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Richard S's avatar

There was a good In Our Time about the gin craze. I assume they were just necking it like pirates back then but now gin must be the only spirit that people would never normally consider drinking neat. Who does that? Even the driest martini needs a little vermouth.

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Paul Howard Davies's avatar

Well they might know a lot about gin,but not so much about art and politics.Hogarth’s Gin Lane has to be seen alongside his Beer Street.

Learn how a pair of engravings by satirical artist William Hogarth were used to alter the drinking habits of the British public in the 18th century.

Made to support the government's Gin Act of 1751, William Hogarth's exaggerated engravings warn of the dangers of gin consumption while extolling the benefits of beer drinking.

The government realised that gin drinking could not be eradicated ,so it had to be replaced with Beer which was much lower in alcohol and better for moderation.

Beer Street shows people as healthy and industrious and engaging in enjoyable flirting.

I recommend viewing the terrific Rake’s Progress in Sir John Soane’s museum in London to see a great artist using a story board of eight pictures to tell the perils of mixing alcohol with gambling ,affairs and prostitutes with the unhappy ending of the middle class to live like aristocrats.

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