What Is Gin Made From?

Gin starts as a neutral spirit, then juniper and other botanicals turn it into gin.

Gin is built in two stages: a base spirit, then a flavouring process.

1. The base spirit

Most gin starts life as a neutral grain spirit — a highly rectified, near-flavourless alcohol usually distilled from wheat, barley or corn. Some producers use grape or molasses-based neutral spirit instead. At this stage it's not meaningfully different from a base vodka.

2. The botanicals

What turns that neutral spirit into gin is redistillation or infusion with botanicals — and by legal definition, juniper berries must be the dominant flavour. Beyond juniper, distillers typically add a mix of:

• Citrus peel (orange, lemon)
• Coriander seed
• Angelica root
• Orris root
• Cardamom, cinnamon or other spices
• Local or native botanicals — this is where New Zealand distillers get creative, using things like kawakawa, horopito, mānuka or native citrus

How the botanicals are added

There are two common methods:

• Redistillation (vapour infusion or one-shot distillation) — botanicals are added to the still along with the neutral spirit and redistilled together, so their oils and aromatics carry over into the final spirit.
• Cold compounding / infusion — botanicals are steeped in the neutral spirit without a second distillation. This is cheaper and faster but generally considered a lower-quality method for "gin" versus a proper redistilled product.

See our article on botanicals and on London Dry vs contemporary gin styles for how these choices shape the final flavour.