Soho Gin Bar Tasting Night Picker for Gin Sceptics

Tom had not touched gin since a party at university, when someone poured it warm into flat tonic in a plastic cup. For ten years he told anyone who asked that gin tasted like a pine tree. Then a friend talked him into one slow night in Soho built around tasting rather than drinking, and by the third glass he was asking the bartender for a second look at something with grapefruit and pepper in it. This is the plan that changed his mind, written for anyone who is sure they already know they dislike gin.

Most people who say they hate gin are remembering a specific drink, not the spirit. Cheap gin, too much ice that has gone watery, tonic that has lost its fizz and a squeeze of tired lime will flatten anything. A good gin bar fixes every one of those problems at once: cold glassware, fresh tonic in small bottles, large clear ice and a garnish chosen to match what is actually in the gin.

It also helps to know that gin is a family rather than a single taste. Juniper is the one botanical every gin must lean on, but around it a distiller can build almost anything. Some gins are bright with citrus peel, some are floral, some are earthy with roots and spice, and some are soft and almost sweet. A sceptic usually finds that one of those branches suits them, even if the classic juniper-heavy style still does not.

So the aim of a tasting night is not to convert anyone into loving every gin. It is to find out which corner of the family fits your palate, and to give a bartender enough clues to point you there.

Soho has bars of every mood, from loud basements to quiet rooms with a long back bar and a handful of stools. For a sceptic's first gin tasting night, Tom's friend chose the second kind. The deciding sign was simple: a counter where you can sit and talk to the person making your drinks, and a menu that lists gins by style rather than only by brand.

Arrive early in the evening, before the after-work crowd arrives and the room gets busy. Bartenders are far more generous with explanations when they have time, and a tasting night is mostly a conversation. Sit at the bar rather than a table if you can. If you are in a group, two or three people is the right size, because everyone can taste from the same small pours and compare notes without shouting.

If you are unsure which bar to choose, ask the Karpo APP for quiet gin bars in Soho with counter seating, then pick one that sounds like it welcomes questions rather than one that sounds like a party.

The structure Tom's friend used is the one many gin bartenders recommend. Choose three gins from different styles, ask for a small neat pour of each, and taste them side by side at room temperature before anything else touches them. A drop of water opens each one up. Sniff gently with your mouth slightly open, sip a little, and say out loud what you notice, even if it sounds silly. Tom's first note was that one tasted like the inside of a sweet shop, which turned out to be a fair description of an orange and liquorice gin.

Once you have a favourite from the neat round, ask for it as a gin and tonic made properly. Most gin bars will offer a choice of tonics, from classic dry to lighter, less bitter styles. A sceptic often does better with a lighter tonic, because the drink stops fighting itself. Ask the bartender to suggest a garnish that matches the gin, perhaps grapefruit, cucumber or a single sprig of herb, rather than defaulting to lime.

Keep the pours small and the pace slow. Ask for a glass of water alongside every round, and eat something before you start. A tasting night is about attention, and attention disappears after too many full-size drinks.

Bartenders in a good gin bar like being asked about the bottles they are proud of. Tom found these questions opened up the most useful answers. Which gin would you give someone who thinks gin tastes like pine? What is the softest gin on the shelf, and what is the most unusual? If I liked this one, what is its closest cousin?

It is also worth asking for a gin cocktail that hides nothing. A simple martini or a gin and vermouth served cold shows a gin's character clearly, and a good bartender will adjust it to be drier or softer depending on what you liked in the neat round. Tom, who had sworn off gin, ended the night on a small, very cold martini with a twist of lemon, which surprised him more than anyone.

If you prefer to keep things light, say so. Many gin bars will build a low-strength version of a classic, or make a long drink with soda instead of tonic so you can enjoy the botanicals without the sweetness.

Soho and gin share a long history. In the eighteenth century, cheap spirit swept through the poorer streets around this part of London, and the Gin Craze became so notorious that artists and reformers made it a symbol of the city's troubles. Gin today is a slower, more careful drink, but it is fun to walk these streets knowing that story.

Between the neat round and the cocktail, Tom's friend walked him out for a short loop. Meard Street, with its tall Georgian houses and dark brick, still looks much as it did when gin was sold by the cupful nearby. From there it is a few minutes to Soho Square, where the little mock-Tudor garden hut sits in the middle of the lawn and the noise of Oxford Street drops away. The fresh air resets your palate, and the stories give the night a shape.

If the weather is wet, stay inside and simply step away from the bar for ten minutes with a glass of water. The pause matters more than the walk.

By the end of the evening Tom had a short list on his phone: one citrus-led gin he liked neat, one floral gin he liked with a light tonic, and one classic that he could finally tolerate in a martini. That list is worth more than any bottle. Next time he goes to a bar, anywhere in London, he can describe what he likes and let the bartender take it from there.

A sceptic's second gin night should push a little further, perhaps into a gin made with tea, or one with sea herbs, or a barrel-rested style that tastes closer to whisky. Keep the format the same: neat first, small pours, water, then one drink built around the winner.

When you want to try the same approach in another part of the city, open the Karpo APP and ask for gin bars near you that offer tasting flights or seats at the counter. Then take the friend who still thinks gin tastes like a pine tree, and let them have the night Tom had.