Stinking of gin? No, that's just my new shower gel

Smelling like you've had a few too many at lunchtime is often seen as the first sign of a serious alcohol problem - but now people are paying for the pleasure.

Bombay Sapphire, the blue-bottled premium gin label, is marketing a perfume based on the same mixture of spices as its famous spirit.

The fragrance - Infusion - is being trialled at duty-free shops at airports such as JFK in New York, with Heathrow reportedly about to follow. Shower gel and moisturising lotion are also available, giving new meaning to the term "bathtub gin".

The owner of Bombay Sapphire, Bacardi, employed leading scent specialists, Geza Schoen, to perfect the bouquet, which is based on an 18th-century recipe including Italian juniper and Moroccan coriander.

Whether Infusion is the tonic Bacardi is looking for remains to be seen, but it raises all kinds of intriguing possibilities: a US commentator suggested splashing some vermouth on with it, to present yourself to new acquaintances as the perfect martini.