Liquorice Root

Liquorice sourced from China

It’s main role in our gin is to provide the light woody notes and sweetness on the taste to Greenall’s gin

Liquorice Root is the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, from which a sweet flavour can be extracted. Its active principle is glycyrrhizin, a sweetener more than 50 times as sweet as sucrose which also has pharmaceutical effects. Ancient Chinese divided their drugs into 3 classes, according to their reputed properties. Liquorice was of the first class because “they preserve the life of man, and therefore resemble Heaven. They are not poisonous. No matter how much you take, and how often you use them, they are not harmful. If you wish to make the body supple, improve the breath, become old in years without aging in body, then make use of liquorice root.”

Like the Chinese, the Hindus considered liquorice a general tonic, beautifying agent, and elixir of life.