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With a splash more gin

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Dedicated Gin Shop

Free tonics & garnish included

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7 day a Week Delivery

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Gin Gift
The perfect Gin Gift

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Gin Club
Our very own Gin Club

With a splash more gin

Gin Shop
Dedicated Gin Shop

Free tonics & garnish included

7 Day a week delivery
7 day a Week Delivery

Choose your own delivery date

Gin Gift
The perfect Gin Gift

Unrivalled extras, your gift is sorted

How did gin save lives during World War 2?

Old Gins

To talk about how gin has saved lives, we need to first talk about how the quintessential gin and tonic came to be. Of course, tonic water is an anti-malarial agent, and tonic waters made their way onto the British market after their invention in the mid 19th century, where they began to popularise gin itself. In the earlier days of gin, it wasn't seen as the fine and respectable drink we see it as today - it was considered to be a beverage taken amongst the "lower classes" of Britain, and was associated with immoral behaviour. You wouldn't have seen anyone from the upper classes drinking it - but that all changed with the introduction of tonic water. The iterations at the time tended to be incredibly bitter, even with the addition of soda and sugar; if it was necessary for an official to take a protective quinine tonic that tasted rather bitter, why not mix it with gin for a concoction that tasted much better? And thus, the gin & tonic was born, a delightful way to take tonic water that made it far more palatable to many.

It would go on to save many lives during the Second World War. When fighting took place in East Asia, malaria was rampant amongst the myriad personnel stationed there - quinine tonics were, of course, used to a large degree to stave off the danger that the illness poses. This is also partly where the concept of a navy-strength gin comes from - stronger gins were more efficient to carry, meaning less was needed for the same amount of medicinal tonic water. Gin was so beloved by the navy that when Hitler bombed Plymouth (well known for the Plymouth Gin line), a sailor was quoted as having said "well Hitler just lost the war"! Unfortunately, once Japan seized Java - an island in Indonesia - most of the Allied supply of quinine from the cinchona plantations there were cut off entirely. It's thought that the last American plane to leave carried over 4 million quinine seeds - although the trees never grew in time to be used in the war effort.

Since then, better and more efficient methods have been found to treat malaria and other illnesses. Quinine is still recommended as a treatment if nothing else is available, but given the long list of side effects we've discovered, it's no longer thought of as the first line of defence. That's why today's tonic waters contain much less quinine - it makes the tonic less bitter and removes any side effects its stronger variants caused. Of course, just because it's no longer used medicinally, doesn't mean it's seeing less use than in its prime - the G&T is one of those quintessentially British drinks that will never truly disappear. And it's just as popular elsewhere, with tonic syrups being a popular alternative to straight tonic water in America.

So there we have it, a brief story about the history of one of our favourite drinks and how it was used in the war effort. If I've made you fancy a G&T yourself, why not check out our large selection of tonics, cocktails and syrups.

Why Choose interGIN?

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Gin and a Splash

With our very own resident Ginsarian and loyal gin club membership, alongside 80 and growing big brand and small craft gins, tonics and cocktails on offer. We aim to be the UK's favourite Gin Delivery Service with a Splash.

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Delivery to suit

We deliver 7 days a week throughout the UK from with FREE delivery for gin clubs, £5.00 for Royal Mail Tracked 48, £6.00 for Royal Mail Tracked 24, £7.00 for DPD Next-Day and £12.00 for DPD Pre-12, Saturday and Sunday Deliveries

Our Range

Our previous Gin Clubs

Check out these beauties... Every craft gin we have sent since we launched back in December 2019

April
2024

Gin for April 2024 - Surprise Gin

Feb
2024

Gin for Feb 2024 - Giants Basalt Rock

Dec
2023

Gin for Dec 2023 - The Craft & Co Gingerbread

Oct
2023

Gin for Oct 2023 - East Coast Distillery Tide's Fortune Essex Dry

Aug
2023

Gin for Aug 2023 - Yorkshire Dales Desert Ram Gin

June
2023

Gin for June 2023 - Wimbledon Garden Gin

April
2023

Gin for April 2023 - Manly Spirits Lilly Pilly Pink Gin

February
2023

Gin for February 2023 - Electric Spirit Company Achroous Gin

December
2022

Gin for December 2022 - Shed One Festive Tipple

October
2022

Gin for October 2022 - Arctic Blue Gin

August
2022

Gin for August 2022 - Sixtowns London Dry

June
2022

Gin for June 2022 - Gin Verdant Inverroche

April
2022

Gin for April 2022 - Linlithgow Distillery Lin Gin Dry

March
2022

Gin for March 2022 - Mother's Ruin Cornish Blue Flamingo Gin

February
2022

Gin for February 2022 - Green Room Dry Gin

January
2022

Gin for January 2022 - Sing Gin

December
2021

Gin for December 2021 - Gospel Spirits Dutch Dry Gin

November
2021

Gin for November 2021 - Black Shuck Gin

October
2021

Gin for October 2021 - Stirling London Dry

September
2021

Gin for September 2021 - Palma Gin Destilado

August
2021

Gin for August 2021 - Land of Saints Saint Clement Organic London Dry

July
2021

Gin for July 2021 - Dry Gin XII Gin Distille en Provence

June
2021

Gin for June 2021 - Brunswick Aces Spades

May
2021

Gin for May 2021 - Big Seven London Dry

April
2021

Gin for April 2021 - Sixling Cloudberry Infused

March
2021

Gin for March 2021 - Home Farm Gin London Dry

February
2021

Gin for February 2021 - Oro Gin By Design

January
2021

Gin for January 2021 - Sado Hojicha Gin

December
2020

Gin for December 2020 - One Sage Gin

November
2020

Gin for November 2020 - English Drinks Company London Dry

October
2020

Gin for October 2020 - Crag & Tail Small Batch Scottish Gin

September
2020

Gin for September 2020 - Jackford Irish Potato

August
2020

Gin for August 2020 - Wildcat London Dry

July
2020

Gin for July 2020 - Liverpool Gin Distillery Organic Gin

June
2020

Gin for June 2020 - Conker Spirit Dorset Dry

May
2020

Gin for May 2020 - British Polo Organic Gin No.3

April
2020

Gin for April 2020 - Fishers Original

March
2020

Gin for March 2020 - Cotswolds Distillery Cotswolds Dry

February
2020

Gin for February 2020 - Eden Mill Love Gin and Glass Set (Limited Edition)

January
2020

Gin for January 2020 - New York Distilling Company Dorothy Parker

(1st ever) December
2019

Gin for (1st ever) December 2019 - Bullards London Dry

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