Juniper (given name) "Benny & Joon" (where the Joon character was short for Juniper), Pamela Dean's novel "Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary", and the Donovan song, "Jennifer Juniper". The Juniper tree's name is derived from the Latin word juniperus. In Latin, juniperus is combination of the word "junio," which means young, and "parere," to produce, hence youth producing, or evergreen. Ginepro (Italian for Juniper), Ginevra (Italian variant form of Juniper), and Ginny are other names that also refer to the Juniper tree. Juniper is used to flavour the alcoholic spirit gin. The traditional drink jenever and its French name "genièvre" are names for juniper.
Gin illustrated by William Hogarth in his engravings "Beer Street and Gin Lane" (1751), described by the BBC as "arguably the most potent anti-drug poster ever conceived." The negative reputation of gin survives today in the English language, in terms like "gin mills" or the American phrase "gin joints" to describe disreputable bars, or "gin-soaked" to refer to drunks. The epithet "mother's ruin" is a common British name for gin, the origin of which is the subject of ongoing debate. The Gin Act 1736 imposed high taxes on retailers and led to riots in the streets. The prohibitive duty was gradually