Gin Lane!

[Gordon]

Just up the road from here is a distillery belonging to the Bombay Sapphire brand. It took ages to build from an old paper mill. Must have cost a fortune. Anyway all agog locals thought this will be a bijou sort of place where crafted gin might have been produced.

But alas no!! The visitor centre is a must because there is a room full of the many flavourings with original seed pods, plant examples etc and the various forms of that [secret] flavouring for the different varieties of the product. For a fee you can try them all!!

Aghast when told that all of the distillate goes in a tanker to Warrington to be flavoured, blended and bottled. So much for a "craft" product. Seems no point in using this locality to do the distillation.

http://distillery.bombaysapphire.com

[Nick Armstrong]

Just up the road from here is a distillery belonging to the Bombay Sapphire brand. It took ages to build from an old paper mill. Must have cost a fortune. Anyway all agog locals thought this will be a bijou sort of place where crafted gin might have been produced.

But alas no!! The visitor centre is a must because there is a room full of the many flavourings with original seed pods, plant examples etc and the various forms of that [secret] flavouring for the different varieties of the product. For a fee you can try them all!!

Aghast when told that all of the distillate goes in a tanker to Warrington to be flavoured, blended and bottled. So much for a "craft" product. Seems no point in using this locality to do the distillation.

http://distillery.bombaysapphire.com

Was there yesterday and did this magnificent tour... Perhaps what you were told in the early days was inaccurate, because the para. highlighted in red isn't right for the most part.

Yes all the bottling takes place in Warrington. But iirc only one small limited edition (called 'East', for the US market) is blended with additional 'eastern' spicing in Warrington (where all of the Bombay production took place until a year or two ago).

All the gin however receives its basic 'infused botanical' flavourings as part and parcel of the distillation process at Laverstoke Mill in Hampshire - part of the tour takes you past two of the functioning stills, including the 'botanical basket' where the vapour takes on the flavourings just before the condenser turns it to liquid. Apart from the "East" variety, that's the end of the flavouring/blending process.

There is some logic to the move to Hampshire, apart from the fact that the new location provides an idea 'prestige' site for the visitor experience - the 'neutral grain spirit' used to start the process arrives at Southampton from Europe.

And the room with the various flavouring elements - seeds etc - isn't for an extra fee - it's part of the tour, you get to sample the various aromas, and select your favourites, which are communicated to the bar where they inform the barman's choice of a cocktail for you to conclude the tour...

Add to that the wander round the hothouses growing examples of the tropical and mediterranean plants used in the process - cassia, angelica, bergamot etc etc - which stand in the River Test as it flows through the site, and which are sculpted out of glass and metal to take warm air from the distillation area....







... and I thought it was a rivetting 2 hours in a fantastic setting (interesting that the Mill itself, owned by a Huguenot, produced the paper used by the Bank of England for bank notes in the 18th century).

[Dave2002]

Is it just an accident that Gordon is writing on this subject - recent msgs?

[teamsaint]

Had no idea the Bombay Sapphire place was in Whitchurch.

Just up the road, and I could get the train home, albeit with a lift for the last couple of miles.

Hmmmmmm.....

Looks a splendid day out.

[Nick Armstrong]

Had no idea the Bombay Sapphire place was in Whitchurch.

Just up the road, and I could get the train home, albeit with a lift for the last couple of miles.

Hmmmmmm.....

Looks a splendid day out.

Well, half-day...

Don't hesitate, teams: it's great.

[Carole]

I'm not advocating reckless and wanton drunknness!

Why not???
Just a small G&T for me please.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

[Richard Barrett]

In the summer I like to have a G&T to hand as often as possible. After much painstaking research I would say my favourite is Hendrick's, an idiosyncratic flavour to be sure, but after it nothing else quite measures up. It's a bit expensive though.

[vinteuil]

In the summer I like to have a G&T to hand as often as possible. After much painstaking research I would say my favourite is Hendrick's, an idiosyncratic flavour to be sure, but after it nothing else quite measures up. It's a bit expensive though.

... interesting; to be investigated. Do you have a preference for the tonic water? And the sliver, lemon or lime?

What on earth was ferneyhiccough's Dim Sum doing here at #37 - or perhaps sum dim ?

EDIT - o, re #37 - geddit. His won-tons were wanton

[gurnemanz]

A couple of years ago while visiting Suffolk we went to the Angel in Woodbridge. We are not gin drinkers and stuck to the ale but were quite impressed by the array of gins on offer. I think they said they had the largest selection in England - about 250,.

[ahinton]

In the summer I like to have a G&T to hand as often as possible. After much painstaking research I would say my favourite is Hendrick's, an idiosyncratic flavour to be sure, but after it nothing else quite measures up. It's a bit expensive though.

I do, too, though not only in summer!

I was introduced to Hendricks years ago and really enjoyed it but for some reason have rather gone off it more recently. The last time I visited Waitrose in Abergavenny they were stocking no less than 42 - yes, a mind-boggling 42! - different gins, including (unsurprisingly!) many that I've never heard of, let alone tried - an Irish one, two Scottish ones, a French one and heaven knows what else. I used to like Plymouth but either it or this particular partaker of it isn't what once it/he was. I think that, on balance, my preference (among those I've tried) is Tanqueray 10, although the standard Tanqueray has much going for it (not least in its lower price). As I'm where I am for the time being, I suppose that I really ought to try Williams Chase Hereford gin but, as it's considerably more expensive even than Hendricks, I've passed on that one so far. Pullin's Hereford gin's not much more than half the price of it and that isn't at all bad.

The wrong tonic can really spoil any gin, however fine (and yes, Mr Slimline, that's you, for starters!). I usually rely on standard Schweppes; Britvic's not very nice and Fever Tree's simply not worth its excessive price.

[ahinton]

And the sliver, lemon or lime?

Either would do for me; lime's supposedly the preferred choice but a slice of lemon's fine, I think.

Call me a fusspot, pedant or whatever, but I'd never have a G&T without ice and I always take that from a dispenser in my American-style fridge-freezer that's fed from the water supply via a reverse osmosis unit (a useful device that saves buying endless 2l bottles of mineral water and gives at least as good a result); making ice from standard unfiltered tap water - especially around here - is a no-go for me.

[Richard Barrett]

... interesting; to be investigated. Do you have a preference for the tonic water? And the sliver, lemon or lime?

Do give it a try. I haven't thought about investigating tonic waters other than the ubiquitous Schweppes. And I don't think I have a preference for the fruit.

[Alain Maréchal]

Either would do for me; lime's supposedly the preferred choice but a slice of lemon's fine, I think.

Call me a fusspot, pedant or whatever, but I'd never have a G&T without ice and I always take that from a dispenser in my American-style fridge-freezer that's fed from the water supply via a reverse osmosis unit (a useful device that saves buying endless 2l bottles of mineral water and gives at least as good a result); making ice from standard unfiltered tap water - especially around here - is a no-go for me.

What weaklings you British are. Try Hertenkamp, chilled, neat!

https://www.google.be/search?q=hertenkamp+oude+jenever&biw=1301&bih=641&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiGs5SLra3QAhXMIcAKHfG0CdgQsAQILg

Smeets is pretty good, also. Bols Oude Jenever will suffice if that's all you can find.

ps: in view of recent events buy it while you can. No politics intended, just comment.

[Richard Barrett]

Bols Oude Jenever will suffice if that's all you can find.

Jenever is drunk neat of course, but the point of the G&T is not that the alcohol is diluted - it's the refreshing quality of the relatively large amount of liquid involved! In hot weather I can drink them all day, or until I can't hold a glass any more, whichever comes first.