🥃 Common juniper (Juniperus communis)
Conifer shrub or small tree of the cypress family; its berry-like fruits are a required ingredient in gin, genever and other EU juniper-flavoured spirit drinks.
Common juniper (Juniperus communis) is a conifer shrub or small tree of the cypress family, whose “berries” are in fact fleshy fruits. They give the characteristic flavour of gin, genever, Slovak borovička and other juniper spirit drinks. The names gin and genever come from a word meaning juniper.
The plant. According to the botanical gardens of Utrecht University, common juniper has the widest range of any conifer: Europe, Asia and North America. The plants are dioecious, and only female plants bear fruits. The fruits take about three years to ripen, changing colour from green to blue-black, so one bush carries both green and dark fruits.
EU law. Regulation (EU) 2019/787 requires a juniper spirit drink to have a noticeable flavour of Juniperus communis or Juniperus oxycedrus berries and a strength of at least 30% alc. vol. For gin and distilled gin only Juniperus communis is named, and the juniper flavour must dominate; the minimum is 37.5% alc. vol. In London gin the aroma comes from distillation alone.
Berries as a remedy. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recognises juniper fruits as a traditional herbal remedy for mild digestive and urinary complaints. At the same time, EMA does not recommend them for children under 18, for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or in severe kidney disease.
Why this matters to you. Juniper in gin is an aromatic plant, not a medicine: the properties of herbal tea do not pass to a strong drink of 37.5% alc. vol. If you are allergic to juniper, avoid gin too. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
Facts
| EU category | juniper spirit drinks (cat. 19), gin (cat. 20–22) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I; EMA document EMA/HMPC/241320/2021 |
| Raw material | fruits of Juniperus communis (for cat. 19 also J. oxycedrus) |
How it connects to Spirits
🥃 Common juniper (Juniperus communis) → kind of → 🍸 Gin and juniper spirits → kind of → 🥃 Spirits
Links
- What is made from it
- 🥃 Navy strength gin, 🥃 Paradise, 🥃 Peket de Wallonie, 🥃 O' de Flander, 🥃 Spiš borovička (Spišská borovička), 🥃 Trenčín borovička (Trenčianska borovička „JUNIPERUS“), 🥃 Vilnius gin (Vilniaus Džinas), 🥃 Steinfelder Magenbitter
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health
- Related to
- 🍸 Gin, 🍸 Distilled gin, 🍸 London gin, 🥃 Genever, 🍸 Juniper-flavoured spirit drink, 🥃 Borovička, 🥃 Brinjevec
- Part of
- 🍸 Gin and juniper spirits
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that gin is good for you because it contains juniper?
No. EMA describes only the traditional use of dried fruits in teas and tinctures; gin is a strong alcohol of at least 37.5% alc. vol., and the WHO stresses that there is no safe dose.
Are juniper berries really berries?
No, they are fleshy fruits of a conifer; they take about three years to ripen and turn from green to blue-black.
Which juniper is allowed for gin in the EU?
For gin and distilled gin only Juniperus communis; for the wider category of juniper spirit drinks Juniperus oxycedrus is also allowed.
Who should not take juniper as a medicine?
According to EMA’s document on herbal medicines: children and adolescents under 18, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people with severe kidney disease.
Which drinks are made with juniper?
Gin, genever, Slovak borovička, Slovenian brinjevec and other juniper spirit drinks of EU category 19.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🍸 Gin — A spirit flavoured with juniper berries: in the EU at least 37.5% vol., juniper must dominate, and “dry” means up to 0.1 g/l of sugar.
- 🥃 Brinjevec — Slovenian spirit distilled from fermented common juniper berries: an EU geographical indication in the fruit spirit category, at least 40% ABV, aged at least 6 months.
- 🥃 Paradise — Classic cocktail of gin, apricot brandy and orange juice. IBA recipe: 30, 20 and 15 ml; first printed in 1922.
- 🍸 Juniper-flavoured spirit drink — The EU's broadest juniper category: alcohol or grain distillate with juniper berries, from 30% vol.; it includes genever and Wacholder.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2019/787 on spirit drinks, Annex I as adopted: cat. 1 rum (min. 37.5 %), cat. 19 juniper-flavoured spirit drinks (Juniperus communis L. or J. oxycedrus L., min. 30 %, juniper discernible), cat. 20 gin (J. communis, taste predominantly juniper, min. 37.5 %, 'dry' up to 0.1 g/l sweetening), cat. 21 distilled gin, cat. 22 London gin
- EMA/HMPC/241320/2021: European Union herbal monograph on Juniperus communis L., galbulus (pseudo-fructus), Rev. 1 (15.03.2023) — traditional use for minor urinary tract complaints and dyspepsia; not recommended under 18, in pregnancy and lactation, in severe renal disease
- Botanische Tuinen (Utrecht University): Common juniper — Cupressaceae, widest range of any conifer (Europe, Asia, North America), dioecious, only female plants bear berry-like cones, ripening c. three years from green to blue-black, used to flavour gin; shrub or small tree up to c. 10 m
- Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex III as at 31.01.2020 (legislation.gov.uk): cat. 19 — Genièvre/Jenever/Genever; Graanjenever; Jonge jenever/jonge genever (Belgium, the Netherlands); Oude jenever/oude genever (Belgium, the Netherlands); Hasseltse jenever; Balegemse jenever and others
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)