IN 1977, when actress Alison Steadman uttered the line "G and T, Tone?" in Mike Leigh’s satirical tale of 70s suburbia, he was playfully poking a stick at the aspirational bourgeoisie that emerged in Britain at the end of the decade.

Back then, Demis Roussos was Top of the Pops, flock wallpaper was de rigour and drinks parties were the order of the day.

Gin also came in two forms: with tonic water, or without.

Although tastes may have changed, today, the enduring appeal of a decent G and T has not.

Take a trip to any supermarket, or pub, and you’ll likely encounter shelves stacked with every type of gin and tonic imaginable.

There’s gin infused with rose, there’s gin infused with grapefruit, and there’s even one infused with Yorkshire Tea.

In gin’s 18th century Mother’s Ruin heyday, it was produced in vast factories in the back-streets of ye old London town.

Once derided by William Hogarth as the scourge of society, this quintessentially English drink fast-gathered a reputation for ruining many mothers, grandmothers - and even fathers.

Now, gin is no longer a back-street affair.

Nor is it an industry that has come to be dominated by a handful of multi-nationals who take a bog-standard mix of water, alcohol and juniper and put it into a bottle.

Now gins are distilled craft-style, which essentially means the stuff that makes it taste good isn’t just dropped in for a bit of flavour at the end.

It’s also a booming industry, and, here in the region, we’ve not only seen a rise in the number of bars that specialise in serving it, but also in the distilleries making it.

Take Durham Gin, for example.

Their distillery is based in Langley Park, a small ex-colliery village on the outskirts of Durham City.

Working with the Botanical Gardens at Durham University and using traditional methods, they pride themselves on making their spirits in small batches and give their gin a unique flavour by infusing it with no less than ten separate botanicals, including pink peppercorns, elderflower and water sourced from the Durham Dales.

The result is a high quality soft and floral gin, which has hit all the right notes with gin drinkers and big name retailers, including Fenwick’s and Majestic Wine.

But the Durham Gin success story hasn’t stopped there and the team have just entered into an exciting venture with The Vaulkhard Group, the family business behind some of Newcastle’s most popular eating and drinking spots, such as Blake’s and Barluga.

The Durham firm and Vaulkhard Group have formed The Newcastle Gin Company, which will pave the way for a custom-built gin still - one of the largest in the country - to be installed as the focal point in the refurbished bar that was formerly the sports pub, Fluid.

Under the new name Bealim House, this will result in Newcastle’s only working gin still in a city centre bar, when it opens this September.

Producing Newcastle Gin Company’s signature gin on-site, you could even say, and excuse the pun, that this is a gin-gin situation for both parties.

As the head of financial planning for Brewin Dolphin, I take a keen interest in entrepreneurs that are doing-well in this region.

I like to support busy business-owners where I can by offering meaningful advice on how they can protect and grow their wealth, while they can get on with the finer things in life, like running their business, or distilling a thoroughly nice gin.