North Cumbrians will be entering into the spirit of things today when they partake in a drink taking the country by storm.

Bars, cafes, shops and local distilleries are helping to claw back the county as a gin lovers' paradise, with many selling their own concoctions as a way of celebrating World Gin Day today.

Mother's ruin, as it's euphemistically called, has been going through a renaissance.

Once regarded as an 'old person's drink' in the days when a pub G&T meant a splash of insipid gin with tonic and slice of lemon and ice, things have now moved on in the county with some unusual takes on a drink that achieve notoriety in satirist William Hogarth's bawdy and boozy 1751 print, Gin Lane.

At Carlisle's popular Shabby Scholar and The Dutch Uncle, drinkers are spoiled for choice with 38 different gins gracing the shelves.

Sam Norman, who owns the two establishments, says gin is fast becoming one of their customers' favourite tipple.

To celebrate World Gin Day, Sam, a self-confessed rum drinker, has created a gin tasting menu, which offers about four different gins delivered in a single shot - but with the addition of different mixtures.

He says the trend for gin drinking has been more noticeable over the past two years. "People who drank beer have moved to gin and slimline tonic. It is now recognised as a healthier choice, and is the most common drink in cocktails," explained Sam.

He says small batch breweries are creating more unusual flavours.

"I have one gin from Manchester that is distilled using dandelions. I have a couple that include honey-roasted oranges and fresh rosemary, and one with pink grapefruit, a little tonic and fresh basil."

Last year gin sales topped £400m in UK shops for the first time and distillery start-ups increased by 50 per cent.

And the gin-producing revolution hasn't bypassed the north of the county, with two of our distilleries, The Lakes and Spirit of the Lakes, now making and extolling the virtues of everything juniper.

The Lakes Distillery, based at Bassenthwaite, has released its award-winning The Lakes Gin Explorer Edition as a permanent member of its family of spirits.

It features a mix of 15 carefully curated botanicals, including the use of local Cumbrian juniper and five other botanicals native to the Lake District National Park.

The Lakes Distillery master blender Dhavall Gandhi said: "The tasting notes for our super premium edition will delight.

"On the nose is a combination of zesty orange citrus, coriander and cassia bark followed by hints of earl grey tea and cracked black pepper.

"The palate is almost herbal and complex with vibrant notes of juniper, spice and coriander. Black pepper dominates and leads to a long peppery finish."

Only 3,632 bottles of The Lakes Gin Explorer Edition have been produced at the distillery in a hand-crafted single batch distillation.

Since 2014, Cumbria Wildlife Trust has worked with The Lakes Distillery, providing it with Cumbrian junipers sourced from Whitbarrow Nature Reserve near Kendal.

This is one of only a few places in England with abundant natural regeneration of juniper.

David Harpley, conservation manager at the trust, said Cumbria is an important county for juniper scrub.

"The fruits and berries available in our region have long been used as ingredients in food and drink," he said. "As the charity partner for The Lakes Gin, the trust receives vital funding from The Lakes Distillery to help us support and protect wildlife."

Cumbria Wildlife Trust ran The Uplands for Juniper project from 2012 to 2015 with the aim of assuring the future of juniper in the county through targeted survey and restoration work.

Ben Turnbull, who owns the House of Malt in Crosby Street, Carlisle, said there was probably a different gin for every day of the week. "It is massive now. We ship good quality, premium gins all over the UK. In Cumbria the mindset in terms of quality is changing, albeit slower than the rest of the country."

Over the next few weeks, Ben is hoping to launch gin tasting evenings offering five or six good quality gins and maybe offering the opportunity for participants as a group to make their own gin. "It would involve taking the spirit and adding botanicals and taking a sample home," he said.