Would I like to attend the opening of a gin bar? Would Count Dracula care to assist in the unveiling of a blood bank, or Billy Bunter at the launch of some new cake shop?

I love gin. An evening rarely passes on which I do not consume at least one gin and tonic, generally constructed using one of the more recent luxury brands of the spirit, Martin Miller’s, say, or Blackwood’s.

I also hold in the highest regard The Feathers Hotel, in Woodstock (right), and have done since it was opened more than 20 years ago by Gordon Campbell Gray. Mention of his name reminds me that it was during a stay at one of his London hotels, The Duke’s, in St James’s, that I had perhaps the finest gin cocktail I have ever drunk. This, after all, was a haunt of Ian Fleming whose enthusiasm for dry martinis was reflected in that of his creation, James Bond. I enjoyed two, at £15 each.

That is precisely £3 more than is charged for the James Bond Martini at The Feathers. It is made with Hendrick’s – which is distilled by William Grant and Sons in Scotland, and is one of more than 50 gins stocked at the bar. The other ingredients are Absolut Blue and Lillet Blanc. That last is not a tampon, but a brand of French vermouth.

Do not assume, though, that The Feathers allows itself to be beaten on the expense front. A Negroni, for example, made with Bokma Genever, Cinzano Bianco and Campari would set you back £18.50. A Vesper Martini (Citadelle gin, Absolut vodka and Lillet Blanc costs £20.50. This is another cocktail with 007 connections. Bond ordered one in Casino Royale.

And, if you really push the boat out, you can pay as much as £20.25 for a gin and tonic. That is £9.50 for the most expensive gin – the 49.3 per cent Junipero, made in the US and flavoured with no fewer than 12 botanicals – and a whacking £10.75 for the tonic.

This, too, is American – Q Tonic, which is flavoured with hand-picked quinine from the Peruvian Andes and contains 60 per cent fewer calories than traditional tonics.

Guests at the launch evening were each allowed to sample a bottle of this costly liquid (with 60 per cent strength Blackwood’s gin) in the ‘Ultimate Gin and Tonic’ served at the conclusion of a tutored tasting we were given on gin. It tasted good – but perhaps not that good.

The tasting was conducted by the admirable John Harris, the Steward of Christ Church, who held a similar event during the Oxford Literary Festival, of which he is chairman. His real area of expertise is whisky but with constant study (and drinking) his gin knowledge is growing.

After the tasting, the hotel’s affable French manager Luc Morel entertained us to a magnificent dinner, with superb wines (including chablis, champagne and Vosne Romanée burgundy), cooked by the hotel’s excellent new chef, Marc Hardiman. Goat’s cheese and potato terrine, with leeks, Perigord truffle and sorrel leaves, was followed by Cornish brill, with crab lasagne, samphire and sauce véronique, before a main course of braised flank and rare roast rib-eye steak, with snails, ginger carrots and caramelised cêpe. Pudding was banana parfait with chocolate custard, lime mousse and peanut butter ice cream.

And this is called work!