Gin

With the arrival of William of Orange, later King William III, jenever, and locally produced gin, became a fashionable drink and not just a medicine.

Gin drinking in England rose significantly after the government allowed unlicensed gin production, and at the same time imposed a heavy duty on all imported spirits such as French brandy. This created a larger market for poor-quality barley that was unfit for brewing beer, and in 1695–1735 thousands of gin-shops sprang up throughout England, a period known as the Gin Craze.

The gin crisis was severe. From 1689 onward the English government encouraged the industry of distilling, as it helped prop up grain prices, which were then low, and increase trade, particularly with England’s colonial possessions. Imports of French wine and spirits were banned to encourage the industry at home.