How Gin is Made: Botanicals, Distillation and the Art of Flavour
Gin is defined by juniper and shaped by botanicals. Here is a complete guide to how gin is produced, from selecting and distilling a base spirit through botanical infusion, distillation styles, and the craft gin revolution in India.
What Makes a Spirit a Gin
Gin is a distilled spirit whose predominant flavour must come from juniper berries. This is the legal and definitional foundation that sets gin apart from all other spirits. Beyond juniper, gin producers have almost unlimited creative freedom in the additional botanicals they choose to use, which is one of the primary reasons gin has experienced such a dramatic global revival in the craft spirits era. The European Union definition requires gin to be produced from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin and to have a minimum bottling strength of thirty-seven and a half percent alcohol by volume. The UK Gin and Vodka Association and equivalent bodies in other countries provide additional quality frameworks. In India, gin is regulated under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India rules for spirits, with imported gin additionally subject to customs and excise classification. The minimum juniper requirement distinguishes gin from other flavoured spirits and from the category of compound spirits made without distillation.
The Base Spirit
Before botanicals enter the picture, gin begins with a neutral base spirit. This is a high-strength ethyl alcohol, typically distilled from grain such as wheat, barley, rye, or corn, though grape-based spirit, sugar beet spirit, and molasses spirit are also used depending on the producer and country of origin. The base spirit is typically distilled to ninety-six percent alcohol by volume or higher, making it nearly flavourless, odourless, and colourless. This high level of rectification removes the natural flavour compounds of the grain or other source material, leaving a clean canvas for the botanical flavours to define the final product. Some gin producers work with less rectified base spirits, leaving traces of grain character that contribute to the final flavour, but this is a deliberate stylistic choice rather than the norm. In India, most domestically produced gin uses a grain or molasses base spirit produced within the country, often sourced from industrial distilleries before redistillation with botanicals at the gin producer's facility.
Botanicals and Recipes
The selection and combination of botanicals is the central creative act in gin production and is the source of each distillery's signature flavour profile. Juniper is mandatory and must dominate, but beyond juniper the botanical recipe is entirely up to the distiller. Common secondary botanicals include coriander seed, which provides citrus and floral notes; angelica root, which contributes earthy, woody character and helps bind the other flavours together; citrus peel from lemon, orange, or grapefruit; orris root for floral violet tones; cassia bark or cinnamon for warm spice; cardamom for aromatic complexity; and liquorice root for sweetness and depth. Indian gin producers have created a distinct category by incorporating local botanicals such as Coorg cardamom, Darjeeling green tea, Indian long pepper, kokum, gondhoraj lime, lotus flower, tulsi, and vetiver root. These locally sourced botanicals have become the defining characteristic of what is now recognised internationally as the new wave of Indian craft gin, distinguishing it clearly from European and American styles.
Distillation Methods
There are several distinct methods used to produce gin, each of which produces a distinctly different result. Traditional pot still distillation involves placing the neutral base spirit in a pot still along with the botanicals, which are either macerated directly in the spirit or held in a botanical basket through which the vapour passes during distillation. The botanical vapour infusion method, in which spirit vapour picks up botanical flavour as it rises through a basket suspended above the liquid, tends to produce lighter and more delicate results compared to direct maceration. London Dry gin, the most widely recognised style, must be produced by redistillation of the spirit with botanicals in a traditional still, with no additions after distillation other than water and up to a small permitted amount of sweetening. Cold compounding, in which flavouring essences or botanical extracts are simply added to the base spirit without redistillation, is permitted for lower-quality products but cannot produce London Dry gin. Vacuum distillation at reduced pressure and temperature is used by some craft producers to capture more delicate, heat-sensitive botanical aromas that would be destroyed by conventional distillation temperatures.
Styles of Gin
The global gin market encompasses several distinct recognised styles. London Dry is the most internationally recognised style, characterised by a juniper-forward profile with prominent citrus and spice, no sweetness, and no post-distillation additions beyond water. Old Tom gin is a slightly sweeter historical style that was dominant in eighteenth-century Britain and has been revived by craft producers as a mixer in classic cocktails like the Tom Collins. Plymouth gin is a geographical indication style produced only in Plymouth, England, with a slightly earthier and softer profile than London Dry. New Western or contemporary gin is a broad and loosely defined category in which juniper is present but other botanicals, such as cucumber, floral notes, or unusual fruits, are given more prominence. Sloe gin is a fruit liqueur made by steeping sloe berries in gin with sugar. Navy strength gin refers to gin bottled at a minimum of fifty-seven percent alcohol by volume, a strength historically required so that if gin was spilled on gunpowder aboard naval ships, the gunpowder would still ignite.
The Indian Craft Gin Revolution
India has emerged as one of the most exciting new frontiers in global gin production, with a wave of craft distilleries producing internationally recognised gins that draw on India's extraordinary botanical heritage. Greater Than and Hapusa from Nao Spirits in Delhi were among the first Indian craft gins to gain significant international attention, with Hapusa drawing on the Himalayan juniper that grows in India's northern mountain regions and incorporating local botanicals including gondhoraj lime and turmeric. Stranger and Sons from Third Eye Distillery in Goa produces a gin using eleven botanicals including Indian long pepper, raw mango, and liquorice, and has won multiple international awards. Jin Jiji from Paul John Distillery incorporates Himalayan botanicals and has expanded the distillery's craft credentials beyond its celebrated single malt whisky range. Samsara gin from Allied Blenders and Distillers uses jasmine, rose, and Indian spices. The gin and tonic culture that arrived in India through the colonial period has now completed a full circle, with Indian craft gins winning awards internationally and finding shelf space in some of the world's best cocktail bars.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- ✓Gin must be juniper-forward by law — beyond that, distillers have almost unlimited botanical freedom.
- ✓The base spirit is distilled to near-neutral (96% ABV) before botanicals define the final flavour.
- ✓London Dry gin allows no additions after distillation except water — it is the purest and most widely recognised style.
- ✓Indian craft gins use local botanicals like Himalayan juniper, gondhoraj lime, kokum, and Coorg cardamom.
- ✓Brands like Hapusa, Stranger and Sons, and Jin Jiji have put Indian craft gin on the global map.
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