Juniper berries are not berries at all, but female cones. Male cones, on the other hand, carry pollen and look like miniature pine cones rather than berries. Although a tree can carry both male and female cones, most often a tree will carry all male or female cones.

Juniper has been used since at least 1500BCE where it was recorded in Egypt as a cure for tapeworm. Ancient Romans used the berries to aid digestion, and in Medieval times, people of Scotland started soaking the berries in whisky. Then, in the 19th century, when the Dutch had a surplus of juniper berries, gin was born.