Gin has come a long way since Hogarth depicted an 18th-century London where the poor got 'drunk for a penny and dead drunk for tuppence' on mother's ruin.

Today's small boutique breweries springing up in the capital are distilling some flavourful varieties for young hipsters who know their botanicals.

Here is a list of places where you'll get more than the average G&T.

St. James's: Dukes Bar

London doesn't get more clubby than the intimate Dukes bar in the boutique eponymous hotel. Tucked down a small side street just off St. James's, this is where smart imbibers order the ice-cold, potent gin martini from bartender Alessandro Palazzi.

He'll only allow you two, using a regularly changing stock of specialised gins like handcrafted Whitley Neill. He deserves the overused ‘legendary' label - those in the know claim he makes the best martini in the world.
 
Dukes, 35 St. James's Place, SW1A 1NY; 020 7491 4840

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