Gin

Gin is a distilled alcoholic beverage that has it's origin in medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The historical Gin producing regions are Southern France, Flanders and Netherlands. Gin was originally created to provide aqua vitae from grape and grain distillates.

During the Middle ages, the newly found substance Ethanol was considered by Alchemists to be the water of life, and an aqueous solution of ethanol was in use all over Europe and had different names and is literally the origin of many spirits like Whisky ( from the Gaelic uisce beatha for water of life ). Today Gin is produces from a wide range of ingredients, which gave rise to numerous distinct styles and brands. The predominant flavour of Gin is from the Juniper berries and then each different distillery flavours it further with an assortment of botanicas or herbs, spices, floral and fruit flavours, in different combinations. Gin is commonly drank mixed with Tonic water but it is also often used as a base spirit for many gin based flavoured liqueurs like Sloe Gin.

Champagne

Champagne is a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France. Modern champagne is guided by the rules of appellation, which is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. The grapes Pinot noir, Pinot meunier and Charodonnay are used to produce champagne.

Much ahead of the creation of the sparkling wine, still wines from the Champagne region were known since Medieval France. The Romans established vineyards in the Champagne region and these vineyards started to produce a light, fruity red wine that was a contrast to the heavier Italian brews.

Later Church owned vineyards started producing wines for ceremonies and festivities like the coronation, but the wine makers of Champagne were envious of the reputation of their neighbouring Burgundy wine makers, but the cooler climate of Champagne was a challenge to the production of red wine, and the grapes would struggle to ripen fully, and would have bracing levels of acidity and low sugar level, that would result in lighter and thinner red wines.

The oldest record of sparkling wine is Blanquette de Limoux, a wine invented by Benedictine monks in the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire, near Carcassone. Sparkling wine is created by bottling the wine before the fermentation has ended and another method is by addition of sugar and yeast to trigger a second fermentation in a finished wine.

However, despite the accidental invention of sparkling wine in France outside the Abbey, and despite recording of the in bottle second fermentation process of a finished wine been recorded in the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire by English scientist Christopher Merret in 1662 and noted as a process in use by the Benedictine monks since 1531, wine makers in Champagne were unable to use what is now known as the méthode traditionnelle or particularly méthode champenoise in Champagne until the 17th Century.

This was because glass manufacturing in France was not advanced enough to manufacture bottles that could withstand the internal pressure of the carbonation process. They used Méthode rurale, the early method used by the monks that created Blanquette de Limoux, in which the wine is bottled before the first fermentation is finished, and the yeast sediment after fermentation remains in the bottle.

The méthode champenoise which alternatively is known as méthode traditionnelle outside Champagne uses a second fermentation by adding a little sugar and yeast and then the sediment is slowly removed after an elaborate process of riddling and then disgorging, a process of removing the lees, the sediment that has settled at the neck near the cap of the inverted bottle.

So, in short, sparkling wines are produced outside Champagne too, and like Limoux can be of exquisite quality, but the Champagne due to early clever marketing, became associated with royalty in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and thus became a popular drink for the middle class too. Which created the legend of Champagne and now, with successful Geographical Indication Appellate, Champagne as a name and the name méthode champenoise can only be used by Champagnes that meet the requirement of the Appellate, and are from Champagne and Champagne only.

Lemon Juice

Lemon Juice being rich in Vitamin C is an excellent remedy for sore throat and aids in digestion and controls blood sugar, and also promoted weight loss. It is used for various culinary and non-culinary purposes all over the world. Lemon juice is known to reduce or even reverse the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and intoxication.
In drink mixing, fresh lemon juice brings a tangy zing to so many classic drinks and in fact, it's the most used ingredient in drink mixing other than the liquors of course.

Sugar

Brown Sugar is a sucrose sugar with a distinctive brown colour from the presence of molasses, it is a partially refined or unrefined sugar containing sugar crystals and residual molasses giving it a distinctive taste and flavour of crystallised molasses or toffee. The taste of dark brown sugar is described as a caramel taste with a deep molasses flavour.
Brown sugar is used in cocktails where a caramel candy or toffee flavour is expected.

Caster Sugar is finely ground granulated sugar. It is not as fine a powdered confectioners' sugar and has a little grit to it. It is somewhere between confectioners' sugar and granulated sugar, and melts in mouth with a mild spicy feel to the tongue

Vanilla Sugar is the regular granulated sugar infused with vanilla flavour, by using vanilla pods and seeds to flavour the sugar. A home made alternative is to use vanilla sticks or pods in a jar of sugar and leave it sealed for 4 weeks to allow the vanilla flavour to infuse. Or to use granulated sugar and vanilla extract and blend in a mixer, although this ends up in powdered sugar.