The King of Soho I London Dry Gin I Unique sweetness of grapefruit peel I Liquorice finish I 42% Vol. I 700 ml

Product Information

There’s also the fact that the best place to taste it is at nearby Ladies & Gents, a tiny bar in Kentish town that holds gin masterclasses using Highwayman. It’s located in a former public loo. Once you’ve filled up on gin knowledge, and, of course, gin – you’ll have the chance to craft your own. You never know, yours might just be the next big thing! Alex explains that her mother had a printing and publishing business in Durham at a time when women didn’t go into business, and that in itself was a huge inspiration to her. Coming from a business-savvy family, Alex always knew that she wanted to go into business, explaining that from a young age she has always been fueled by a burning entrepreneurial spirit. Alex explains that it is her passion and authenticity that keeps her inspired in business, alongside her family.

There’s a certain thrill that comes with sampling a small and exclusive batch of gin like that distilled at Half Hitch London. Oh, it was as simple as in an epiphany sitting in a bar with Howard Raymond, who is my business partner. I mean, we are drinkers as opposed to distillers, so we were very much approaching it from the angle of, “We want to create a spirit that we enjoy and share it with the world.” And this wasn’t long after the death of Howard’s father, who was Paul Raymond, the original King of Soho. And we thought, what better way to celebrate his life and his Soho legacy than to create a gin in his name? When asked what advice she would give to those wanting to start in business, Alex states that a passion and a belief in what you’re doing is integral, affirming the importance of having a big idea and remaining tremendously focused.This bottle is all about the past and present of Soho,’ Robson explains. The icon’s velvet tailoring reflects the bold and colourful fashion of the area; the fox’s tail signifies Soho’s status as a former royal hunting ground and the fox’s reputation as a mischievous character of the night; the trumpet echoes Soho’s rich jazz history; and the holding of the book, along with the character tipping his hat, points to Soho’s long association with the creative industries. It’s fair to say a lot of thought went into it. Ian blended his analytical approach and passion for gin to create a pretty amazing product. Each bottle of Sacred gin is well-thought out and exceptionally produced, but with plenty of heart.

Numerous awards show it was a mighty fine call, while we can certainly attest the gin is delicious. The best way to experience their range is to take their famous City of London gin distillery tour in London. You’ll get a behind the scenes peek at production, as well as a taste of three gins. Every Saturday, three separate tours are run visiting the neighbourhoods of Soho, Shoreditch and Bermondsey. On each journey, you’ll get to explore five amazing venues and sample the gins at each. All that has well and truly changed now, and the City of London Distillery was at the forefront of that revolution. If you ask us, you can’t miss the classic London Dry Gin, with its subtle but noticeable hit of cardamom. Beefeater GinPerhaps you want to learn more about gin. Perhaps you want to drink a lot of the stuff while you do – it’d only be right, in the name of education that is. Then, perhaps you’d not want to restrict yourself to just one distillery. I mostly take inspiration from the outside, from who I am – and this moves as we develop as human beings. Even if the essence of who you are stays the same, you grow as a person and that helps whatever you’re doing in business at that time. Any plans on the horizon you can reveal in terms of The King of Soho’s future? In as far as it’s possible to plan anything in this day and age? When progressing from an idea to a product, Alex explains that the execution process is extremely important.

It would take centuries for London to shake off its bad gin-related hangover, and it wasn’t really until the late 2000s that people started taking London gin seriously again. It was a ‘mother’s ruin!’, it was declared – responsible for turning otherwise prim and proper women into utter drunkards (we can relate). This simply-named venue is basically a gin lover’s playground, offering up four enticing levels of gin-related debauchery and its own distillery producing Portobello Road gin. Gin runs a gin distilling experience in London, where you can learn more about the process. You’ll then have a chance to craft your own gin to take away with you (more on that later). Hayman’s Distillery Learn everything you could possibly want to know about the history and production of gin at their London gin masterclass.Both our gins are distilled in London, which a lot of London dry gins aren’t, and that was very important. Our distiller is Charles Maxwell, 11th generation master distiller, and his family started distilling gin at around the same time as the word ‘Soho’ was coined by the first Duke of Monmouth as a name for that district of London. So there’s a bit of serendipity there which I quite liked at the beginning – slightly fated, perhaps? Regardless, not being distillers ourselves, we went to the best. We created a flavour profile, took it to Charles, we asked him to make our gin, and he nailed it. So it’s very much something that we love and we drink ourselves, which I think is important. They also do a “design your own” gin lab experience as well (we’ve done it and it. is. brilliant). Otherwise, head down to their subterranean bar – one of the best gin bars in London– for a cheeky tipple or two.

There are plenty of London gin distilleries trying all kinds of weird and wonderful things. Then there’s those that remain true to traditional methods and ingredients. Get the insider perspective on the market’s history and premier stalls. Then, move on to Beefeater’s gin where you’ll tour the distillery and – of course – sample some varieties. The rest, as they say, is history. Each batch is made using a 30l copper still and fresh botanicals – making it one of the most unique tipples in the city. Portobello Road Gin Alex, originally from the North-East, feels a great affinity with London’s Soho, as she finds the warm and outspoken nature of northerners is found similarly in the essence of Soho. From there, it’s your turn to have a go at distilling the perfect bottle for yourself. Someone will be on hand to help you from going astray, but you’ll have definite creative control.For King of Soho, 2017 was primarily focused on building on UK growth – something they aim to increase in 2018. Although the brand has always had a global aspiration, it is important to the pair that the brand sustains itself at its own pace. Jensen’s Gin proudly produces ‘gin as it should be’– gin that’s true to its origins and traditions. Their fabulous Old Tom gin is even replicated from an authentic 1840s gin handbook. Don’t let the humble setup fool you; owner Mark Holdsworth knows his stuff. He spent fifteen years working for Bacardi, before venturing off to do his own thing. And a great thing it is. City of London Distillery Well over a century later, it’s still one of the most popular British gin companies. They also run one of the best gin tours in London. These include a “smell tour” of ingredients used to give gin its characteristic flavour. Mother’s Ruin