of all of the gin joints in all of the towns...

Our hotel in Soho had a fully stocked mini-bar.

Some hotels don’t bother nowadays. They’ll say it's too expensive to replenish them. Or that they have such good service that you might as well either use the bar and restaurant or call for room service.

I’ll admit to sometimes visiting a nearby food shop and bringing my own goodies into a hotel, in any case.

But, here we were, with a fridge and shelf full of almost old-school riches. It was the gin bottle that caught my eye. King of Soho, which should be appropriate to this part of London.

Gin made a come-back after years as deeply unfashionable. I ignored all of that and continue to order it as my emergency cocktail.

I still prefer London gin, unflavoured with much more than juniper, and a straightforward tonic. Not all the elderflower, rhubarb and cucumber concoctions that have sprung up from the artisan stills of Hoxditch.

This Soho gin’s marketing seems to be trying very hard. I like the bottle, and the idea of the urban fox.

Closer examination of the bottle in the minibar reveals the symbolism of the night creature, with a jazz trumpet and a book. It's a dressed up homage to Paul Raymond, the once self-styled king of the older seedier Soho. And yes, the gin is manufactured by a family member.

That already leaves a dubious taste in the mouth. The marketing company can’t quite make up their mind either. They say the drink should be enjoyed with pink grapefruit (I approve of that). But then they show it with lemon. In another picture it is shown with apple slices.

They say it is best complemented with Fevertree tonic, but then a pack-shot shows it with Schweppes.

I know, I’m digging far too deeply into this. But they have set up a pop-up winter gin palace (a.k.a bar and shop) for the rest of this year, in Windmill Street. The cocktails there are served with Schweppes. Including a 1783 Cucumber tonic. Oops.

They also feature an accidentally retro offering. The first drink is served as a 'Gin and Taste experience which comes with a Small Bite and Rosemary Salted Popcorn'. It reminded me of Soho's old late night bars that offered a quarter scotch egg as 'food' to get around late night licensing laws.

Okay the Bogart bit too.