Relax everyone, your gin supply is safe

LONDON — Gin is a precious thing. But, recent fears over dwindling supplies of juniper have troubled gin enthusiasts around the world.

The UK’s National Tree Seed Project has been quietly working to safeguard the future of gin by protecting native juniper trees. Berries from the juniper tree are a critical ingredient in the production of gin

The project — set up by Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank — has been collecting juniper seeds from across the country since May 2013. 

SEE ALSO: Bar serving butterbeer is making all our ‘Harry Potter’ fantasies come true

The seed collection forms part of a wider project to collect seeds from the entire UK woody flora. And, juniper is the first species to be fully collected in its entirety across Great Britain

The supply of gin has become an ever-growing concern as a deadly tree fungus — Phytophthora austrocedri — has been killing juniper trees across the UK in recent years. A 2015 report found two thirds of juniper stock in Scotland — the UK’s last stronghold for juniper — to be unfit for usage. Read more…

More about Food And Drink, Trees, Drinking, Alcohol, and Gin
Originally syndicated from Relax everyone, your gin supply is safe