Bombay Sapphire has launched Star of Bombay, a new super-premium
gin that adds two additional botanicals and a slow distillation method to the
mix. The global travel retail launch kicked off with Gebr Heinemann in Sydney airport
in April. Retailing at A$66 for a one-litre bottle, Star of Bombay is aimed at
the gifting market and seeks to attract new consumers to gin.
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| Star of Bombay super-premium gin |
“Travel retail is leading the launch of Star of Bombay,
including a first launch with Heinemann across their iconic locations like the
newly-won Sydney airport, Frankfurt and Copenhagen, before rolling out
globally,’’ said Mike Birch, managing director of Bacardi Global Travel Retail.
He added: “Gin is one of the hottest categories in travel
retail. However, there is a large opportunity to further premiumise it. With
Bombay Sapphire as category leader, we can unlock this potential with a super-premium
gin like Star of Bombay.”
The Bombay Sapphire gin portfolio includes the original
Bombay Sapphire, Bombay Sapphire East and Bombay Dry. The brand’s new star is
the first addition to the range to be created at the newly restored Laverstoke
Mill in the UK county of Hampshire, the new distillery for Bombay Sapphire,
visitor experience and brand home, which opened in October 2014.
Master Distiller Nikolas Fordham wanted to open up a
fresh chapter in the brand’s history and create a new expression of the Bombay
signature style, yet with a distinctive character. He worked with Ivano Tonutti,
Bombay Sapphire’s Master of Botanicals, to search the world for fresh
botanicals that could play in harmony with the original 1761 recipe that
inspired the famous gin in the beautiful blue bottle.
The recipe for Star of Bombay begins with the 10
botanicals that lie at the heart of Bombay Sapphire gin: juniper, coriander, lemon
peel, orris, angelica, almonds, liquorice, cassia bark, cubeb berries and
grains of paradise. It is then elevated, according to the brand, with the
addition of two new botanicals: gently dried Bergamot orange peel, sourced from
the mountains of Calabria in southern Italy, and aromatic ambrette seed,
sourced from Ecuador in South America.
High-strength gin emphasises aromatics
“The idea with Star of Bombay was to create a gin with an
increased perception of the Bombay top-note aromatics,” Tonutti explained. “It
is possible to simply add new botanicals to a gin and bring a note of their
character over the spirit, but this is not the style of Bombay. We vapour-infuse
our botanicals. Painstaking flavour trials had to be made to achieve the
precise quantities and qualities that could interact with all the other
botanicals and integrate into the heart of the gin. It is this perfect balance
that we aim for.”
In addition to the added botanicals, the liquid is produced
through a slower rate of the vapour infusion distillation process. Through
carefully controlled temperature and vapour flows, the extraction level of the
botanicals is heightened to build a richer aroma and more intense flavour.
The new Star of Bombay is 47.5%abv. “The high strength is
chosen to emphasise the elevated aromatics and helps to underpin the spirits
overall balance and harmony,” the brand said.
The bottle celebrates the emblematic features of the
brand, including the concentric facets, which seek to convey the depth and complexity
of the spirit. The bottle is taller, slimmer and is slightly tapered.
The Star of Bombay signature serve is Star & Tonic, dubbed
“a unique alternative to an evening cocktail, offering a more flavourful
experience”. The Star & Tonic recipe is: one part Star of Bombay gin; one
part Indian tonic water; finished with orange zest.
