Gin comeback is the perfect tonic

Those were the days when gin was distilled on almost every street corner and the poor would drown their sorrows – until they had to make their way back to their filthy hovels. So popular was gin with women that it became known as Mother's Ruin.

But if there's one alcoholic beverage which knows how to make a comeback it's gin.

First in the decadent 1920s when cocktails were all the rage, and the martini became the darling of the famous Cunard cruises. Then in the 1980s when London Sloanes were downing G&Ts like water – when they weren't throwing back flutes of Bollinger.

And now once again. Maybe Tory grandee Lord Young got it right the other day when he called these straitened times a "so-called recession". Or maybe it's just a way of escaping financial pressures, but gin – the premium kind – is riding high on bar menus once again.

Harvey Nichols in London has already created a martini terrace, with the drink's main ingredient being the "super premium" gin brand Tanqueray No. 10. And now the Balmoral Hotel, here in Edinburgh, has followed suit, revamping its art deco Palm Court Champagne bar with the same gin at the centre of the makeover.

The startlingly Tanqueray green bottle is stacked in rows behind the mirrored bar, and ambient evening lighting gives the whole place a verdant tinge. Other changes which nod to the bar's art deco heritage include black and white wall coverings, but it's the martini menu which is proving a hit.

From rhubarb and apple to a sparkling violet, the six new martinis have proved bestsellers since the revamp. Resident manager Harry Fernandes says: "I think people are just looking for something a little different. I used to work in London and a hotel there, The Dukes, served the best martinis. I'm not a huge martini drinker, but I thought there's not really a martini place in Edinburgh and given that it's the home of James Bond that seemed wrong.

He adds: "A martini is always a popular drink, but the No. 10 is really a special gin. It uses different botanicals to create its unique taste. Apparently only four people know the recipe so they're never allowed to travel together," he laughs.

"But it does use grapefruit, lime, oranges and camomile, and is the only gin to use those flavours."

Tanqueray No. 10, which is produced in Fife, has been making a name for itself for a few years now but there are other small-batch distilled gins which have been edging their way into the market including Girvan-based Hendrick's, which uses cucumber as one its strongest botanicals.

Three new gins have also recently been launched in London, again using different ingredients as well as the traditional juniper berry.

In fact the UK is the largest exporter of gin in the world, with 70 per cent of production worth around 200 million being sent to more than 200 countries. Tanquery is produced by Scottish beverage giant Diageo (as is Gordons and Gilbeys) and one in 50 jobs in Scotland are reliant on the gin industry.

But as well as the Balmoral, the city's trendier bars are also seeing an upsurge in gin sales. Tigerlily on George Street not only serves traditional martinis but encourages customers to try "forgotten gems" such as the Southside, a blend of gin, fresh mint, lime juice, sugar syrup and sparking water or the White Lady, apparently a favourite of Laurel and Hardy, which involves gin, pressed lemon juice, triple sec, a dash of absinthe and sugar syrup.

It also has Tanqueray No. 10 on the menu in its Crowd Pleaser, where it's mixed with velvet falernum, elderflower cordial, strawberries, apple and lemon juices.

And just in case you were wondering whatever happened to the Edinburgh Castle gin palace in London, it was ironically bought by orphange philanthropist Thomas Barnardo in 1872.No doubt it became home to the offspring of those mothers ruined on gin.