Bombay Sapphire
Encyclopedia
Bombay Sapphire is a brand of gin
distributed by Bacardi
that was launched in 1987. Its name originates from the gin's popularity in India
in of the days of the British Raj
and the sapphire in question is the Star of Bombay
on display at the Smithsonian Institution
. Bombay Sapphire is marketed in a flat-sided, sapphire-coloured bottle that bears a picture of Queen Victoria
on the label.
The flavouring of the drink comes from a recipe of ten ingredients (which the bottle's label boasts as "10 exotic botanicals"): almond
, lemon
peel, liquorice, juniper berries, orris root
, angelica
, coriander
, cassia, cubeb
, and grains of paradise
. The spirit is triple distilled using a carterhead still, and the alcohol vapours are passed through a mesh/basket containing the ten botanicals, in order to gain flavour and aroma. This gives a lighter, more floral gin rather than the more-common 'punchy' gins that are distilled using a copper pot still
. Water from Lake Vyrnwy
is added to bring the strength of Bombay Sapphire down to 40.0% (UK, Australia).
In 2011 it was announced that the company is planning to move the distillation
process to a new facility in Laverstoke
, Hampshire
. The plans include the restoration of the former Portal's
paper mill
, and the construction of a visitor centre.
In September 2011, Bombay Sapphire East was launched in test markets in New York and Las Vegas, USA. This variety has another two botanicals, Lemongrass and Black Peppercorns in addition to the original ten. It is bottled at 42% and was designed to counteract the sweetness of American tonic water.
Production and bottling of the drink is contracted out by Bacardi to G&J Greenall.
collaborations. Their first step into the design world was a series of advertisements featuring work from currently popular designers. Their works, varying from martini
glasses to tiles and cloth patterns, are labelled as “Inspired by Bombay Sapphire”. The campaign featured designers such as Marcel Wanders
, Yves Behar
, Karim Rashid
, Ulla Darni, and Dror Benshetrit
and performance artist Jurgen Hahn.
From the success of this campaign, the company started a series of events and sponsored locations. The best known is the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition, held each year, where design students from all over the world can participate by designing their own “inspired” martini cocktail glass. The finalists (one from each participating country) are then invited to the yearly Salone del Mobile, an international design fair in Milano, where the winner is chosen.
Bombay Sapphire also endorses glass artists and designers with the Bombay Sapphire Prize, which is awarded every year to an outstanding design which features glass. Bombay Sapphire also showcases the designers' work in the Bombay Sapphire endorsed blue room, which is actually a design exhibition touring the world each year.
From 2008 the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition final will be held at 100% Design in London, UK and the Bombay Sapphire Prize will take place in Milan at the Salone Del Mobile.
organizations to mixed success. Recently, the Sapphire was awarded a score of 92 (on a 100 point scale) from the Beverage Testing Institute. Ratings aggregator Proof66.com categorizes the Sapphire as a Tier 1 spirit, indicating generally favorable "expert" reviews.
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
distributed by Bacardi
Bacardi
Bacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...
that was launched in 1987. Its name originates from the gin's popularity in India
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
in of the days of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
and the sapphire in question is the Star of Bombay
Star of Bombay
The Star of Bombay is a 182 carat cabochon-cut star sapphire originating from Sri Lanka. The violet-blue gem was given to silent film actress Mary Pickford by her husband, Douglas Fairbanks. She bequeathed it to the Smithsonian Institution....
on display at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. Bombay Sapphire is marketed in a flat-sided, sapphire-coloured bottle that bears a picture of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
on the label.
The flavouring of the drink comes from a recipe of ten ingredients (which the bottle's label boasts as "10 exotic botanicals"): almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
, lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
peel, liquorice, juniper berries, orris root
Orris root
Orris root is a term used for the roots Iris germanica, Iris florentina, and Iris pallida. Once important in western herbal medicine, it is now used mainly as a fixative and base note in perfumery, as well as an ingredient in many brands of gin....
, angelica
Angelica
Angelica is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far North as Iceland and Lapland...
, coriander
Coriander
Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
, cassia, cubeb
Cubeb
Cubeb , or tailed pepper, is a plant in genus Piper, cultivated for its fruit and essential oil. It is mostly grown in Java and Sumatra, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and carefully dried...
, and grains of paradise
Aframomum melegueta
Aframomum melegueta is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. This spice, commonly known as grains of paradise, melegueta pepper, alligator pepper, Guinea grains or Guinea pepper, is obtained from the ground seeds; it gives a pungent, peppery flavour...
. The spirit is triple distilled using a carterhead still, and the alcohol vapours are passed through a mesh/basket containing the ten botanicals, in order to gain flavour and aroma. This gives a lighter, more floral gin rather than the more-common 'punchy' gins that are distilled using a copper pot still
Pot still
A pot still is a type of still used in distilling spirits such as whisky or brandy. Heat is applied directly to the pot containing the wash or wine . This is called a batch distillation ....
. Water from Lake Vyrnwy
Lake Vyrnwy
Lake Vyrnwy Nature Reserve and Estate is an area of land in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, surrounding the Victorian reservoir of Lake Vyrnwy. Its stone-built dam, built in the 1880s, was the first of its kind in the world. The Nature Reserve and the area around it are jointly managed by the Royal...
is added to bring the strength of Bombay Sapphire down to 40.0% (UK, Australia).
In 2011 it was announced that the company is planning to move the distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
process to a new facility in Laverstoke
Laverstoke
Laverstoke is a village in the north of Hampshire, England. It forms a parish with the nearby village of Freefolk.Businesses include Laverstoke Park Farm-Literature:...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. The plans include the restoration of the former Portal's
De La Rue
De La Rue plc is a British security printing, papermaking and cash handling systems company headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire. It also has a factory on the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, and other facilities at Loughton, Essex and Bathford, Somerset...
paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
, and the construction of a visitor centre.
In September 2011, Bombay Sapphire East was launched in test markets in New York and Las Vegas, USA. This variety has another two botanicals, Lemongrass and Black Peppercorns in addition to the original ten. It is bottled at 42% and was designed to counteract the sweetness of American tonic water.
Production and bottling of the drink is contracted out by Bacardi to G&J Greenall.
Design connection
The brand started a series of designDesign
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
collaborations. Their first step into the design world was a series of advertisements featuring work from currently popular designers. Their works, varying from martini
Martini (cocktail)
The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B...
glasses to tiles and cloth patterns, are labelled as “Inspired by Bombay Sapphire”. The campaign featured designers such as Marcel Wanders
Marcel Wanders
Marcel Wanders is a Dutch product and interior designer, who drew international recognition for his Knotted Chair produced by Droog in 1996.- Life :...
, Yves Behar
Yves Behar
Yves Béhar is a designer, entrepreneur, and sustainability advocate. He is the founder of fuseproject, the San Francisco and New York based design and branding firm he established in 1999...
, Karim Rashid
Karim Rashid
Karim Rashid is an industrial designer. He received a Bachelor in Industrial Design from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada in 1982 and completed his postgraduate studies in Italy....
, Ulla Darni, and Dror Benshetrit
Dror Benshetrit
Dror Benshetrit is a designer based in New York City. He was born in Tel Aviv and studied at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He designed the "Peacock" folded felt chair for Cappellini and has a line of shelving, bedding, stationary and other products at Target. He is also the designer...
and performance artist Jurgen Hahn.
From the success of this campaign, the company started a series of events and sponsored locations. The best known is the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition, held each year, where design students from all over the world can participate by designing their own “inspired” martini cocktail glass. The finalists (one from each participating country) are then invited to the yearly Salone del Mobile, an international design fair in Milano, where the winner is chosen.
Bombay Sapphire also endorses glass artists and designers with the Bombay Sapphire Prize, which is awarded every year to an outstanding design which features glass. Bombay Sapphire also showcases the designers' work in the Bombay Sapphire endorsed blue room, which is actually a design exhibition touring the world each year.
From 2008 the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition final will be held at 100% Design in London, UK and the Bombay Sapphire Prize will take place in Milan at the Salone Del Mobile.
Evaluation
Bombay Sapphire has been reviewed by several outside spirit ratingsSpirit ratings
With a growing number of microdistilleries and an expanding number of offerings from large corporate entities, a number of institutions have arisen to provide professional evaluations of individual spirits...
organizations to mixed success. Recently, the Sapphire was awarded a score of 92 (on a 100 point scale) from the Beverage Testing Institute. Ratings aggregator Proof66.com categorizes the Sapphire as a Tier 1 spirit, indicating generally favorable "expert" reviews.