The King of Soho London Dry Gin

The King of Soho takes its name and its swagger from Paul Raymond, the impresario who opened London's first licensed strip club in 1958 and became the unofficial monarch of the neighbourhood. The gin itself is the serious part: twelve botanicals distilled at the venerable Thames Distillery across two copper stills, first poured only in bars and a few trusted shops. The cobalt bottle, with its red-coated huntsman and his foxtail and horn, nods to Soho's older life as a royal hunting ground.

Smooth and full-bodied on the nose, with juniper and coriander settling into a soft sweetness. The palate turns bright and citrus-forward, a clear note of pink grapefruit running through, before a long, gently sweet close. A natural in a Tom Collins, or a G&T finished with a thick slice of pink grapefruit.