King of Soho gin toasts porn baron Paul Raymond
Gin is such a popular drink that the son of the late porn and property baron Paul Raymond has jumped on London’s gin bandwagon with a new drink named in honour of his father. King of Soho London Dry Gin was launched at the end of September 2013 by West End Drinks, owned by Howard Raymond, the son of Paul Raymond, notorious for his strip joint Raymond’s Revuebar in Soho.
Hi-Spirits has agreed a distribution partnership that will see it distribute the King of Soho gin to bars and specialist drinks retailers, with an initial focus on the London market.
At GBP 34.95 (EUR 42) per 0.7 litre bottle, the premium gin, with an ABV of 42 percent, is distilled at Thames Distillers in south London. It is made with 12 botanicals which, alongside juniper, feature a high presence of citrus ingredients, including grapefruit peel, balanced by flavours such as coriander seeds, angelica root and cassia, it was reported.
Raymond Jr’s feeble excuse for cashing in on the gin trend is that his father’s favourite tipple in the Sixties was gin, a drink reminiscent of the parties and clubs of that era.
Paul Raymond, nicknamed “The King of Soho”, ran Raymond’s Revuebar from 1958 until 2004 – four years before his death. His empire also included theatres and the publishing of adult titles (ahem). He became one of Britain’s richest men through his property investments in posher parts of London like Mayfair, Covent Garden, Kensington and Chelsea which Raymond Estates continues to manage today.
Gin sales in the UK grew by 12 percent in pubs, bars, and restaurants in 2012, and by 5 percent in off-licences and supermarkets, while sales at the top end of the gin market soared by as much as 145 percent, it was reported.
