Gin isn't aged?

[Vision]

I was reading an article about gin tonight and they mentioned gin isn't aged, and didn't give an explaintion.

That seems strange? Does gin really come from the still ready to drink?

[cowdery]

I suppose "ready to drink" is subjective but, yes, gin is not aged, nor are other clear spirits such as vodka, white rum and white tequila. Gin is essentially flavored vodka, flavored with various herbs and spices--"botanicals" is the term they use--primarily essence of juniper berry. One popular brand, Seagram's Gin, is "aged" in used bourbon barrels for about 90 days, which gives it a tiny bit of color, barely perceptible. They are allowed to do it but they can't, by law, call it "aging" so they call it something else, "tempering" perhaps.

[tlsmothers]

Anybody checked this Kensington Gin out? Supposedly "aged" in Kentucky bourbon barrels?

[cowdery]

It looks like the same deal. "Cured" is the term they use instead of "aged." Worth a visit for the pompous opening animation.

[Vision]

Wow

So, the whole bit on M*A*S*H about their gin being an hour old, which caused it to be extremely harsh, is not reality?

I guess they should have focused the humor more on the rough gin coming from a homebrew still.

[gr8erdane]

They referred to it as gin I believe in reference to the "bathtub gin" that was so popular during prohibition (which during the Korean War was not so distant in the past).

[Dave_in_Canada]

Worth a visit for the pompous opening animation.

That opening animation exemplifies everything that is WRONG with the internet.

[clayton]

That opening animation exemplifies everything that is WRONG with the internet

Welcome to computer animation, circa 1986.
Cue the Strauss!

[dgonano]

gin is not aged, nor are other clear spirits such as vodka, white rum and white tequila.

But many rums are aged, as are tequilas, cachacas. But I haven't seen any aged vodkas ( Basil Hayden excluded ).

Why can these be aged without losing their ability to be called rum, tequila, cachaca, etc. ?

[cowdery]

It's just what the defintions of those beverages are. Vodka and gin, by definition, are not aged. Rum and tequila are sold both aged and unaged, presumably cachaca too, though I can't say I've ever had aged cachaca. Gin is really just a type of flavored vodka (flavored with juniper berry), as is akavit (flavored with carraway seeds).

The difference between the gin/vodka/akavit group and the rum/tequila group is proof of distillation. The gin/vodka/akavit group is based on a neutral spirit, distilled out at >190 proof, while tequila and rum, like brandy and whiskey, are distilled at 160 proof and lower.

This is not to say that nothing would happen if you put a neutral spirit into a barrel for some period of time, but it isn't done.