The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 4 letter word MOTHER’S RUIN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
O
T
H
E
R
â
€
™
S
R
U
I
N
More clues leading to the result MOTHER’S RUIN
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Gin" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case gin = mother’s ruin.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.