15 Navy Strength Gins To You Need To Try Now | Navy strength gin
SignuptoourfreeweeklynewsletterforinsidertipsandproductreviewsfromourshoppingexpertsSignupforourfreeIndyBestemailMuchlikeanystorythatinvolvesalotofalcohol,thehistoryofnavystrengthginandhowitcametobenamedismixedwithlegendandrumour.Whileitallegedlydidn’treceiveitsmonikeruntilthe1990s,thankstoaclevermarketingployfromPlymouthGin,higherstrengthginandthenavyhavelonghadarelationship.Asanygoodemployershould,theRoyalNavylegislatedthatginandrumneededtobecarriedonboardboats,withofficersdrinkingtheforme...
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Much like any story that involves a lot of alcohol, the history of navy strength gin and how it came to be named is mixed with legend and rumour.
While it allegedly didn’t receive its moniker until the 1990s, thanks to a clever marketing ploy from Plymouth Gin, higher strength gin and the navy have long had a relationship.
As any good employer should, the Royal Navy legislated that gin and rum needed to be carried onboard boats, with officers drinking the former and the men drinking the latter. Fed up with being ripped off, so one story goes, the officers would add gunpowder to a measure of gin and see if it lit – if it did it was “overproof” or 57 per cent.
Another explanation, as Ben Martin, a spirit educator from The Liquor Studio, Leeds, tells us, is that “the gin had to be a high percentage as it would often be stored in...