The History of Gin in the UK

At this point, the british beer industry was regulated and taxed, but you didn't need a license to sell gin. This law meant that locally made spirits distilled from grain were the cheapest alcoholic beverage available. It also helped create more demand for british grown grain, since pretty much every grain was lumped into the category of corn. So this law helped boost the price of grain to the benefit of british landowners by encouraging people to use it to make alcohol. The uk. Also already had its own distilling guild that was the worshipful company of distillers, established in 16 38.