrow perspective. Like almost all English writing authors, Jane Peyton focuses on England as the bakermat and the US as the catalysator of the gin production and fashion and easily overlooks the importance of Flanders, Spain and other European countries for its history and development. Despite its shortness, this is definitely one of the better concise treatments of the subject.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews