Bombay Sapphire

Bombay Sapphire is a brand of gin that is distilled by the Bombay Spirits Company, a subsidiary company of Bacardi, at Laverstoke Mill in the village of Laverstoke in the English county of Hampshire.

The brand was first launched in 1986 by English wine-merchant International Distillers & Vintners. In 1997 Diageo sold the brand to Bacardi. Its name originates from the gin and tonic popularised by the Royal Indian Armed Forces during the British Raj in colonial India; "Bombay" refers to the Indian city and "Sapphire" refers to the violet-blue Star of Bombay which was mined from British Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and is now 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: almond, lemon peel, liquorice, juniper berries, orris root, angelica, coriander, cassia, cubeb, and grains of paradise. Alcohol brought in from another supplier is evaporated three times using a carterhead still, and the alcohol vapours are passed through a mesh/basket containing the ten botanicals to gain flavour and aroma. This is felt to give the gin a lighter, more floral taste compared to gins created using a copper pot still. Water from Lake Vyrnwy, a reservoir in Powys, Wales is added to bring the strength of Bombay Sapphire down to 40.0% (UK, the Nordics, several continental European markets, Canada and Australia).

The 47.0% version is the standard for sale at duty-free shops in all markets.