Oh bother! We missed World Gin Day!
What a disaster, it's Katie's favourite tipple and Amy's
partial to a drop or two. I'm not too keen (glass of bubbly for me please) but
apparently I should indulge occasionally as it's the drink least likely to
trigger hayfever. Asthma UK say:
"Different alcoholic drinks contain different levels of histamine and
sulphites, which can sometimes be triggers for allergies and asthma. Red wine
and beer are higher in histamine but low in sulphites, while white wine and
cider are low in histamine but contain higher levels of sulphites. Spirits such
as vodka and gin are low in both, so they may be a better option for some
people who experience asthma symptoms after drinking wine, cider or beer."
However, there's another reason why perhaps you 'should' be
drinking gin.
As you probably know the distinctive flavour comes from
juniper and in the UK although the wild juniper population is classed as 'Least
Concern' there has been a significant decline in plant numbers and distribution
and more recently a threat from Phytophthera infection, confirmed in Cumbria. Many of the smaller, artisan gin producers
use local supplies of juniper berries and of course are keen to protect their
supplies; some are now actively involved
in projects to conserve the UK juniper population and even working on
collaboration with some of conservation organisations such as the National
Trust and RBG Kew who earlier this year, after a concerted effort, were happy
to say: "your gin is safe" because they have successfully banked 5.8
million seeds from 6500 trees from
across the UK making Juniper the first species to be fully collected across the
UK.
So what more reason do you need to raise a glass of gin and toast
the ongoing success of projects like the Millennium Seed Bank and conservation
efforts countrywide.
Cheers!