Juniper is the dark blue-purple seed cone — the "berry" — of the common juniper, a hardy coniferous shrub of the Northern Hemisphere. Piney, resinous, citrusy and faintly sweet-bitter, it is above all the defining botanical of gin, whose very name descends from the Dutch genever, from the Latin iuniperus. Beyond the still it is crushed into game and pork marinades, sauerkraut and Alsatian choucroute, pâtés and cured meats.