It’s not sweet, not cheap and not easy. Belgium has a museum dedicated to it, there’s a band named after it, and the world’s most famous cocktail, the martini (shaken, not stirred) is based on this gloriously spicy spirit.

Gin hasn’t always enjoyed this stylish reputation, however. British ladies in the warmer colonies used to drink it (no doubt while complaining about the help) to mask the bitter flavour of anti-malarial quinine. The quinine was dissolved in carbonated water to form tonic water, which is now the gin mixer of choice.

These days gin is packaged in gorgeous emerald green and sapphire bottles, and is swirled, poured, shaken and stirred in a variety of slick cocktails with vodka, dry vermouth, tonic water, grapefruit juice, or even just a splash of bitters. Gin gets most of its flavour from juniper berries and other botanicals, and the London dry variety is distilled with accents of lemon and orange peel, as well as a combination of spices like anise, liquorice root, cinnamon, almond, saffron, frankincense, coriander, nutmeg and cassia bark.

Some of our favourite places to sip gin are The Polo Bar at the Westcliff Hotel, the Planet Bar at the Mount Nelson and the Vista Bar and Lounge at the One and Only Hotel. Somehow, leaning on the bar like James Bond (or Vesper Lynd) is just so much more effective in a hushed, lush hotel lobby, don’t you think?

Where’s your favourite spot for a martini?