Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin (175cl, 47%)

Bombay Sapphire is a London dry gin made at Laverstoke Mill in Hampshire, England, here in a 1.75 litre bottle at 47% vol. It starts as a French wheat neutral spirit, which is redistilled in Carterhead copper stills. Rather than steeping the botanicals in the spirit, ten of them sit in perforated copper baskets while the vapour rises through, a gentler extraction that keeps their flavours fresh. They are juniper, lemon peel, almond, liquorice, orris root, angelica, coriander, cassia bark, cubeb berries and grains of paradise. The nose is clean and sweet, with lemon peel, juniper and a little liquorice. The palate is smooth and slightly oily, with juniper, citrus and warming spice, and the finish is long and dry, with pine-needle crispness and pepper.