Old Tom Gin (or Tom Gin or Old Tom) is a gin recipe popular in 18th-century England. In modern times, it became rare but has experienced a resurgence in the

craft cocktail movement The craft cocktail movement is a social movement spurred by the cocktail renaissance, a period of time in the 21st century characterized by a revival and re-prioritization of traditional recipes and methods in the bar industry. History The cockt ...

. It is slightly sweeter than London Dry, but slightly drier than the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Jenever Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavored traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France an ...

, thus is sometimes called "the missing link".Cocktail-DB - Profile
(accessed 21 June 2008) The name Old Tom Gin purportedly came from wooden plaques shaped like a black cat (an "Old Tom") mounted on the outside wall of some pubs above a public walkway in 18th-century England. Owing to the

Gin Craze The Gin Craze was a period in the first half of the 18th century when the consumption of gin increased rapidly in Great Britain, especially in London. Daniel Defoe commented: "the Distillers have found out a way to hit the palate of the Poor, by ...

, the British government tried to stem the flow of gin with prohibitive taxes and licensing, which drove the scene underground. Under the cat's paw sign were a slot to put money in and a lead tube. From the tube would come a shot of gin, poured by the bartender inside the pub. Old Tom Gin was formerly made under licence by a variety of distillers around the world; however, one was recently relaunched by Hayman's distillery based on an original recipe. Since then a number of other companies have followed suit, such as: Booth's; Secret Treasures; The Liberty Distillery; Tanqueray; Langley's; Jensens; Ransom;

Master of Malt Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans * Grandmaster (chess), National Maste ...

; The Dorchester Hotel;

The London Distillery Company Ltd ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

; and

Sacred Spirits Sacred Spirits (previously known as Sacred Microdistillery) is a microdistillery in Highgate, London. It distills its spirits under a vacuum in glassware, and thus at a lower temperature than traditional pot stills, which operate at atmospheric ...

. An Old Tom Gin made by

J. Wray and Nephew Ltd. J. Wray and Nephew Ltd. is a distiller, blender, and bottler of rum, originating and operating in Jamaica. History The history of J. Wray and Nephew began in 1825 when company founder John Wray opened 'The Shakespeare Tavern' in Kingston, Jama ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

is also commonly found on the market. Old Tom Gin is specified for Jerry Thomas' cocktail called the Martinez in his 1887 ''Bartender's Guide, How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks''. The first record of it being used in the

Tom Collins The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically serv ...

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...

was the 1891 book, ''The Flowing Bowl: When and What to Drink.''

References

External links

A thorough article about the history and types of gin

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Alcohol and Drugs History Society The Alcohol and Drugs History Society (ADHS) is a scholarly organization whose members study the history of a variety of illegal, regulated, and unregulated drugs such as opium, alcohol, and coffee. Organized in 2004, the ADHS is the successor ...

Gin in Victorian London
Gins {{Distilled-beverage-stub