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? 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. Well, the brains behind Sipsmith actually put the chatter into action. The two best friends opened their distillery in 2009 and have been going strong ever since. Warming, peppery spice ends the journey with a satisfying nip and a smooth finish, in what is a classically styled gin.

Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.We’re pretty sure that London is at least 50% fuelled by gin. Our obsession with all things gin has been going for centuries and, with a slew of cool distillery openings in the past few years, shows no sign of abating. Balans began in Soho, on a little corner of Old Compton Street, over 33 years ago. Consequently, it’s pretty unsurprising that The King of Soho, a gin inspired by the history of Soho and all the people who made it such a legendary London spot, has become a popular choice among our Balans regulars. When progressing from an idea to a product, Alex explains that the execution process is extremely important. She asserts that it’s not all exciting in business, but if you don’t get the regularities right, it can be a costly derailment to your plans – a business analysis, considering rules and mandatories are essential.

The gin has a clean and gentle nose which belies its strength that opens up to reveal classic juniper and pine notes with a refreshing zest of citrus oil. But they also have something else that should be on your radar – a gin supper club. That’s basically exactly what you’d think it is: a supper club with gin pairings. Wait, it gets better.

Gin has been a country-wide obsession for many centuries, however there was a long lull in production in the heart of the capital. Encapsulating the rich creativity and unique lifestyle of the effervescent London district of Soho, the King of Soho gin delicately combines citrusy grapefruit with classic juniper to create a perfectly balanced authentic London Dry Gin.

They say if you’re onto a good thing then why change it – and that’s certainly the ethos of Christopher Hayman, chief gin maker at Hayman’s Distillery. So we all love gin (obviously), but sometimes it’s nice to have a little bit of choice. Enter the East London Liquor Company, that also produces whisky and vodka as well.Distiller and long-time gin fanatic Victoria Christie (who was drinking G&Ts well before it became cool again) first started producing this organic gin in South London after a masterclass at The Ginstitute. Fast forward a couple of years and she’d released her first batch of the stellar Graveney Gin. They’re two of our favourite hotspots in the capital for food and drink and we’re pretty confident you’ll love them too. Located in the bustling Camden Market, we love swinging by this stall to sample some gin. There’s also usually a batch being distilled right before your eyes, in a copper pot.