[MTVN]

Originally Posted by Crimson Dynamo

er the heyday of "mother's ruin" was 1751


William Hogarth’s Gin Lane (1751)

In the 16th Century, the Dutch created a medicinal alcohol using Juniper as the main ingredient. The name “Genever” derives from the Latin for juniper. This medicine was given to troops as part of their daily rations.

During the 17th century, Dutch troops fought alongside the English to ward off the attack of Louis XIV. The Dutch troops drank Genever heavily before going into battle and were deemed to be excessively brave. The English troops then decided to also drink Genever before going into battle and noted they had imbibed the Dutch’s courage hence the term “Dutch Courage”.

During the time of the war, English troops would take their Genever rations home with them and share it amongst their peers. The juniper flavoured spirit soon became vastly popular, especially with the poor. This was because just a few sips of water could kill you and the only other available drink was the vastly overpriced beer. The name ‘Genever’ was too much of a mouthful for some and was eventually shorted to ‘Gin’.

The gin obsession was blamed for misery, rising crime, madness, higher death rates and falling birth rates. Gin joints allowed women to drink alongside men for the first time and it is thought this led many women neglecting their children and turning to prostitution, hence gin becoming known as ‘Mother’s Ruin’.

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Ben trying to recreate these times of misery is a very poor show

Oh yeah I'm aware of that but gin also really exploded again in popularity in the 2010s which is when a lot of the flavoured stuff emerged and all these pop up gin vans and bars