The Distiller of London

Book excerpt: Originally published in 1639 The Distiller of London provides readers with an understanding of the evolution that distilling went through as it made its transformation in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-centuries from a medicine to a social beverage. And it offers a brief tour of Stuart-era taste preferences. Although there were other books printed in England even earlier than the seventeenth-century that included juniper in recipes, this particular volume is of scholarly interest because it not only contained a few such recipes, but because it was published by the Worshipful Company of Distillers of London, the regulatory body that oversaw the emerging distilling trade before William and Mary ascended the English throne in 1688 and before the eighteenth-century Gin Craze brought illegitimate distillers and compounders before the public eye, soiling the budding industry's reputation for nearly a century. Written in code to protect its 'mysteries' from a curious lay readership, Miller and Brown have deciphered the recipes and provided a historical overview so that the present and future generations of distillers and rectifiers can find inspiration for their own creations and lay readers can capture a glimpse into this fascinating profession that continues to grow and evolve today.