Madam Geneva

Question 1

Where did gin first come from?

Answer 1

Holland.

Question 2

What is gin?

Answer 2

A large category of alcoholic beverages with different flavours that all contain juniper berries.

Question 3

How did the word gin come about?

Answer 3

From English hearing the Dutch word “jenever” (juniper).

Question 4

What 2 steps outline gin manufacturing?

Answer 4

1. Distil a fermented mash to get a neutral spirit (~95% alcohol)
2. Dilute by adding purified water and botanicals

Question 5

What are some examples of botanicals that are added to gin?

Answer 5

Coriander, cloves, orange peels, etc. (pretty much anything).

Question 6

What distinguishes gin from other alcoholic beverages?

Answer 6

Gin does not require aging.

Question 7

How did gin drinking get brought to England?

Answer 7

The English king (James II) was catholic and unpopular. The people overthrew him and invited the Dutch king to become the new king of England. His sailors brought gin with them when he took over.

Question 8

What class of the population drank gin in England?

Answer 8

The lower class.

Question 9

What 2 national figures (in illustration) in England were associated with gin?

Answer 9

1. Brittania

2. Madam Geneva

Question 10

(late 17th/early 18th cent) How did the English government tax English gin? What about Dutch gin? Why?

Answer 10

English: 2 pence/gallon
Dutch: 8 pence/gallon
Needed money for wars with France. Dutch gin was better quality and so way more popular.

Question 11

What characterized London in the 1720s?

Answer 11

• Largest city in Europe
• Rich with few social controls
• High wages attract foreign people
• Massive expansion of consumer products (ex: gin)

Question 12

What demographic typically sold gin in the 18th century?

Answer 12

“gin hawkers” were typically single women.

Question 13

In England, how did people get around the licensing laws on gin sales?

Answer 13

“Old Tom”, cat-shaped figure on the outside of pubs that gin would be dispensed out of either into a cup or straight into the alcoholic’s mouth.

Question 14

Why did the English government turn a blind eye to people who were evading licensing laws on gin?

Answer 14

Because the government was made up of landowners who actually supplied the grain to the distillers.

Question 15

What were the gin distillers able to bargain with parliament for?

Answer 15

Because the gin distillers were making the landowners rich, they bargained for:

1. No increased tax
2. No production control

Question 16

How was beer viewed by society as compared to gin?

Answer 16

Beer: a “healthy” drink
Gin: a “sociable” drink (kinda leading to unhealthy shit)

Question 17

How did anti-gin sentiment begin in England compared with other anti-alcohol movements?

Answer 17

There was widespread drunkenness but no prohibitionist movement (like elsewhere). Instead, “moral entrepreneurs” created moral panic regarding society by targeting illegal sellers and the poor.

Question 18

What aspect of the poor most disturbed the rich in England at the time when gin was popular?

Answer 18

The poor have too much money! They’re supposed to be poor! They’re just spending all their extra cash on booze instead of struggling for survival! How dare they!

Question 19

What notable artwork expressed the growing anti-gin sentiment?

Answer 19

Hogarth’s “gin lane” (compared with “beer alley”).

Question 20

Why were the “gin acts” of 1736 and 1741 unsuccessful?

Answer 20

They tried to increase the cost of licenses, but most sales are black market anyway. They also tried to introduce a reward for informants, but these people were killed by neighbours (yikes).

Question 21

In regards to the history of gin, why were there medical reports of (mostly old) women “spontaneously” combusting?

Answer 21

They were targeted because they were selling gin. A great explanation for the sudden unexplained death of someone you don’t like…

Question 22

How was the pact between distillers and landowners finally broken in 1751?

Answer 22

A final gin act ended distillers ability to sell to illegal sellers.

Question 23

What finally ended the fad of gin consumption (between 1743-1750s)?

Answer 23

The economy was bad, the poor were too poor to be drunk. In the 1750s there were 5 bad harvests in a row on top of increased government regulation.