Bombay Sapphire

Bombay Sapphire Builds Global Distillery

WORDS ANDREW CHALK PHOTOS IWAN BAAN

Includes Botanical Glasshouses Designed by Heatherwick Studios

It is a distillery, a visitor center, a green project, a who-we-are statement in corporate definition. In the space of two hours it is hard to take it all in and comprehend. That is Bombay Sapphire’s new global distillery situated in Laverstoke Village, Hampshire in the heart of the English countryside just a mile from where Richard Adams set some of the rabbit scenes in Watership Down.

The site is mentioned in The Domesday Book (a medieval census performed in 1086) that later became a paper mill (run by French Huguenots who fled to England to escape persecution) that for a time printed colonial bank notes.

Bombay Sapphire set down roots in 2010. The bold vision for the run down site took four years to realize. They moved the Carterhead stills from the old distillery in the northern English city of Warrington. They tore down over 20 corrugated steel sheds, built new buildings in complementary redbrick, replaced all the utility systems with modern equivalents and restored open access to the river. So focused was their environmental goal that the old water mill became a hydroelectric generator along with solar panels covering the roofs of many of the buildings. The distillery buildings now run over, but do not interact with, the waters of the River Test, the cleanest river in England (fishing permits cost $1,500/day). A nature reserve at the back has seen resurgent wildlife including the recent return of otters. However the biggest, most eye-catching innovation was the commissioning of Heatherwick Studio to create two orb-shaped greenhouses, positioning them as organic growths bursting out of the side of the distillery building. Waste heat from the distilling process is redirected here, keeping one greenhouse at tropical, the other at a Mediterranean temperatures. Inside are the living plants, or ‘botanicals’, that go into Bombay Sapphire Gin (these are merely examples--the annual production of over 24 million bottles

ABOVE The River Test runs underneath the distillery. RIGHT Domesday Book Entry. BELOW Botanical component tasting example. FAR RIGHT The spectacular greenhouses.

demands a much larger quantity).

In an adjacent building visitors see and sniff each of the botanicals in a selfguided component tasting, marking those preferred, with mixologists onhand to whip you up a cocktail based around them in the gin bar at the end of the tour (designated drivers get to take a gin and tonic pack home).

Before the bar is the impressive distillery room with two giant Carterhead Stills. It is here that Bombay Sapphire uses its distinctive ‘vapor infusion’ process to introduce the botanicals into the gin. Under vapor infusion a cage of botanicals is suspended above the distillate and, as they are heated by the distilling vapor, infuse their flavors. The challenge, as expressed by master distiller Nik Fordham, is to maintain consistency in an environment in which botanicals are subject to weather and supply volatility. Responsibility for that falls to Bombay’s Master of Botanicals, Ivano Tonutti, who has established a record of consistent supply going back a decade.

There is already a gin shop but plans include a cafeteria and corporate events area. Cocktail classes are underway and are fully-booked. Future plans may include specially distilled gins for sale at the distillery only.

This distillery is a captivating experience for professional and consumer alike. Bartenders will come away with a deeper appreciation for the product, while aficionados will derive new insights into how gin is made. Make the all-essential reservation at distillery.bombaysapphire.com.

FAR LEFT The historical Dakin Stills used in the unique Vapour Infusion process at Laverstoke Mill. ABOVE Master distiller Nik Fordham explains how the greenhouse uses heat recirculated from the distillery. LEFT Cocktail made to order in the gin bar.