A VILLAGE pub has served up a world record 623 varieties of gins – with one priced at £1,000 a shot.

The Fence Gate stocks rare bottles of the spirit produced by the House of Lords, Lloyds, Old Raj and La Ceraselia Ginepro – with some dating back to 1923.

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And owner Kevin Berkins has a one-off Gilbey’s orange gin, costing a grand a drink.

The 68-year-old began collecting the limited edition gins about 10 years ago, buying them at auctions and specialist sales.

He then began offering them to his customers at his bar and brasserie.

Mr Berkins said: “I started collecting whisky initially but then began buying different gins that I call antique, ancient and rare.

“My collection just built up from there.

“Gin became popular and I noticed different varieties were being produced by using different botanicals.

“Gin has had a revival of late and there is a real demand for it.”

The Fence pub sells household brands including Gordon’s, Hendrick’s and Bombay Sapphire to the rare and Gilbey’s orange gin made in 1947.

Grandad Kevin said: “If a customer wanted a shot of either one of those it would cost £1,000 shot!

“It’s a one-off and cost a lot of money to buy.”

The pub now holds the Guinness World Record for the largest number of gins on sale.

The official record states the Fence Gate has 623 varieties but the collection now tops 850. Kevin’s collection had to be counted, photographed and videoed in front of an independent adjudicator before Guinness verified the record.

The Fence Gate also sells hundreds of other gins including coriander, Liquorice, and Christmas pudding-flavoured tipples.

The owner added: “I have a bottle of Old Tom which is much pretty irreplaceable.

“It’s horses for courses. Sometimes I go for a flavour, other times I go for a serious navy strength gin. It all depends on my mood and the company I’m in.”

Gin production is big business and worth around £1.76bn to the UK economy.