Prohibition to the Dark Ages
Decline, Displacement, and Near Disappearance
American Prohibition (1920-1933) had paradoxical effects on gin. While it couldn't be legally produced, gin was the easiest spirit to make illicitly—just neutral alcohol and botanicals, no aging required. 'Bathtub gin' flooded speakeasies, but quality was abysmal. The martini and other gin cocktails survived by necessity, but often masked poor-quality spirits with strong mixers.
After Prohibition's repeal and World War II, gin faced unexpected challenges. The 1950s-60s saw changing tastes—vodka, marketed as odorless and tasteless, began its meteoric rise. Smirnoff's brilliant 'It leaves you breathless' campaign positioned vodka as modern and neutral, while gin seemed old-fashioned, redolent of grandparents and Empire.
By the 1970s-80s, gin had entered its 'Dark Ages.' Sales plummeted as vodka dominated cocktail menus. The vodka martini replaced the gin martini as the default. Young drinkers associated gin with their parents' generation. Even classic brands struggled—Gordon's, Tanqueray, and Beefeater maintained production but faced shrinking, aging customer bases.
Gin's image problem was severe. It was considered harsh, medicinal, and unsophisticated compared to vodka's supposed neutrality. Gin and tonics were 'old man drinks.' The botanical complexity that defined gin—once its glory—was now seen as a flaw. The spirit that had survived plague, regulation, and war was being defeated by marketing and shifting taste.
By the mid-1980s, gin seemed destined for obscurity. Production had contracted, innovation had stalled, and the next generation showed little interest. But this nadir would prove temporary—a small handful of visionaries were about to completely reimagine what gin could be, setting the stage for the most dramatic comeback in spirits history.