Bombay

Bombay Sapphire’s story begins in 1761 with Thomas Dakin. At the age of 24 Dakin purchased a site with potential for distilling on Bridge street in Warrington, and in doing so, established one of the first major distilleries outside of London. Dakin began his business not by creating Bombay Sapphire however – that was only to come about some 200 years later – it all started with Warrington Gin. Over the following years at the turn of the 1800′s, the Dakin family continued to develop their gin adapting to new technologies and breakthroughs in distillation techniques. In 1831, the family purchased a new copper still – one of the first Carterhead stills around. It was this vital acquisition that set the gin apart from the rest of the crowd as it was one of the first gins not to boil the botanicals in the pot, but instead place it at the top of the column and vapour infuse it instead.

The Vapour process is vital to understanding how Bombay Sapphire is different to many gins out in the market. There are only a few of these types of  stills (Carterhead) remaining in the world and three are exclusive to Bombay Sapphire. During the distillation process the spirit vapour passes up through a basket at the top of the column and is delicately infused with the aromatic flavours of the botanicals. This gives a lighter, more floral gin rather than the more-common ‘punchy’ gins that are distilled using a copper pot still. In layman’s terms, it’s much like the difference between boiling ingredients and steaming them.

Juniper, coriander, angelica, almonds, cubeb berries, lemon peel, orris, liquorice, cassia bark and grains of paradise come together to form fresh and lively gin, lighter than classic London Dry’s but with a warm peppery finish. Its slightly floral character makes for a refreshing G&T and works well in an Aviation too. No doubt Bombay Sapphire is an exceptionally smooth spirit, but without a doubt its defining character has to be the fact that it is light and crisp.

Read our full review here: Bombay Sapphire