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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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gin
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A liquor distilled from grain and flavoured with juniper berries. It was developed in the Netherlands in the 17C, and a taste for it was probably brought to England by soldiers returning from *Marlborough's campaigns in the early 18C. By 1720 London was addicted. Gin was cheap, bearing no tax, and there was no restriction on the sale of it. It was said that anybody could be 'drunk for a penny and dead drunk for twopence'. The resulting horrors were depicted by Hogarth in his engraving Gin Lane, published in February 1751. The Gin Act was passed that same summer, and the combination of a heavy duty and a licence fee eventually solved the problem. Gin became popular in the 20C in a new combination, the gin and *tonic.
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