I understand that many types of Gin is made from coal.  Is this true,
and if so I would like to know the process.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 11 May 2003 15:18 PDT

Industrial-grade alcohol is sometimes made from coal, but I have found
no evidence of coal being used as anything other than a fuel in the
distillation process of gin. It might be helpful if you could tell us
where you obtained the information that many types of gin are made
from coal.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 11 May 2003 15:22 PDT

Many spirits are filtered through activated charcoal -- could that be
what you are referring to?

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Request for Question Clarification by mathtalk-ga on 11 May 2003 15:28 PDT

Hi, ktea-ga:

What would you accept in terms of a negative answer, that it is not
true that "Gin" is made from coal?  Would an explanation of the
chemistry relating to alcohol production from sugars/carbohydrates
(and the lack of these ingredients in coal) suffice for you?

Gin is essentially distilled spirits (ethyl alcohol) flavored with
juniper berries (from which the name 'gin' is derived) and sometimes
other botanicals.

Given an abundance of energy resources, it is possible to synthesize
methane and even longer chain hydrocarbons from coal and water. 
However these syntheses do not produce alcohol, and there would seem
to be little economic value to motivate research on producing alcohol
from coal at this time.

The only connection I can make between gin and "coal" is that
sometimes the distilled spirits are filtered through charcoal to
remove unpleasant tasting volatile oils from the solution.

regards, mathtalk-ga