Juniperberry. (Juniperus species). The berries of several junipers
were used by the Indians for food and aromatic oil is obtained from
certain species. Probably the most famous of the juniperberries is that of
the common juniper (Juniperus communis), which has been used for centuries
to flavor gin and game dishes like wild boar. However, the western juniper
or yellow cedar, a plant that can be a shrub or a tree 60 feet high, bears
oval, blue-black berries
with a bloom that are widely known to be edible and high in vitamin C-they
were, in fact, used in the past as a scurby preventive. Junipers are
unusual in that the female flowers are made up of little scales which
become fleshy, grow together, and form a sweetish, berrylike fruit. In
certain species the small, pearl-shaped berries take three years to
ripen. Following is an old bootlegger's recipe for Bathtub Gin make from
juniperberries. I have not tested it, do not recommend it, and offer it
merely as a historical curiosity that you must take full responsibility
for if you make it or drink too much of it.
Bathtub Gin
2 parts alcohol 1-teaspoon juniperberry juice
3 parts water 1-tablespoon glycerin (to
smooth it)
During prohibition it cost bootleggers about two cents an ounce to make this concoction,
which was ready to drink upon mixing.
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