Gin is making a global comeback, especially those with a twist

For at least a couple of decades, gin has been in decline and vodka in the ascendant. Vodka had largely replaced gin in the dry martini, and as the spirit most likely to be ordered with tonic and a twist of lemon.

However, fashion comes full circle. In London, New York and other cocktail centres, the classic gin and tonic and gin martini are back with a vengeance. Now Hong Kong is catching up.

Today Sipsmith, a critically acclaimed British artisanal London dry gin, is being launched here. Hong Kong's first specialist gin bar, Origin, has opened at 48 Wyndham Street, managed by prominent mixologist Antonio Lai, and Tastings owner Charlene Dawes.

The bar has Hong Kong's largest selection of gins, ranging from classic London dry styles such as Gordon's, to other, more esoteric, concoctions.

These include Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin, made in Germany with 47 botanicals; Waitrose Heston, distilled for the British supermarket chain from a Heston Blumenthal recipe which includes lemon and Earl Grey tea; and Botanist Islay Dry Gin, from the Scottish whisky island, made with 31 botanicals, 22 of them native to Islay.

Lai uses Beefeater gin as the base for his redistilled and "slow-cooked" spirits. These have been reprocessed with additional flavours, including sage, cucumber, basil, grapefruit, chocolate and tea. He also ages negroni cocktails in bourbon barrels.