Forget Dry January, what better way to be’gin’ the New Year than with a celebration of the old ‘mother’s ruin.’ A Colchester pub, more famous for its real ales, has declared this month to be “Ginuary!”

The British Grenadier at 67 Military Road is marking the month by offering punters a range of more than 16 gins.

Among them is the locally-made Hayman’s Gin of Witham, reputedly Britain’s only family-run gin distillery operational today, with a heritage dating back more than 150 years.

Grenadier landlord Simon Foulds said he came up with the idea to generate much-needed trade throughout January. Gin-ly and Vodka-tober will follow later in the year.

He said: “It’s a dead month after Christmas. My second-in-command said she enjoys gin. She was commenting about the Hayman’s Gin made in Witham. I banded about ideas and came up with the name Ginuary.”

However, an online search reveals a few ‘ginuary’ events across the UK, though none seem to be in Essex. Such campaigns aim to add a bit of festive fun to a dark and dull time of the year, with some pointing out the ‘all-or-nothing’ of the Dry January campaign just encourages harmful, binge drinking.

Simon continued: “I thought we would get as many different bottles of gin as possible, as well as bottles of tonic. There’s an expanding market for gin as well as a growing number of different gins on the market.

“Gin has become extremely popular and people who have never drunk gin before say they are liking it. They include my standard, regular beer drinkers. They are trying it because it’s something they don’t really know about and they are going for it and enjoying it. The month has gone well so far.”

Simon has been helped by the Two Brews off-license in locating exotic types. Nationally, Britain has hundreds of different suppliers as the drink enjoys a ‘ginaissance’, helped by James Bond and tv shows like Downton Abbey.

Gin sales increased 16 per cent in 2016, topping £1 billion for the first time, with 40 million bottles sold equivalent to 1.12 billion gin and tonics, enough for 28 for each adult. In 2010, the UK had just 110 distillers but 100 have opened in the past two years alone.

Simon hopes his promotion will help offset the damaging effects of the Dry January campaign.

He added: “There’s nothing worse for a pub. One of my guys in my pool team is doing it. For all the good pubs do for charity for the rest of the year1”

And while 1730s Britain saw signs saying 'Drunk for 1 penny, Dead drunk for tuppence, Straw for nothing'!!, today’s gin costs a little bit more. The Grenadier charges £3 for all its gins this month, and £4 for a gin and tonic.