Few drinks have been more vilified than gin. From its birth in 17th-century Holland to the class-conscious London suburbs of the 1950s gin has been condemned by evangelists and snobs alike, attracting an opprobrium that springs more from the ignorance and prejudice of its detractors than from any quality inherent either in the liquor or in its drinkers. As artisan gin has become more and more popular in the past decade, more and more writers...