Another big brand jumping on the spirit and food matching bandwagon (see I'll have a drop of the hard stuff, please) is Bombay Sapphire, this time the venue being the quintessentially British restaurant Roast in Borough Market. Not only were there botanicals in the gin but in the food - executive chef Lawrence Keogh having accented his dishes with grains of paradise, lemon, juniper, cassia and coriander.

Apart from an oddly misfiring aperitif of PX sherry and gin served with almonds flavoured with lemon salt - the flavour combinations worked well, the two star pairings being a refreshingly summery Kiwi and Cucumber Rickey which was served with dressed crab and a freshly pickled cucumber salad and grains of paradise and a warm but light chocolate tart with liquorice ice cream which was paired with a limoncello flavoured Lemon Preserve and Bruised Mint Martini (the lemon and liquorice combo was particularly inspired). But although the berry flavours of Blueberry and Basil Martini harmonised with a cassia-crusted dish of fawn (young venison) and juniper-mulled pears you couldn’t help feeling that a good red wine would have gone so much better. You really don’t want a chilled drink with a classic English roast - at least I don’t.

The experience gave rise to the following thoughts:

* cocktails can make an intriguing alternative to wine with starters and dessert courses - or even make a dessert in themselves, as some restaurants have served them

* they also go well with grazing menus, particularly ones that include south-east Asian flavours

* cocktails are more flexible at the dinner table than whisky or other neat spirits but no less lethal so overall alcohol consumption is still an issue. My own view is that most people are not comfortable consuming drinks this strong over the course of several hours. They're better suited to a drinks party or offered at the end of or after a meal - as of course they always have been

For those of you who would like to try the Rickey and Lemon and Blueberry and Basil Martini the recipes are below. For other cocktail ideas visit www.bombaysapphire.com

Kiwi and Cucumber Rickey
For a 7.5 ounce martini
10ml Freshly juiced Kiwi (add Kiwi syrup to taste if the Kiwi is not sweet enough)
15ml Freshly juiced cucumber (skins removed)
15ml Apple juice
35ml Bombay Sapphire
Fresh Dill to garnish
Method: Shake and double strain all the ingredients, add garnish


Blueberry and Basil Martini
For a 7.5 ounce martini
7 to 10 Blueberries
2 Blackberries
2 Basil leaves
40ml Bombay Sapphire
Dash Crème de Mure
Dash White Cranberry juice
Method: Muddle the blueberries, blackberries and basil, add the remainder of the ingredients, shake and triple strain