The Little Book of Gin
The Little Book of Gin by Nick Moyle is a pocket-sized guide to gin with gin cocktail recipes and is published by Summersdale.
Summersdale has a long series of ‘Little Book’ titles, and Little Book of Gin is the latest in a series that includes Little Books on such diverse topics as Love, Palaeontology, Shit, Bees, Hangovers, Moustaches, Witchcraft, and Whisky! If you’re looking for a stocking-filler gift then there ought to be something on that list for everyone. You can find a review for The Little Book for Cocktail Lovers here.
The Little Book of Gin
So what’s in The Little Book of Gin? It naturally begins with a history of this juniper-led spirit, which is fascinating and goes back even further than I realised. The Ancient Egyptians used juniper for its medicinal properties, and the first recorded case of combining juniper with alcohol goes back to the Ancient Greeks. In about 50-70 AD the Greeks were blending juniper with wine in order to bring out juniper’s medicinal qualities.
The art of distillation wasn’t refined until about 800 AD, and it’s known that medieval monks in Italy were still blending wine and juniper and it seems likely that they would also be combining juniper with a spirit, to produce a very early version of gin. The historical account goes right through to the present day, and the comparatively recent upsurge in the making of craft gins.
Making Gin
The author then goes on to explain how to make gin, including making your own recipe gin at home. Clue: start with a bottle of vodka.
There’s information about the different styles of gin, as well as flavoured gins and gin liqueurs, as well as a section on the various botanicals that might be used, in addition to juniper.
Gin Cocktails
No book about gin would be complete without at least a few gin cocktail recipes, and this is no exception. The author includes basic recipes for such cocktails as the Martini and the Negroni, then goes on to show how you can make variations on the basic recipes to produce drinks that are just a little different.
The book is also broken up with fun ‘Did You Know?’ facts about gin, as well as some great quotations about gin, like this from Pliny the Elder:
“There are persons who rub the body with juniper berries as a preventive of the attacks of serpents.”
As I live part of the year in Arizona in a neighbourhood where rattlesnakes are common, perhaps I’ll try that.
Buying The Little Book of Gin
A lot is packed into this pocket-sized book, which runs to 128 pages. It would make a great gift whether for someone beginning their gin journey, though even the person who thinks they know their gins will get something ouit of it. You can buy it from Amazon.
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