This time around, gin's popularity is more restrained and the industry is keen to shrug off the juniper-flavoured spirit's reputation as "mother's ruin".

Signs of a revival came in 2009, when brewers Sipsmiths inaugurated "Prudence", the first copper still to launch in London in almost 200 years.

A spate of distillers has followed, helped by the fact that gin is quick to make, unlike spirits such as whisky that can take years to mature.

Gin Club

Borrell runs a weekly "Gin Club" where customers can make their own gin in copper stills, adding their choice of herbs and fruits to the juniper berries that give the drink its predominant flavor.

Borrell's gin is called "Highwayman Gin" after Claude Duval, a French noble-born brigand who terrorized the neighborhood in the 17th century, stealing men's purses and ladies' hearts.

The bar stocks about 25 kinds of gin in total, including two brewed by other small distilleries within walking distance.