When London Tried to Smell Sober

Everything in moderation, right? Well, not if you were a gin-crazed Londoner in the 1700s. Gin was cheap, potent, and literally everywhere you looked. What followed was one of the wildest chapters in England’s drinking history, complete with an invention that suggested sobriety might be more about scent than science.

The Gin Craze, Briefly

Early 18th-century London was crowded, dirty, and short on good drinking water. Gin, by contrast, was plentiful, fast to produce, and remarkably affordable. For long stretches, it was cheaper than bread. It was sold in taverns, homes, and street stalls, often with little oversight. Parliament tried repeatedly to rein it in with a series of Gin Acts, each met with impressive levels of public creativity and noncompliance.

The result was excess, certainly, but also adaptation.

Enter the Gin Token

Somewhere along the way, gin sellers began issuing tokens: small coins made of metal, wood, or bone that could be exchanged for a drink. Think of them as early drink tickets or loyalty cards. In some cases, they were even scented with juniper or citrus oils, creating the hopeful idea that rubbing a token on one’s hands or collar might disguise the smell of gin.

Spoiler alert:  It didn’t fool many, but it was English ingenuity at work.

Optimism, Bottled

Gin tokens tell us something important about the era. This wasn’t just reckless drinking; it was a city improvising its way through harsh conditions with whatever tools were available. Tokens allowed discreet transactions, encouraged repeat customers, and occasionally offered plausible deniability. Sobriety, it seemed, was being treated as an aromatic challenge.

Gin Seals Its Reputation in English Culture

The Gin Craze was messy, excessive, and often absurd. But it was also inventive. The gin token stands as a small, metallic reminder that gin has always lived at the intersection of culture, chemistry, and optimism. If Londoners once believed a bit of juniper and a coin could solve the problem, who are we to judge?

Juniper Jeff

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