Andy says...

A drink born out of necessity which ended up being really rather wonderful

A drink with its origins firmly routed with the British Navy. A lack of vitamin C and the disease that followed it, scurvy, were a major problem for sailors away from dry land for several months at a time in the 18th and 19th centuries. Until Lachlin Rose patented a method for preserving lime juice without the use of alcohol in 1867; The Merchant Shipping Act of that same year required all ships of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy to provide a daily lime ration, making Rose's Lime Cordial indispensable over-night. It wasn't long before sailors were mixing it with gin, most probably that which was being made in the naval town of Plymouth.