Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin

Bombay Sapphire is a brand of gin owned by Bacardi that was first launched in 1987 by IDV. In 1997 Diageo sold the brand to Bacardi. Its name originates from gin's popularity in India during the British Raj. Bombay Sapphire is marketed in flat-sided, Sapphire-colour 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 labels boasts as "10 exotic Botanicals" ): almond, lemon peel, liquorice, juniper berries, orris root, angelica, coriander, cassia, cubeb, and grains of paradise. The spirit is 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 strengh of Bombay Sapphire down to 40.0 % ( UK,Australia ).