Gin and Vodka, may seem to be very modern drinks - particularly with the popularity of fashionable cocktail bars in all the major cities around the world. You might be surprised that gin is the newcomer - originating sometime early in the 17th century whilst vodka has been documented from the end of the 9th century! If history turns you on - click on to origins and development above and read on about 'Dutch Courage', 'the wages of gin', 'gin palaces', 'hot wine', and the role of sturgeon bladders and watermelon in vodka.