
How Gin Became the Meth of 18th Century England - pmcpinto
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/30/how-gin-became-the-meth-of-18th-century-england.html
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sdk77
Actually, after first getting to really know gin at 37, I did some research
and found this great article: [http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Mothers-
Ruin/](http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Mothers-Ruin/)

Introducing me to the works of William Hogarth (see linked article). I was
very surprised that it actually was the Dutch that introduced gin in the UK (
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin) ).
Funny, I like gin more than I like 'our own' 'jenever'. It's a great drink,
neat or otherwise. I understand how this could have caused all this mayhem way
back.

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mercer
Thanks for the comment! Aside from providing me with a fascinating article, it
finally solves my uncertainty about 'jenever' being linked to 'gin'. I've been
trying to explain what it was to my expat friends, and gin is something they
understand.

(still can't get them to enjoy raw herring though, which is traditionally
paired with gin, especially when the new catch, Hollandse Nieuwe, is in...)

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chiph
No mention of how British colonials were drinking it to cover up the awful
taste of quinine, taken to combat malaria.

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throwaway049
That just sounds like an excuse to drink gin. Disclosure: I like the taste of
Indian tonic water

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sharksandwich
Your genes actually play a large role in how you perceive the taste of quinine
[http://www.monell.org/news/news_releases/quinine](http://www.monell.org/news/news_releases/quinine)

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look_lookatme
There's a Surprisingly Awesome episode about Broccoli and part of it is about
genetic taste preferences and some people taste quinine in it. Very
interesting episode:

[https://gimletmedia.com/episode/6-broccoli/](https://gimletmedia.com/episode/6-broccoli/)

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bontaq
This article didn't really say anything interesting. Is there a better article
or even book about the gin craze and its effects? Is this just clickbait spam?

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acheron
_Gin: A Global History_ covers it some, though that's not the main topic of
the book. [http://www.amazon.com/Gin-Global-History-Reaktion-
Edible/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/Gin-Global-History-Reaktion-
Edible/dp/1861899246)

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gadders
I'm surprised they discussed gin in 18th Century England without mentioning
Hogarth. He drew some great images of the chaos that gin caused:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Street_and_Gin_Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Street_and_Gin_Lane)

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vidarh
They did mention him.

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gadders
Ooops.

