Gin Fling
May, 1964
The next time someone asks, "Who is Sylvius?" be prepared with the answer: He was the inventor of gin. Sylvius' proper name was Franciscus de la Boë. He was a professor of medicine at the Dutch University of Leiden, and the pure lab alcohol which Dr. Sylvius distilled with the oil of juniper berries was intended as a blood cleanser for sale in apothecaries rather than taverns. It was the 17th Century, when drinking most distilled liquors snapped the neck and created a lingering ball of...
