gin vs John Barleycorn

gin and John Barleycorn both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
gin	Yes	No	Yes	No
John Barleycorn	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, John Barleycorn is a hypernym of gin; that is, John Barleycorn is a word with a broader meaning than gin:

gin: strong liquor flavored with juniper berries
John Barleycorn: an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented

Other hypernyms of gin include booze, hard drink, hard liquor, liquor, spirits, strong drink.

gin (noun)	John Barleycorn (noun)
a form of rummy in which a player can go out if the cards remaining in their hand total less than 10 points	an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented
a machine that separates the seeds from raw cotton fibers
a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a slip noose
strong liquor flavored with juniper berries

gin (verb)	John Barleycorn (verb)
trap with a snare
separate the seeds from (cotton) with a cotton gin